The judging panel described the Apache Hadoop project as the Swiss army knife of the 21st Century, and having the potential to completely change the face of media innovations across the globe. Overall, the project was seen as a greater catalyst for innovation than WikiLeaks, the iPad and a host of other suggested nominees.
The MediaGuardian Innovator of the Year award – the headline award of the annual MediaGuardian Innovation Awards (Megas) - rewards those considered to have had the greatest impact on innovation in the media in the past year.
The Apache Hadoop project develops open-source software to allow companies to easily process huge amounts of data. This enables companies such as Facebook and Twitter to access a comprehensive ecosystem of tools and partners, which were previously only available to internet giants such as Google.
Doug Cutting, a founder of Apache Hadoop and chief architect at Cloudera – the leading provider of Apache Hadoop-based software and services – said: "Apache Hadoop pushes data management forward by empowering enterprises to make sense of their increasingly large and diverse collections of data. It is great to see the continued recognition for the technology and I am happy to accept the MediaGuardian Innovator of the Year award on behalf of this flourishing Apache community."
The Megas are now in their fourth year, and reward all that's brightest and best across the new media and technology landscapes. Other winners on the night included a "homeless tamagotchi" and a digital top trumps game with a cultural twist. The winners were announced tonight by radio / television presenter and comedian Iain Lee at a ceremony at the Science Museum in London.
TV presenter and the Guardian's Tech Weekly podcast host, Aleks Krotoski – who was on the Megas judging panel – said: "This year's entries reflected the way that new technology is feeding creative content and vice versa. The judges looked at a huge range of different entries; some were heavy, data driven technical websites while others were light and fun - but all shared a common sense that only through innovation can we make a digital future attractive to the public."
The award sponsors were Ordnance Survey, Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network, Blitz, Brad Insight and The National Media Museum and the Science Museum.
The winners for the 2011 Megas:
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION CATEGORIES
These six categories rewarded innovative digital communication across different industry sectors.
Culture and the Arts
Agency: Hide&Seek
Client: Tate Media
Tate Trumps encourages visitors to experience the gallery in a different way. Visitors use the iPhone game to choose artwork and can then play a game of trumps with others.
Lifestyle
Agency: AKQA, Wieden + Kennedy, Mindshare
Client: Nike
This campaign engaged young people in Nike Running by creating a running contest across London. Participants checked in on Facebook at rebranded London phone boxes to update their progress.
Media & Technology
Agency: Hyper
Client: Nokia
The PUSH campaign encouraged hackers to create inventions from Nokia devices. These ideas were used to generate marketing, devised and led by Nokia's consumer community.
Public Sector
Agency: Publicis London
Client: Depaul UK
iHobo is the worlds first homeless tamagotchi. The app puts a homeless person on your phone for you to care for, prompting donations to a homelessness charity.
Campaigning – Charities and Social Enterprises
Fairshare Music - Doing good things with great music
Agency: Traffic Digital
Client: Fairshare Music
Fairshare music is an innovative digital platform for fundraising. It is a music download site that donates 50% of its profit to charity.
On a Budget
Agency: Publicis London
Client: Depaul UK
iHobo is the worlds first homeless tamagotchi. The app puts a homeless person on your phone for you to care for, prompting donations to a homelessness charity.
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CATEGORIES
Across these categories we rewarded innovative uses of technology. Along with large companies who are funding and driving innovation in this area, we encouraged entries from independent developers. It was the innovative concept that was judged and not the big budget behind it
Disruptive Technology
E Ink is an electronic paper display (EPD) that reads like printed paper, with content that is changeable wirelessly. Electronic readers such as the Kindle rely on this technology.
Data
Agency: Arcus Global
Client: Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
A simple, cloud based, integrated solution for the extraction and sharing of data for local authorities and public sector organisations in the UK that could provide the public with the insight they want into their public services.
Technology Breakthrough Business
This service allows online retail customers to choose specific delivery windows for goods they are ordering, to within a one hour period, by using a network of local couriers.
Mobile Application
myFry iPhone and iPad application
Agency: Dare
Client: Penguin Books
Stephen Fry's enthusiasm for technology is famous and well-documented, and this application allowed his fans to enjoy his work in app-friendly bite sized chunks.
Technology for Social Change
Agency: Somethin' Else/Preloaded
Client: Channel 4
This project tackled a difficult subject, teen mental health, and aimed to provide support and advice in a way which would be engaging to its target audience.
FREE TO ENTER CATEGORIES
The final two categories rewarded those entrepreneurs and innovators who represent the spirit of the Megas. These categories are free to enter.
Digital Entrepreneur
Wonga allows borrowers to access funds for a short period at predetermined rates of interest.
MediaGuardian Innovator of the Year
