The Webby awards are like the Emmys of the internet – every year the awards celebrate excellence and innovation in online broadcasting and advertising.

In 2013, after a very busy online year, there are lots of contenders for Webbys. Among those nominated is Oscar winner Tom Hanks. Hanks is nominated in the category Best Online Film & Video: Drama for his Yahoo.com series Electric City. The series is a twenty-episode post apocalyptic animated sci-fi series, which basically translates as nerd bait. You can bet he would catch the Webbys’s attention. Along with being billed as the series creator and producer, Hanks also did some voice acting for Electric City.

Another Webby nominee this year is Lena Dunham. The Girls creator received the nod in the category of Best Individual Performance, for her tongue-in-cheek skit for the Obama 2012 campaign – Lena Dunham for Obama for America. At the time, the somewhat controversial video First Time didn’t earn Dunham too much praise, but it looks like her work is getting recognised nonetheless. Still, it’s a tough category to win, considering that she’ll be up against a heavyweight like Charlize Theron.

The awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Winners, who are selected by a panel including Arianna Huffington, David Bowie and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom, will be announced on April 30.

Lena Dunham, Directors' Guild AwardsTom Hanks, March of Dimes Celebration
Hanks and Dunham are among the fore-runners for this year's Webbys.