A lot of people have become allergic to any mention of awards, as they no longer carry the weight they once did. They've become a conveyer-belt industry and mounds of acrylic junk make it increasingly difficult to spot the few awards that have any real meaning. Luckily, we have satellite imagery, stabilizer-equipped binoculars and solar-powered pigs to sniff out the truffles.

And here's one of them. Editors at CNET Webware have selected Skype as a finalist in the communications category in the first-ever Webware 100 awards. This new award is meant to recognize the best Web 2.0 sites, services and applications. I'm told that more than 4,000 nominations were submitted by users, so it's pretty nice to make it to the final stretch.

We're modest by nature, but if your love is deep, you are welcome to cast a vote for us through June 11, when the top 25 finalists in each category will be listed. Go to www.webware.com/100 to do the deed.

Winners will be announced on June 18.

Update on June 19: Excellent news! And here's the proof. Thanks CNET! And thanks to all who voted for Skype.