Web Awards – Do they hold any merit?

It's that time of the year again when the nominations open up for the annual batch of web awards.
At times I wonder if some of these awards are of any "real" value, but maybe that's due to a certain degree of cynicism on my part.
The IIA have organised the Net Visionaries again. Unlike some of the other awards out there this one is completely "open", so anybody who wants to can nominate anybody they feel is deserving. You can also nominate yourself
In my opinion that's the way it should be. There should be no barriers to excellence and recognition of it. Why should someone have to pay to have their work judged?
Of course the other set of awards are still there... The Golden Spiders...
I can't think of anything positive to say about them. Not a thing.
They've always been dominated by bigger businesses with a budget to throw around. Of course they would have to be considering the entry fees... €100 to have your site considered by their panel of experts who include that "genius" Mr Adrian Weckler. Considering his views on the Irish internet industry I would seriously wonder about how any body could have chosen to put him on a judging panel.