With a record number of entries this year, the judges are setting a very exacting standard, shortlisting just one entry in two categories and none at all in another.

There's more excitement next week when the shortlist for the igh profile Tasty Website award is released. The winner will then be decided by popular vote.

Full details of the shortlist are now on the Big Chip Awards site at www.bigchipawards.com/shortlist.asp

In other Manchester Digital news

SAScon - Search – Analytics – Social Media Conference - 28th April 2010

A world-class conference here in Manchester brought to you by Manchester Digital working with North West agencies and SEMPO. Tickets still available - discount for MD members and freelancers. Delegate tickets: £250+VAT for MD members, £275+VAT for others, plus special concessionary rate of £125+VAT for freelancers. This conference is of a calibre rarely seen in Europe. It is a must-attend event for anyone working in the digital industry in the region. For further information see www.sascon.co.uk or book tickets here.

MD/SAScon Comedy Night - 28th April 2010

MD and SAScon comedy night at the Frog and Bucket from 6.30pm. Tickets £20 inc VAT. SAScon delegates get in free. Book tickets here.

Infinite Bandwidth, Zero Latency - 13th May 2010

The Manchester Digital strand at this year's FutureEverything conference looks at what the new applications and services will be as bandwidth goes up and latency comes down. Who predicted YouTube, Wikipedia and Facebook? Time to get thinking.

Plus a strand on Open Data.

News

Hyper Island Lab Sessions on Creativity - We are now running HyperIsland’s Lab Sessions in Creativity. Apply if you would like to join us!

Google reveals government data requests and censorship - Google has released details about how often countries ask it to hand over user data or to censor information.

Thomson Reuters launches high-speed global network - Thomson Reuters Corp launched a global, high-speed network on Tuesday for financial firms to access real-time data.

Web hit by hi-tech crime wave - Hi-tech criminals are racking up more than 100 attacks a second on the world's computers, a survey suggests.

Events

SAScon - Search – Analytics – Social Media Conference - 28th April 2010 - See Featured Event.

SAScon Comedy Night - 28th April 2010 - An evening of networking and comedy.

MMU Tea with the Prof - 28th April 2010 - Innovation… Entrepreneurship… The Offside Rule!

Understanding Pre-Qualification Questionnaires - 12th May 2010 - This half-day workshop will cover what buyers look for in PQQs

Effective Tender Writing - 12th May 2010 - A half-day event looking at the requirements, content and composition of successful tenders.

FutureEverything Conference 2010 - 13th & 14th May 2010 - See Featured Event

Software City: European Venture Contest - 20th May 2010 - Book your place now at Europe’s most effective Venture Capital event.

Econsultancy Training

Search Marketing - Organic/Natural (SEO) - Advanced - 13th May 2010 - This workshop will provide you with a structured process to improve your results from SEO by reviewing your optimisation approaches.

Optimising your Site using Google Analytics - 19th May 2010 - This course will help you improve your tracking, website and campaign efficiency to deliver better results from your digital marketing.

Search Marketing - Organic/Natural (SEO) - 20th May 2010 - Grow your online business with a cutting-edge search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy for your best possible return on investment.

Fast Track Digital Marketing - 26th/27th May 2010 - This intensive two-day course will look at the key considerations for digital marketers.

Online Copywriting - 10th June 2010 - This one-day workshop will present well-proven techniques to improve the quality of your online copywriting.