Top 100 Influencers in Social Media

Few ‘best of’ lists are emboldened to go to the depths required of a Top 100, searching high and low for a well-rounded compilation of individuals who make the largest impressions. We took the bait and compiled our first ever Top 100 Social Influencers List. Polling various stakeholders in a range of verticals, the decidedly un-scientific result is this unique compilation of key social web players ranging from industry execs and startup entrepreneurs to celebrities and self-branding masterminds.

As is often the case, even a list of 100 leaves room for desire. We have erred on the side of diversity rather than focus multiple spots on the staff of few leading organizations to omit yawns and redundancy where possible. That said we certainly did not shy away from including the prominent individuals who
exert considerable influence in their industries and beyond. Though the list is organized numerically, we paid more attention to who is and is not included than to the numbering of individuals. We hope you enjoy this collection and, as always, if you have any suggestions or comments please leave them for us.

Without further ado, we bring you SocialTechnologyReview’s Top 100 Social Influencers, in reverse order:

100. The White House– Taking its cue from the President, the White House actively engages its citizens on its Twitter feed, encouraging constituents to “tell us what you think”. In the brief few years since its inception, other political residences and parliaments have followed suit including the Kremlin (@KrelimRussia_E) and Number 10 Downing Street (@Number10gov).

 99. Leo Widrich– Co-founding Buffer, a new Twitter tool that makes a lot of lives easier by scheduling your tweets with an easy to use dashboard extension. Authentic and thoughtful, Widrich is often found evangelizing Twitter and his new platform from his handle @leowid. Both he and Buffer make our Top 100 List for one’s to watch in 2012.

98. Reg Saddler– Co-host of The Drill Down, a widely popular social media podcast, Saddler is a consultant and a self-diagnosed “information addict” who seems to follow everything, everywhere. He was noted as being one of the most prolific Digg users of all time, ‘digging’ some 130,000 stories and has taken his content-sharing approach to Twitter where his audience is rapidly expanding.

97. Michael Q Todd– Twitter coach, entrepreneur and self-dubbed love promoter, Todd is one of those contagiously happy people who spreads motivation far beyond his home-base in Australia. Todd has built a brand empire across all social outlets by teaching others how to craft their own with careful steps to manage social media and leverage it for all it’s worth. Promoting sustainability, he is currently nominated for a Shorty Award in the Green category. 

 96. Michael Stelzner– Best selling author, speaker and marketing specialist Stelzner is one busy man. Founding Social Media Examiner, one of the largest business blogs around with nearly half a million monthly visits, he writes digestible tips for leveraging social media in addition to teaching online conferences in which he assembles some other of the industry’s best and brightest to contribute.

95. Tom Anderson– Anderson’s infectious smiling face has greeted millions of new MySpace users as their first default ‘friend’ on the network, but few know his full story. A self-proclaimed hacker (who incidentally cracked the security of Chase Bank as a teenager), he and fellow social pioneer Chris DeWolfe founded MySpace and turned it into the world’s largest social network before Facebook came along. After Murdoch and NewsCorp crew bought MySpace, Anderson left the company in 2009 and has been quoted as saying he, like millions of fellow users, no longer uses the network. He remains active on other social networks, however, and recently explained on a Google+ thread, “My original vision for MySpace was that everything got better when it was social- so I tried to build all the super popular things used on the web (blogs, music, classified, events, photos) on top of MySpace’s social layer.”

94. Olivier Blanchard– Like other social media consultants, Blanchard helps companies build, develop and measure their social media plans. He also works closely with high level execs and project teams and makes frequent speaking engagements.

93. Tom Pick– A nationally recognized B2B marketer for two decades, Pick serves as Digital Marketing & PR Director for KC Associates- a firm that is only one of a few specializing in marketing and PR for IT organizations. He knows IT inside and out and his work has earned well- deserved national recognition. He blogs on B2B marketing blog at his own Webbiquity blog, sharing tips, book reviews, marketing research and more.

92. Martin Zwilling– Founder and CEO of Startup Professionals, Zwilling is as noted for his writing as he is for mentoring budding entrepreneurs. He is a technologist who has closely following digital technology over the last few decades. He identifies product pitfalls and has offered insight and advice to readers of his blog. An angel investor, he is a Board member at Callaman Ventures and frequently writes for a variety of publications including Forbes and Business Insider.

91. Vladimir Prelovac– Serbian developer Prelovac is the author of several books and is an authority on WordPress. With insight into security, applications and plugins, he can be found covering WordPress dev topics far and wide (including at Mashable).

90. Michael Birch– Internet entrepreneur-turned-investor, Birch’s career took off when he founded Bebo, a popular social networking. Prior to the Facebook boom, Birch sold Bebo to AOL for a reported $850M and has subsequently founded a few quirky startups (such as Birthday Alarm) and invested in the space heavily.

89. Scott Monty– Ford’s frontman for social media helps guide the car manufacturer through the the digital maze. Working within Ford’s corporate communications group, Monty works closely with marketing as well to ensure communications alignment. He and Ford were among the first trailblazers to embrace Web 2.0 and has targeted those in the digital space with an ancillary interest in cars to promote the brand. In 2009, Monty and crew gave the then-new Ford Fusion to 100 social influencers in the United States to test the car, generate buzz and disperse content across various digital platforms.

88. Chris Mortensen– Yes, that Chris Mortensen. The award-winning ESPN Senior NFL analyst has a devoted Twitter following of over half a million for some very good reasons. On @mortreport, he dishes on the latest NFL news and updates while sharing snippets of what life is like for a guy with a VIP pass on NFL sidelines. For sports fans, he’s a must follow.

87. James Currier– Chudnovsky’s partner-in-crime at Ooga Labs is co-founder Currier, who originally founded Tickle Inc. and successfully sold it to Monster. Currier was an early proponent of user-generated media and viral marketing and can be found giving keynotes when not at home in Palo Alto. Among his fondest memories, he cites building a genuine hovercraft at age 15… a good start for a budding innovator turned entrepreneur.

86. Stan Chudnovsky– A Russian native, Chudnovsky made a name for himself in Silicon Valley as CEO of the social networking media company Tickle Inc. He is the co-founder of Ooga Labs, a tech incubator for consumer web companies.

85. Leo Laporte– If you want to understand the inner-workings of all things digital, Laporte is your guy. Nationally syndicated radio talk show host and noted blogger, he is a tech journalist who has worked his craft for decades. He also lives and breathes his beat, understanding computer programming where other reporters fall far short. He actively embraces new technologies in the social sector and can be found on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube… not bad for an old guy.

84. Lisa Barone– Founding Outspoken Media, Inc, Barone is the self-dubbed Chief Branding Officer of the company and dishes up her candid observations to brands willing to listen. Never mincing her words, she calls it as she sees it and has garnered a considerable Twitter following accordingly. A former journalist student, she makes the conference circuit rounds liveblogging and frequently contributes to publications such as Search Engine Land.

83.  Brian Krebs– If Eliot Ness were reincarnated today as an investigative, it might be in the form of  journalist Brian Krebs. A self-taught computer programmer, Krebs covers Internet security as much out of a self-admitted obsession as out of the need for a paycheck. He has made it his career to get inside the heads of some of the world’s biggest, bad-est and even clueless hackers to investigate the seedy underbelly of our beloved Internet. On his blog, he also updates the latest software threats and warnings. We don’t always like thinking of a new-age apocalypse caused by botnets and worms, but Krebs brings us back to Earth with his stealthy reporting and digestible tactics.

82.    Sam Fiorella– Blogger, speaker and moderator of the ever-popular #BizForum Twitter chat, Fiorella is a jet-setting interactive marketing specialist. From retail and travel to finance and insurance, this Canadian leverages his 2 decades of experience in the corporate sector as Chief Strategy Sensei (yes, you read that correctly) for Sensei Marketing which preaches strong customer interaction for sustainable biz development.

81.    Liz Heron– Social Media Editor of the New York Times is no small beans, and Heron proves her worth as a journalist’s journalist. Her genuine, no-frills and no-gimmicks, attitude has won her the affection of many seeking the latest NY Times news.

80.    Daniel Fletcher– When Bloomberg News needed to wrap their head around the spotty intertwining of journalism and social media, they looked to the fresh-faced twenty-something Fletcher to help guide them along. As Social Media Director for the news agency, Fletcher ensures staff journalists understand and abide by the do’s and don’ts of social media and has been called a whiz kid for whom social media seems to come as second-nature.

79.    Sarah Goodall- Goodall plays lead fiddle for German enterprise software giant SAP in their Europe, Middle East and Africa social media arm. A B2B communications specialist, she offers a wealth of information to her Twitter followers related and un-related to SAP.

78.    Anthony de Rosa– Journalist and entrepreneur turned Social Media Editor with Thomson Reuters, de Rosa ensures that Reuters’ journalists have access to social media tools to monitor news and come across leads. Previously, he founded Neighborhoodr, a hyper-local blog that leverages Tumblr and earned him the moniker “undisputed king of Tumblr” from the NY Times.

77.    Dabney Porte– This fire-cracker brought the word diva to social media circles when she embraced Twitter as a springboard for women’s empowerment. Perhaps best known for moderating popular Twitter conversations including Social Media Girlfriends, she also offers her expert advice to clients as a private social media coach.

76.    Tim Tebow– Sure, there are countless celebs on Twitter talking about their butt-kicking workout with their trainer or posting photos of their a.m. Starbucks stop. But not many link to verses in the Bible, and arguably none do it more than Denver Bronco’s QB Tim Tebow. Known for his prayers in the endzone, 2011 was the year of “Tebow-ing” thanks in no small part to his rapid adoption of Twitter in spreading ‘The Word’. Whether or not he lasts long on Twitter, or with the Bronco’s, remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain: Tebow’s 1million+ strong audience is likely to continue to bring him greater influence in the year ahead.

75.    Jeff Bercovici– A thirty-something covering tech and social media, Bercovici is indicative of a new generation of reporters. His experience includes writing for AOL and Conde Nast and he currently is a Staff Writer with Forbes. He’s really good at finding unique angles even when covering bland topics like social media security issues and the latest Google this-or-that. He’s also good at interviewing interesting people and finding their ticks (see his recent interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews). Lastly, he’s known to pen a few ‘Best Of’ lists himself, most recently with a “30 Under 30” look at up-and-coming Gen Y’ers.

74.    David Cancel– When recently reflecting on the genesis of his company Performable (which was acquired last year by HubSpot), Cancel said, “the single best decision we ever made was to make customer service everyone’s job.” Cancel started the next-gen marketing automation software platform with considerable experience under his belt as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Today, he serves as HubSpot’s Chief Product Officer and tweets prolifically for the B2C crowd.

73.    Larry Downes– Consultant and author, Downes contributes to a number of publications including Forbes and CNET on diverse topics related to the digital age. His acute knowledge of the law amidst the changing tides of an increasingly digital world positions Downes as a leading authority of Internet privacy issues and governance. He has held several faculty positions at Northwester, the University of Chicago and the UC Berkeley Haas Business School. He is also a Senior Fellow with TechFreedom, a non-profit, non-partisan tech think-tank.

72.    The Dalai Lama– Move over social media evangelists, a real guru is in the house. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, embraces social media as a means to spread his message of love and compassion around the world. Nearly 7 million people follow him on Google+, Facebook and Twitter, thoughtfully reposting and RT’ing their favorite messages to such a large audience we have a hard time conceptualizing it!

71.    Arianna Huffington– Always ranked among the most influential media moguls and women in media, Huffington is a political journalist who began her career as a conservative commentator for publications such as The National Review. Rocketing to mega-fame after founding the left-leaning Huffington Post (which sees some 7 million monthly visitors), Huffington now acts as Editor in Chief and President. She is a frequent guest across a variety of media channels and has authored several books.

70.    Bonin Bough– Utilizing his extensive experience spearheading interactive marketing strategy for some of the biggest brands around, Bough has led PepsiCo’s social media strategy for three years as its Global Director. Well known for his celebrity status in the space, Bough and team provide highly interactive campaigns across Pepsi’s large brand footprint.

69.    Scott Stratten– He’s a Twitter fan-favorite amongst the marketing crowd for his authentic approach which he appropriately dubs ‘Un-Marketing’ (also the name of his consulting agency and his best-selling book). Stratten earned his marketing stripes in the music industry and knows how to weave together blogs, videos and viral content like few others. You name ‘em, he’s worked with some huge clients including Fidelity Investments, Cirque du Soleil and Adobe. So unless you have a really, really good in you probably won’t be able to obtain his services though you can pick his brain on the social platforms and read about his approach in his best seller UnMarketing: Stop Selling. Start Engaging.

68.    Newt Gingrich– Taking a cue from President Obama’s 2008 campaign, Gingrich has discovered the power of the social net. At the time of publishing, the Republican presidential candidate remains unclear heading into the 2012 Election season. One thing is certain, however: Newt Gingrich and his staff are milking Twitter for all it’s worth and have 1.5 million followers to prove it. With most conservative campaign hopefuls dismally slow to embrace social media as an integral election tool, Gingrich and crew have been tweeting prolifically from the get-go with updates, political thoughts and other things you might expect from a Presidential hopeful. Whether he can leverage Twitter as a powerful platform for election remains to be seen but he clearly knows it’s one space not to be missed.

67.    Barack Obama– A plethora of politicians (ehem, their staff) participate in Twitter, have Facebook pages and upload videos to YouTube. This wasn’t the case before the 2008 elections, when then-candidate Obama showed the world how social media could give you that extra oomph. Many said without his campaign’s active involvement in the space, he might not have become President. While we will never know the answer to that speculation, we do know one thing: President Obama is a trailblazer when it comes to the political use of social media.

66.    Jason Calacanis– Serial entrepreneur Calacanis started his career by reporting on Silicon Valley during the dot come boom. He made his real mark on the scene founding Weblogs, Inc. (acquired by AOL in 2005) and has not looked back since. He has served as GM of Netscape and is considered a digital media guru. Like other high flyers in the industry, Calacanis is an active investor while also serving as Founder and CEO of his latest and greatest endeavor Mahalo, a user-generated search engine backed by other need-to-know investors like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban.

65.    Paul Biedermann– One-time broadcaster with ABC, Art Director for the NFL and Creative Director for the McGraw-Hill Companies, Biedermann is a classic creative marketer who now leverages social media to teach others how to brand themselves in the space. Founding re:DESIGN, a small consulting group specializing in strategic design, branding and social media, Biedermann is also found blogging and hosting the popular Twitter chat #MyBookClub with Peggy Fitzpatrick.

64.    Jason Seiden– With a blog by the name of Profersonal, you know Seiden is interested in breaking some rules. Spearheading Ajax  Social Media (a consulting group specializing in LinkedIn), Seiden has been blogging for two decades and teaching others how to communicate effectively to a wide audience.

63.    Dan Schawbel–  More than a branding guru, Schawbel is considered one of a handful of self-branding futurists and writes extensively on the topic. A syndicated columnist and a blogger for the likes of Forbes and Fast Company, he also makes the TV circuit rounds as an interview subject. He is the author of an international best seller in career advice and a managing partner at a full-service branding agency.

62.    Neal Schaffer– When it comes to social strategy, Schaffer plays with the big boys and has helped numerous clients from Fortune 500s to non-profits. Something of a celebrity in the social media world, Schaffer’s follower count numbers close to 1million across all networks in part thanks to his extensive speaking gigs and books on LinkedIn.

61.    Kelly Kim– Kelly is the other half of the Twylah equation. Not only is she responsible for Twylah’s own tweets, but she is a keen observer of the Twitterverse around her. Kelly has seen many make mistakes and shares insight on aligning organizational missions with social media strategy to avoid pitfalls. She advocates active engagement in social media to exert influence while keeping an approachable manner. After all, “the main way to get engagement is to give engagement,” she told us. She frequently participates and moderates in Twitter chats including the very popular #ToolsChat.

60.    Mari Smith– Author and Facebook extraordinaire, Smith helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs and small business owners navigate the social seas with easy to follow advice. She also provides online training and social media kits that can help anyone, at any level, master the social network.

59.    Francisco Rosales– Ask any venture capitalist and they’ll tell you it’s tough to be successful if you haven’t yet failed. Guatemalan native turned Angelino, Rosales has reinvented himself more than a chameleon, pivoting to make changes that were either financially or emotionally inspired. Throwing off stuffy 3-piece suits in favor of co-founding his own business (with his wife Andrea) in the early 2000s, the eight million dollar a year company was a distributor to DirectTV but it still wasn’t what Rosales was after. After a failed attempt in retail, Rosales realized that the lessons he had learned over a lifetime could be applied to others. Partner at SocialMouths, today he helps people find their brand identity and turn their passions into their lifestyle through coaching, blogging and social media.

58.    Liz Strauss– Making frequent appearances on influencer lists of all sorts and sizes, it’s hard to ignore Strauss’ role as a die-hard blogger with a penchant for articulate prose. She fills a unique void by quickly identifying the perception of an organization’s online communincations and helping them turn their text and content into something that engages users in a relevant way. Strauss is the founder of SOBCon, a social web think tank where influencers discuss and determine strategies in virtual and “concrete” conferences.

57.    Kevin Rose– Aside from founding Digg and a patent-owner on content visualization, Rose is a technologist and a thought-leader who leverages his savoir-faire as an investor and entrepreneur. From Facebook to Formspring and Foursquare to Zynga, Rose has his money spread far and wide in some of the industry’s most dynamic, disruptive services and products.

56.    Chris DeWolfe– The savvy CEO of MindJolt, a game distributor with significant revenue growth and several key M&As in 2011, DeWolfe is a social networking pioneer and visionary. Co-founding MySpace with Tom Anderson, he was the brains behind the strategic vision of the network and its meteoric rise to the top. By integrating user profiles with media content and music, under his leadership MySpace caught the attention of millions of users in nearly 30 international markets. He was particularly instrumental in the sale of MySpace to Murdoch’s NewsCorp in 2005 and stayed on with the company as CEO until his departure in 2009.

55.    Tim Westergren– Film composer turned entrepreneur Tim Westergren founded Pandora, an online customized radio station platform, back in 2000. Pitching to over 300 investors, the startup finally raised capital in 2004 but it wasn’t until 2011 that the company went public. It was Westergren’s move to make his service free with an ad-based revenue model that synchronized with consumer appetite. Still serving as the company’s CEO, Westergren also manages to give keynotes and tell of the humble origins of a once fledgling startup. Though Pandora faces stiff competition from Spotify and others, one thing is certain: Westergren was an early disrupter and remains an innovator in the social space.

54.    Amber Naslund– Naslund began working with non-profits a decade ago, helping them fundraise through the fledgling and new use of websites. She moved into the role of community manager and online communications just in time to witness the birth of social media. Taking her honed B2C skills to social outlets has enabled Naslund to own her own consulting business, specializing in small to midsize business strategy and implementation.

53.    Vadim Lavrusik– Lavrusik calls himself a digital media futurist, and aptly so. Journalist and Adjunct Professor at Columbia, he also serves as Facebook’s in-house Journalist Program Manager. He is on top of all things journalism in the social space and frequently reports on the latest trends, influencers and experiments. 

52.    Pam Moore – Another social media brand strategy making our cut is Moore, who is among the most highly influential people thanks in no small part to her wide audience which is, itself, influential. After leaving the corporate environment a few short years ago, Moore began her own consulting firm that integrates digital and traditional marketing for all sizes of enterprises. She is among the fervent Twitterati and also speaks at a variety of conferences and events.

51.    P.J. Crowley– Former Assistant Secretary of State Crowley was among the first in the State Department to embrace social media’s role in influencing and shaping public opinion. Noted for his dry wit and sharp tongue, some of his tweets during his 2-year tenure are fondly remembered in their own ‘Top Lists’ by bloggers including this one from Aug. 20, 2010: North #Korea has joined #Facebook, but will it allow its citizens to belong? What is Facebook without friends?” Despite Crowley’s resignation from his post in 2011, his prolific and candid use of social media have made a lasting legacy for all those that tread after him.

50.    Kevin Systrom– One-half of the Instagram equation with fellow co-founder Mike Krieger, Systrom is one of a new crop of twenty-somethings in the social media space making a big splash. He is an engineering alum of Stanford and had his first taste of Silicon Valley as an intern at a company that was acquired by Twitter. Later working for Google, Systrom believed social products would be the new trend and he left his position to co-found a location-based sharing service.  The photo-sharing Instagram app may offer simple and gorgeous editing options and old-school Polaroid aspect ratios but it’s the ability for users to share their photos across a multitude of other social platforms that has made it one of the fastest growing social apps in the market.

49.    Becky McCray– Think an Oklahoma lady wouldn’t know much about social media? Think again, partner. A Jack(lyn)-of-all-trades, McCray is an astute observer of rural entrepreneurs and the unique set of challenges that go along with a life in the country. Overlooking naysayers, McCray leverages new media to the advantage of those living far from the urban hubs of the industry. Co-Founding Tourism Currents, she and fellow Oklahoma daughter Sheila Scarborough offer online training courses and information to assist tourist professionals. With sound advice, this country gal is one of a few adjusting the mindset of small-town America to embrace what the web has to offer.

48.    Jure Klepic– A jetsetter in more ways than one, social media consultant Klepic brings his wit and wisdom to marketers around the world and shares key strategies for understanding social media’s constant evolution. Noted for some of his biting remarks pointed towards (potential) flops and failures, Klepic can always be counted on to tell it like it is in the social space when others may be reticent. He also offers invaluable advice on how to keep up to speed with the latest incarnations of your favorite networks or tools.

47.    Eric Kim– Noting the dismal environment of Twitter for branding and monetary purposes, Kim co-founded Twylah, a service that aggregates tweets on customized brand pages. An entrepreneur with analytics in his veins, he earned a couple of Masters degrees from MIT and knows how to leverage social platforms it for strategic interests. He is a prolific tweeter himself, sharing a wealth of knowledge from his constituents. Oh yeah- and did we mention that he has been interviewed by the likes of Robert Scoble and Neal Schaeffer?

46.    John Haydon– Shifting his attention from the private sector to non-profits, Haydon helps 501ks amplify their message and increase engagement with his social strategy firm Inbound Zombie. He is a non-profit partner to several organizations, frequent contributor to HuffPo, speaker and instructor. When not playing social superhero, Haydon is a well-defined parent (“childhood creator”, as he refers to it) and attributes his pivot to do social good to his son.

45.    Ann Handley– The Internet is full of marketing tips, if you know who to tap into. A marketing guru with “cool glasses” (in her own words), Handley writes for a variety of publications including MarketingProfs, Mashable and HuffPo. She’s a veteran relationship builder who has co-authored several best –sellers on topics ranging from blogs and podcasts to engaging customers in a social world.

44.    Josepf Haslam– Marketing fan-favorite, Haslam believes in the power of SEO analytics across a broad range of marketing efforts. With an acute knowledge of the industry, Haslam tweets and blogs prolifically and was awarded a ‘Best of the Best’ prize by Alltop.  He spearheads business development for DragonSearch, an Internet marketing company, and leverages his extensive knowledge of SEO, Mobile SEO,  Branding and more for his clients’ every need.

43.    Glen Gilmore– A practicing attorney and Adjunct Professor of Digital and Social Media Marketing & Law at Rutgers University, Gilmore isn’t your average marketing advisor. Thoroughly versed in the dynamic and evolving Internet landscape, he serves as Principal at his social media consulting firm, Gilmore Business Network, where he advises clients on their social marketing and public relations. He also shares a treasure trove of information on his Twitter feed which boasts over 100,000 followers.

42.    Peg Fitzpatrick– Defining herself as a ‘connector’ and ‘positive vibe producer’, Fitzpatrick has made her mark serving as a director of marketing and social media in the private sector. Her initiatives and enthusiasm consistently earn her kudos from fellow bloggers and digital engagers. Fitzpatrick started the monthly #MyBookClub chat for those interested in reading and discussing the likes of Guy Kawasaki with (who else?) Kawasaki himself.

41.    Steve Olenski– Olenski stays ahead of the social curve when it comes to advertising and marketing. A prolific freelance writer whose work can be read on Forbes, BusinessInsider and AdWeek, Olenski formerly served as Creative Director of Star Group where he developed content across all digital platforms. He has created and developed for a variety of creative media outlets (including a Super Bowl ad) which have left an indelible mark on his progressive, forward-thinking outlook. 

40.    Walt Mossberg– Technology Columnist for the Wall Street Journal isn’t a small gig by any means. Mossberg has been a leading reporter in the tech sector for decades and his work doesn’t stop at WSJ. He serves as the co-Executive Editor of All Things Digital with Kara Swisher and writes additional columns elsewhere. He is the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Rhode Island and it is said that there is no one more influential in the successes and failures of the tech industry (earning him the moniker “Kingmaker” by Wired). 

39.    Cheryl Burgess– Winner of two Twitter Shorty Awards in Marketing (something like the Academy Awards of the micro-blogging site), Burgess co-founded Blue Focus Marketing with her husband, Mark. The social media power couple know their way around PR, brand strategy, crisis management and B2B marketing. She is a syndicated blogger, speaker and co-author of Ad Agencies Winning New Business 360.

38.    JD Lasica– Founding SocialMediaBiz, Lasica has decades of experience in consulting and marketing. He was an early adopter and advocate of social media and is today recognized as a thought-leader in the space. Lasica also embraced the power of Web 2.0 to do good in the non-profit sector, founding the social media consulting group SocialBrite that serves non-profits in a variety of capacities to share insight, increase awareness and engagement.

37.    Adam Schefter– Know someone who participates in Fantasy Football? Read Sports Illustrated much? Watch ESPN? If you or someone you live does any of the aforementioned, you no doubt know who Adam Schefter is. An ESPN commentator, he edges out veteran analyst Chris Mortensen (also on this list) as a fan-favorite NFL insider in recent polling… all the more impressive considering Schefter appears on cable T.V. with half the audience. Given the frequent relay of his insider knowledge (from the latest trades to injuries, quotes and other news), it’s little wonder he now boasts 1.2 million Twitter followers. And when some of those fans include other big names in the social space(ehem, Robert Scoble), you might want to see what Schefter is doing right… or you might just want the latest NFL updates.

36.    Jeff Bullas– Consultant. Speaker. Mentor. YouTube aficionado. Blogger. Australia’s native son. You name it, Bullas does it all- and with gusto. If you, like so many, need to optimize your company’s social success you might want to wander over to Bullas’ blog (along with 100,000 other monthly users) where he regularly offers his tried and true guidance to a worldwide audience.

35.    Dharmesh Shah– Software entrepreneur Dharmesh Shah makes our list as co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, an all-in-one marketing software platform for small and medium sized enterprises. Shah is also an avid investor in the Internet space and regularly shares his thoughts on the state of the startup industry at his blog, OnStartups.

34.    Chris Brogan– Brogan is a New York Times bestselling author and speaker who puts his knowledge of digital media to unique use. As President of Human Business Works, Brogan works closely with large corporations to implement social media strategies that make a difference. If judging on clients alone, he’s helped some big fish like Microsoft, Ford and Cisco. Brogan is also well-noted for co-founding PodCamp, a crowd sourced gathering of new media stakeholders who participate in so-called ‘unconferences’ at cities around the world from the U.S. and Canada to the U.K., Australia and  Denmark.

33.    Jolie O’Dell– Technology journalist (a nom de plume in case you’re wondering), got her big break covering the tech industry for Mashable. Today, O’Dell covers the sector for VentureBeat and offers up her decade’s worth of insight and a healthy dose of computer literacy (she’s a computer science student in her spare time). From web startups and mobile apps to conversations with Vint Cerf (yes, that Vint Cerf) and more, O’Dell dishes up multiple articles each day to keep you in the know.

32.    John Batelle– What do you get when you mash up a co-founding editor of Wired Magazine, professor, publisher and best-selling author? Someone who would be named John Batelle, Chairman of Federated Media Publishing. Founding and presiding over the next-gen publishing house, Batelle continues to disrupt the space by leveraging the digital ecosystem, building conversation around a product and measuring engagement. In his free time, you can be sure to find him dishing his prolific thoughts to any number of media outlets and making the conference rounds. You might also catch him receiving any number of awards, most recently from the World Economic Forum as ‘Global Leader for Tomorrow’.

31.    Wendy Tan White– Veteran founder in the digital space, Tan White founded Moonfruit, the UK’s number one website builder making significant inroads in the U.S. market. She is a mentor with 500startups, a startup accelerator program, and leverages her extensive experience to guide new companies in business development, e-commerce, design, PR, fundraising and more. 

30.    Jessica Northey– Digital cowgirl Northey knows a thing or two about how to get a job done. Founding digital consulting group Finger Candy Media, she is Nashville’s go-to lady for branding country music stars in a consumer-driven, social world. Northey offers tips and tricks from her blog and consistently cracks into those slightly annoying ‘Top Lists’ (oh, wait…). She is one lady to reckon with if you’re in dire straits and need of a social media facelift.

29.    Chris Pirillo– How do you categorize a tech geek-turned-blogger-turned-author-turned-TV show host-turned-media personality that is a self-promoting genius? We’ll put him right here under media influencers, where Pirillo shines. Previously with TechTV (now G4), he’s been among the most subscribed-to YouTubers offering the latest looks at technology in a quirky yet relevant way and big name sponsors like Microsoft and PayPal have longed placed their ads front and center on his channel. A frequent guest on CNN, Pirillo isn’t for the Internet novices, but his intimate knowledge of the tech sector makes him a must-watch for industry vets, developers, geeks and aficionados.

28.    Carri Bugbee– An acclaimed social media expert and frequent guest speaker, Bugbee may be best known for her Twitter-adaptation of Peggy Olson, the determined ladder-climber at Sterling Cooper in AMC’s Mad Men series. Tweeting (anonymously) as Olson, Bugbee won thousands of followers and support for Olson’s character while taking home a 2009 Shorty Award for herself. She is the Founder and President of Big Deal PR and is an active member in the Pacific Northwest’s regional social media circles, founding Portland’s Social Media Club which promotes excellence in the industry.

27.    Josh Bernoff– Bernoff knows social technology like few others. As a best-selling author of Businessweek’s Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies (2008), he leverages his acumen developed as a senior researcher at Forrester Research to identify and develop forward-thinking strategies. A frequent columnist for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Bernoff writes for several marketing trade publications in addition to various white papers (the latest including a look at competitive strategy in the age of the consumer).

26.    Liz Gannes– If there was ever a journalist who ‘got’ social media, its Gaines. Previously writing for GigaOm and covering Silicon Valley, Gannes now serves as Senior Editor with AllThingsDigital and keeps refining her style while bringing readers the latest information from the social web.

25.    Lady Gaga– Really? Do we need to explain this one? Gaga’s got nearly 18 million Twitter followers and counting. She’s big… really big. Sure, we could have put her at the number one spot, but that would be redundant. That said, she ranks behind no one in celebrity status on Twitter (and on how she can pull off sporting meat).

24.    Tony Hsieh– Author Tony Hsieh has some 2 million Twitter followers. 2 million. Not bad for a CEO, even when you’re steering the mega-liner Zappos. His book, Delivering Happiness, has created something of a cottage industry around itself with speaking engagements, social media campaigns, blogs and numerous employees who help Hsieh take his message of finding happiness on the road (and on a computer or mobile device near you).

23.    Kevin Pho, M.D.– It’s tough to be a trailblazer in any industry, let alone in healthcare but Dr. Pho is just that. Considered the leading physician voice in social media today, Pho blogs at his site KevinMD and is a contributor to USA TODAY. He tweets prolifically and passes along the latest healthcare research. He also makes the rounds at healthcare conferences, discussing the ways in which providers can utilize social platforms to connect with and inform patients.

22.    Loic Le Meur– Serial entrepreneur and a World Economic Forum ‘Young Global Leader’, Le Meur is a transplanted Frenchman and a Silicon Valley staple whose savvy business skills in the industry make him a budding industry icon. Founded Seesmic (a social media app), he also co-founded the #1 annual tech event in Europe, Le Web, with his wife Geraldine. He is a frequent keynote speaker and a noted innovator in the space.

21.    Jay Baer– Business leaders can be stubborn, particularly when it comes to embracing social media where metrics and ROI aren’t gauged exactly the same way as their traditional marketing counterparts. Few have been as successful converting the old mindset to the new as Jay Baer, who has guided Fortune500s in their social media strategic planning as an integral component of their overall business strategy. Baer’s consulting firm, Convince & Convert, offers expertise to clients while his newsletter is up for grabs for anyone interested in ramping up their social presence.