To be influential in in social media can mean many things. Sometimes it’s all about the numbers -- the sheer volume of followers that one individual can amass is truly staggering, and it can mean that with every Facebook post or Tweet, millions of people have the potential to be swayed by that influence on what to buy or how to vote. But it’s not always just about numbers. The creativity, expertise and unique insight that an influencer shares with his or her community are what truly make them worthy of following. Take a look at who we chose as highly influential in the social sphere in 2011.

1. WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for Leading
Social Media
Influencers
of 2011

2. WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social
Media Influencers of 2011
Picking the top social media influencers of the year is a tough job. We researched
their numbers of followers, their engagement levels, their reach and their overall
mentions using the Sysomos MAP listening tool. We checked their Klout scores,
their Twitter rankings, and their Facebook popularity. We didn’t want to just serve up
the same names as everyone else, so we did our best to find something a little
different.
To deliver that different take, we then looked for demonstrated leadership in unique
areas. A new book or radical move this year helped to catch our eye. Ultimately, we
focused on the people who kept popping up no matter where we looked. Influence is
a holistic thing, so we also zeroed in on people we felt were interesting both online
and off. We hope you will find something you can relate to in our choices—and that
you take the time to follow these online influencers in the year head. You’ll be glad
you did!

3. 1. Chris Brogan
A Rebel with a Cause
Chris shows up on every list we searched.
He’s a well-known social media expert and
best selling author. He was a featured
speaker at the 2011 PRSA International
Conference and he’s one of the top 100
Twitter users in the world. Chris has all the
professional credentials to be considered
top shelf without reservation.
Our personal favorite thing about Chris is
his brazen desertion of Facebook for
Google+. He has even written a new book,
to be released in January, about how to
best use this new social media network.
He is blazing new trails, stepping out in
front of a new development and calling it
like he sees it. We +1 him.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

4. 2. Mari Smith
Pied Piper of the Online World
Mari is mentioned everywhere you turn
on Facebook. She is highly connected,
often retweeted, prolific and engaging.
She travels all over the world speaking
about social media and is perhaps one of
the nicest people you will ever meet.
Mari’s latest book, The New Relationship
Marketing: How to Build a Large, Loyal,
Profitable Network Using the Social Web,
demonstrates her expertise perfectly.
What we think makes Mari such a great
influencer is her zealous advocacy for
the medium. Dubbed the “Piped Piper of
the Online World” by Fast Company, she
lives, breathes and adores social. We
adore her for that, along with millions of
others. You go, Mari!
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

5. 3. Chris Abraham
Because the Medium Is the Message
Chris Abraham is president and COO of
the social media marketing firm Abraham
Harrison LLC. Chris specializes in social
media and technology strategy, online
education, virtual community building, web
publishing and blogging. He came in with
strong Twitter numbers and lots of
mentions within our listening platform.
What we like most about Chris is his
attention to memetics. The memes of our
culture greatly influence us and Chris is
both a student and a master of them. Add
in that he was “found in the company of a
brood of Unicorns and is believed to have
been bred for his skills in magic” (his
words, not ours), and you have a truly
unique 2011 influencer.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

6. 4. Guy Kawasaki
An Enchanting Winner
Guy Kawasaki is a busy man. He’s the
creator of Alltop.com, a media library of
15K+ different blogs and content sources.
He’s a consultant and author of multiple
books. He’s a highly sought after speaker,
and his Twitter account is on fire.
Guy’s latest book, Enchantment: The Art of
Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions,
speaks to a mindset that is so often missing
in social media. Much like one of our
favorites, Gary Vaynerchuk, Guy addresses
the need to be interesting and leverage
factors such as personal charisma in order
to be truly successful in building a social
media following. He certainly practices
what he preaches, if his numbers of
followers and fans are any indication!
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

7. 5. Scott Monty
Rev Your Engines!
Ford Motor Co. must be revved up to
still have Scott Monty helming its social
media as the organization’s global digital
and multimedia communications
manager. Under his guidance, this
classic automobile brand is working
hard to reinvent itself via online
engagement and is finding plenty of
success in doing just that.
Scott has been featured in over 20
books and is revolutionizing the way
enterprise corporations are applying
social media. We admire his tenacity,
energy and drive. Oh, and one final
little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford
Dictionary-accepted term “tweetup.” We
think that certainly is influential!
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

8. 6. Reg Saddler
The Howard Stern of Social?
Reg Saddler, a.k.a. Zaibatsu, came up as
a high-authority, high-relevancy Twitter
source when we queried MAP for "social
media" + "influencer" +"top.” He has a 10
out of 10 authority ranking. He has 150K
+ followers on Twitter. Reg also cohosts a
social media podcast called The Drill
Down. His bio states that he is, “Just a
guy who loves Social Media, Tech,
Business and News.”
Reg is actually a little bit of a bad boy,
having been banned from Digg in 2008
(while being its third all-time highest user
ever). He has edge, is a prolific resource
provider, and doesn’t shy away from the
tough issues.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

9. 7. Neal Schaffer
LinkedIn Connector
Neal has appeared in The Wall Street
Journal, Bloomberg/Business Week and
the American Express Open Forum. He is
an author, speaker and social media
strategy consultant. He demonstrates
strong community and engagement,
because he shares his virtual space by
featuring other writers, as well.
We feature Neal here because of his
consistent devotion to the power of
LinkedIn and his attention to the B2B
social media landscape. He came up high
on queries for “PR 2.0” and “LinkedIn.” His
latest book, Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales
and Social Media Marketing: An Unofficial,
Practical Guide to Selling & Developing
B2B Business on LinkedIn, puts him
squarely into the influencer category.
Check him out.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

10. 8. Brian Clark
Blogger Guru to the Stars
Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger
Media, is a force of nature when it comes
to great blogging. He is also the
consummate social media and blogging
expert among social media experts.
Brian has been featured in books by other
social media elite like Seth Godin, Darren
Rouse, Chris Brogan and more. Daniel
Pink included him in Free Agent Nation.
Brian’s numbers are sky high and his
mentions are prolific. He’s number five on
AdAge’s Power150 Marketing Blogs list,
consistently appearing on the top 10 list
time and time again. As far as blogging
reach within social media goes, Brian is a
a source we RSS.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

11. 9. Rosuflood
Thai Flood Video Heroes
Social media’s power is often manifested
best in the hands of citizens, not social
media gurus or celebrities. We get to see
real life from the streets through them.
Rosuflood is a perfect example of the
unsung yet highly influential social media
hero—two guys, some graphics, a bit of
video and a catastrophic natural disaster.
This series of “I know the flood” videos
has spread like wildfire in a country
devastated by massive flooding in 2011.
They’ve shared information about how to
be safe in a post-flood environment with a
population with low literacy rates,
providing clean water handling tips and
more. As social media influence goes,
video rocks—but video + social good
rocks even better.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

12. 10. Steve Jobs
A Legend Lives On
Influence comes in many forms.
Sometimes it’s your numbers.
Sometimes it’s your creativity.
Sometimes it’s the community you build
around your ideas. Steve Jobs wins on
all of those fronts. We knew a 2011 list
of top social media influencers would
not be complete without mentioning
Steve Jobs.
The social media revolution would not
be what it is today without Steve Jobs.
His influence at the helm of Apple has
turned the branding, communication,
and Internet worlds on their heads. In a
world where PCs once ruled, he
created a cultural ethos based in
creativity and style. If that isn’t
significant influence, we don’t know
what is.
WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social Media Influencers of 2011

13. WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social
Media Influencers of 2011
Influence Is Almost Inexplicable
We could have listed the already well-known superstar influencers, but it seemed
like everyone else had already. While we certainly don’t want to imply that those go-
to influencers are in any way inconsequential, we do love adding our twist to the idea
of influence.
We instead would have liked to feature more grassroots movement leaders for
events like Arab Spring. We see the world pulsating with creativity and crowd
sourcing. We know the numbers are important, but when you can move the hearts
and minds of the world, we can’t resist gravitating towards it. That is influence to us.
We welcome your comments on the top 2011 influencers in the comment section
below …

14. WEB WINNERS
Top 10 Picks for the Leading Social
Media Influencers of 2011
Next on “The Pulse”:
THE PULSE OF 2011: The 10 Best Pulse Spotlights of the Year
THE PULSE:
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