AO & Technorati have teamed to host a list of the top 100 people in open media (what others call social media or simply social software). Here's Dave Sifry's preamble: We used to think of “collaboration” in terms of bringing together the people we know, those pre-qualified to fit the task, to sit around a table and hash out, refine and execute ideas. The Internet has become the platform that enables learning and sharing amongst millions of people, escalating collaboration—and ultimately progress—to exponential levels.
Yes, this is an A-list with a big echo. But consider the alternative: a secret editorial process heavily influenced by ad and event sponsorship (read: bribes). So, here are my nominations in each category:
The Pioneers Founding Fathers: industry luminaries who created the vision of open media and continue to shape it.
- Dan Gillmor
- Clay Shirky
- Joi Ito
- Doc Searls
- And yes, Dave Winer
The Tool Smiths: web service entrepreneurs and companies building the open media tools (blogs, social software, wikis, RSS, analytic tools, etc.).
- The Trotts
- Peter Kaminski
- Joshua Schachter
- Stuart Butterfield
- Greg Reinacker
The Trendsetters: the influencers driving and evangelizing the adoption and applications of Open Media.
- Liz Lawley
- John Battelle
- David Weinberger
- Steve Gillmor
- Robert Scoble
The Practitioners: the top bloggers in politics, business, technology, and media.
- Slashdot
- BoingBoing
- Kos
- Jeff Jarvis
- John Battelle
The Enablers: the venture capitalists and investors backing the Open Media Revolution.
- Reid Hoffman
- DFJ
- Omidyar Network
- Venture Blog
- Esther Dyson
I'd nominate Joi as an Enabler too, but I'm out of votes -- the important point is the role of the new Angels. Sorry Sifry, it's your list, you can't be on it. I think Marc Canter helped AO come up with the Open Media nomenclature, so he is similarly disqualified by association. Even if I could nominate 100 it wouldn't be enough (folks like Ev, Jeff Jarvis, danah, Jerry Michalski, Kevin Werbach...). And while I can't point to a Founding Mother (the sixth Father on my list is Tim O'Reilly) -- there are plenty of great women driving this industry today.
UPDATE: Upon feedback, the first category was changed by Sifry.
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