“A month or so back I published a list of ten social media power influencers.  I’ve been developing the research since then and now have about 150 social media writers and experts in my power list. Below are the top 50.

The list was compiled using PeekYou‘s social pull metric – which, roughly speaking, measures the number of people in your second degree networks who are identifiable and active (see an explanation and some of the criticism of it in this post about the top 10 women influencers).

Last time out there was criticism of the metric – i.e.the list does not depict influence, at best it shows only popularity. I know PeekYou are adapting the algorithm behind their metrics so this list will change in a few week’s time. However this is my list, as of today, the list I am using for the study that I explain briefly below.

In addition I don’t think you can separate popularity from influence in this new media world. To suggest that one is better than the other or to suggest that popularity does not reflect influence seems to me a tricky claim.

I have excluded from this list writers where we have not been able to identify a minimum of 50% of followers as real people. This seemed like a reasonable response to the quality criticism. Everyone on the list has followers who we can identify more often than not, and their followers’ followers similarly have real identities.

This time round the list also excluded people who are only curating content. All the people on this list create content, and the reason is I needed content to analyze. Why?

Because I am doing a study of what the top social media influencers say – asking, what do they actually talk about?

The study is supported by PeekYou who have given me free access to their software, Leximancer, who have allowed me to use their semantic analysis platform for free, and Global Dawn who have met some of my wages while I do the work. Thanks to all.

That analysis is nearly ready – the report is almost done and it’s with an infographic’s specialist so we can do the visualisations before publishing.

In the study I have taken 40 of the top 100 to analyse and collated their blog material up to a total of 50,000 words each dating from December 2011 backwards.

I’ll hopefully have some results ready next week or the week after.

Finally this list excludes people who have very close cross-over, i.e. writers who, by and large, follow people who follow them.

I have also extended the scope of the list by including people whose mission is clearly social media marketing and not just social media as a topic.

Here are fifty social media writers who have very substantial online followings.

#1. Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan - Chris, President of Human Works, has a social pull of 3,019

#2. Ann Handley @marketingprofs. Ann manages the contributory blog at marketingprofs and has a social pull of 2,962

#3. Guy Kawasaki @guykawasaki, former Apple evangelist, with a social pull, 2,651

#4. Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee, video king, with a social pull of 2,332

#5. Scott Stratten @unmarketing with a pull of  2,218

#6. Robert Scoble @scobleizer, long term blogger and trend setter, pull of 2,216

Note how over the course of 6 writers we’ve already descended from 3,000 to 2,000. The next 14 all fit into the 1,000 + band. So there are fewer people in this exceptionally well connected band than in the one to come.

#7. Glen Gilmore @glengilmore of Gilmore business network, with a pull of  1,944

# 8. Liz Strauss @lizstrauss, of Sucessful Blog, social pull 1,827

#9. Jason Falls @jasonfalls, Social Media Explorer, social pull 1,822

#10. Mari Smith @marismith, Facebook expert,  a social pull of  1,806

That’s the top ten. There’s a separation, on average, of approximately 120 points per person at this level. The next ten that gap declines to 45 per person, so a much denser band.

#11. Scott Monty @scottmonty, Ford’s social media champion, with a social pull of 1,776

#12.Renee Blodgett @magicsaucemedia, founder of We Blog The Worldand other sites, 1667

#13. Pam Moore @pammktgnut of Zoom Factor, with a pull of 1,583

#14. Jeff Bullas @jeffbullas with a pull of 1,568

#15. Paul Barron @paulbarron, pull 1,470

# 16. Ted Coine @tedcoine, author of the switchandshift blog, with a pull of 1,468

#17 Brian Solis @briansolis, one of the most respected names in social, with a pull of 1,439

#18. Chris Voss @chrisvoss, of The Chris Voss Show, social pull 1,434

#19. Eve Mayer Orsburn @linkedinqueen, LinkedIn expert, social pull  1,405

#20. SusanCooper @buzzedition with a pull of 1,325

#21. Lori Ruff @loriruff, pull 1,310

#22. Jay Oatway @jayoatway, a specialist in story and influence,1302

#23. Jeremiah Owyang @jowyang of Altimeter Group 1262

#24. Kim Garst @kimgarst, social media and personal branding, 1223

#25. Mike O’Neil @mikeoneilrocks, LinkedIn specialist, 1206

#26. Lori Taylor @lorirtaylor, of Social Caffeine, 1197

#27. Steve Farnsworth @steveology 1185

#28. Neal Schaffer @nealschaffer, of Windmill Networking, 1158

#29. Viveka Von Rosen @linkedinexpert 1123

#30. Jason Yormark @jasonyormark 1077

The gap from here to 40 is on average 17 points.

#31. Marsha Collier @MarshaCollier 1063

#32. Wendi Moore @wendimooreagncy 1051

#33. Chris Abraham @chrisabraham 1014

#34. Yacine Baroudi @fastake 1010

#35. Mark Davidson @markdavidson 985

#36.  Michele Smorgon @maxoz 924

#37. Jeff Jarvis @jeffjarvis 919

#38. Steve Rubel @steverubel 915

#39. Shelley Kramer @shellykramer 894

#40. Christopher Penn @cspenn 892

And for the final 10 the average gap is only 10 points. It seems to me the overall distribution suggests the analysis has validity. It would be worrying if the top two or three were absurdly out of whack or if there was no patter in density down the chain. So here are 41 – 50.

#41. Diane Rayfield @dianerayfield 877

#42. Kristi Hines @kikolani 874

#43. Vicki Flaugher @smartwoman 849

#44. Maz Nadjm @mazi 816

#45. Amy Porterfield @amyporterfield 805

#46. David Meerman Scott @dmscott 792

#47. Laurel Papworth @silkcharm 791

#48 Mark Schaefer @markwschaefer 784

#49. Dede Watson @dede_watson 777

#50.Amber Naslund @ambercadabra 773

I’ll come back with some thoughts on the data later in the week. I will also come back to this once PeekYou launch their new platform in a few week’s time. I’m hoping that the new algorithm will help us to explore inmore detail what differences in influence mean.”

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend.  These are our week’s top stories:

1. This Article Explains Why Apple Makes iPhones In China And Why The US Is Screwed

2. Ad Age’s Agency A-List Issue: 10 Agencies to Watch in 2012

3. McDonald’s Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong McDStories

4. Is your company prepared for the next digital evolution?

5. Who Are The Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers?

6. Advertising watchdog to investigate Snickers Twitter campaign

7. Why Your Business Needs to Be on Google+ Now

8. Facebook Revenue And Profit Numbers Leak Ahead Of IPO Filing Next Week

9. Steve Jobs Kept A Letter From Bill Gates By His Bed As He Was Dying

Cheers
@Mazi

This is the second anniversary post in our series, TwitterPowerhouses, which focuses on the contributions of people who’ve helped to expand, influence, and redefine how we view social networking.

“Twitter’s arrival as a cultural force happened by steps, not a single breakthrough event.” When co-founder Biz Stone uttered those words to the Financial Post, we couldn’t have agreed more. From its big splash at SXSW in 2007 to the first off-Earth tweet from the International Space Station, the success has been exciting. But, there is no doubt that the use of Twitter during protests against Iran’s Presidential Election in 2009 was a huge turning point for the site.

As NPR’s Terri Gross points out,

[Biz] Stone says he first realized that Twitter could be used as a global organizing tool in April 2008, when American graduate student James Buck was arrested while covering anti-government protests in Egypt. On his way to the police station, Buck tweeted one word — “arrested” — to his friends, who were able to call the consulate and Egyptian authorities and help secure his release.

Fourteen months later, when the U.S. State Department asked Twitter to delay a planned network upgrade to help safeguard the rights of Iranians voicing their dissatisfaction over the 2009 presidential election in Iran, condemning both the process and outcome of the election, it was the beginning of what Stone had envisioned. It was a moment Maz Nadjm, a leader and respected member of London’s social media scene, fully embraced the popular social networking site and began to broadcast messages and images to the world in solidarity with the freedom fighters in Iran.

1) You’ve been on Twitter for a number of years and witnessed a number of changes. What are your thoughts on where the site is headed?

Well what I do love about Twitter is that it’s disruptive in a number of ways. As founders of the service have admitted nobody really expected the turnout. Twitter has changed the way many of us communicate, engage with each other, how we find new people and topics to talk about. We see brands and celebrities on the site trying to harness the daily and fast 140 character conversations.

One area that stands out for me is the speed of news breaking out on Twitter. After the Mumbai incidents many news organisations amplified their social media approach, mainly Twitter engagement. As they realised they were behind and simply not fast enough compared to Twitter breaking that event. Second biggest and groundbreaking event was the Iran Election, globally known as the Twitter revolution. Twitter, due to its simplicity and mass audience, allowed the news of repression and horrible violence against peaceful demonstrators to come out from Iran. Suddenly the whole world knew exactly what was happening in that country. Recently we’ve seen the ArabSpring; how revolutions and demonstrations are being organised and communicated through social sites like Twitter.

2) As a member of the education and digital communities, how do you use Twitter to connect with your audience?

I’ve found Twitter extremely beneficial for my professional and personal growth. It is much easier to get in contact with key people. You can now have a one to one chat with anybody on Twitter; it definitely beats any type of cold calling! Another benefit is that you can find like-minded people much quicker, no matter what business or profession you are in.

Thanks to events and speaker opportunities I get to travel a bit. I always end up meeting people I’ve engaged with on Twitter. Recently I was in Dublin, Ireland, and met a lot of twitter friends for the first time face to face. I also organise tweetups and dinners through Twitter giving me the opportunity to meet fantastic people and making new friends.

3) Talk a little bit about TSL Education. People love how it’s impacting lives on a global scale.

Basically it’s about changing the world. Improving education changes kids’ lives, and in turn it changes society for the better. TSL has proven that pooling knowledge leads to radically better lessons, while saving teachers prep time.

We believe by leveling the playing field early in a child’s education you can fundamentally alter their education experience, career prospects and future quality of life. Key to TSL’s vision are teachers, we provide online space where they can share their vast knowledge and maximise learning for greater good.

4) What’s next for you?

I consider myself lucky as I got into social media back in 2003. I started one of the first social networks in the UK and created one of the first social media agencies in the UK in 2006. I’ve advised a number of large companies like Sky News International, Star TV, Chelsea FC and Ogilvy Group UK with global clients. But I always consider myself a student; I’m an avid reader and love to learn. Being a mentor at universities, advisor at start-ups and attending events helps me to keep myself up to date.

I’m currently fascinated by the topic collaborative consumption. It describes old world behaviours, such as lending, exchange, swapping and bartering that are now able to operate at scale, across geographic boundaries enabled by technology. The term was coined by Rachel Botsman whose work has brought together thousands of global innovators and entrepreneurs – all using technology and human ingenuity to develop new ways of sharing, lending and exchanging time, skills and resources.

5) How would you define yourself in 140 characters?

Passionate, early adopter, helper, connector, good listener, advisor, mentor and learner.

To find out more about Maz Nadjm and his new projects, subscribe to his blog, follow him onTwitter, add him on GooglePlus, and friend him on Facebook.

Authors’ Note: In case you missed it, here’s Part 22 of the series: Passionistas

Follow Yasamin Beitollahi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ybeitollahi“

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yasamin-beitollahi/maz-nadjm-on-the-power-of_b_1129530.html

and spoke at this event:

Access to information and freedom are the two overriding benefits I believe mobile technology has bought to people running their businesses.

The average business owner is now better informed than ever before – they can access anything from their cashflow, sales, customer support or pitches, wherever they are.

This has totally freed up the way we work. Location and travel no longer hinder businesses – in fact, they can become advantages. At the same time technology has advanced and become more affordable, so has travel. We can now move travel quickly and cheaply throughout Europe (and further afield) and be as fully connected as if we were in the office.

I won’t go anywhere without my smartphone. I can’t. It’s part of my essentials checklist: keys, passport, wallet, smartphone. If I’ve got my smartphone I know I can manage to do almost anything because I can reach pretty much everything. Social media is very important to me so I need to be able to access all my accounts in a way that’s simple to use, and I use apps that make my life easier or save me time and money. For instance, I’m always on the move so catch meals as and when I can, but usually lose one or two receipts a month – but there’s an app I use called XPNSD that lets me photo my receipts and automatically adds it to my expenses.

The opportunity is far more powerful for others. There’s no reason you can’t run a full e-commerce operation from your mobile, managing the site, your accounts and communicating to your customers. The cloud gives us access to all of this on the go, opening huge opportunities for businesses to improve productivity and change the way they work – they just need to open their minds to it.

Given that a smartphone is essentially a mini computer and most employees have their own computer, I simply don’t understand companies that don’t arm their staff with smartphones. OK, there’s a cost associated but the benefits of giving your staff to the tools they need to trade effectively should easily out weight the outlay.
The smartest companies see this and are also working collaboratively together – from anywhere in the world – to solve common objectives. Mobile technology is bringing the smart players together and I think we’ll definitely see more collaboration between smaller companies in the future.

Make sure you have a device that gives you the freedom to access the information you need anytime (and anywhere) you need it.

SMARTA post can be found here: http://www.smarta.com/blog/2011/11/guest-blog-maz-nadjm-on-how-a-smartphone-is-key-to-business

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/10/what-you-shouldnt-post-on-your-facebook-page-if-you-want-a-job/246093/

Confirmed guests:

@beckysocial , @charlottexana, @Casey_Paul , @heatherAtaylor , @DigitalMisha , @SquirrelLizzie , @katefairhurst ,  @missakis , @_jemima , @keepingdixie , @daren140 , @sophiebr , @colinko , @ilicco , @cward1e , @mattgierhart , @suellewellyn , @DanielMclaren , @klbarber , @vikkichowney , @CupCate, @kimberlymccabe , @robbolina , @Groob , @Sparky,  @jordanstone , @Em_Stone , @aalia , Shelley Bowcher and Matt Wells.

Time: 6.30 – 7 pm
Location: http://bit.ly/nAfHVG

See you all there!
@Mazi

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-time-spent-on-facebook-2011-9