We are well into 2017 and already the lists are being released. What lists, you ask? You know… the ones that rate people for the amount of social influence they have. It’s pretty funny to not appear on some lists and be at the top of others. Ultimately, influence is something that is very difficult to measure due to the different ways people influence. While it’s always an honor to have recognition, nothing in these lists should really change what we do or how we do it. Just do you and at the end of the day, be happy with who you are and what you’ve done. The truth is that while these lists are designed with measurements in mind, there is an ulterior motive in creating them… driving traffic to the list creator’s product, service and/or site. Three years ago, I compiled a list of the Top 50 Social Media Influencers of 2014 for three reasons. 1) It’s easy to get focused on our own stuff. But I am surrounded by so many amazing people that I want to share some of them with you. Connecting awesome people with other awesome people is one of my favorite things to do. 2) I wanted to demonstrate that I could easily create a list based on my own highly scientific algorithm. Essentially, I added together the number of followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google +; factored in the number of likes, comments and shares on each platform; checked to see how much traffic you got to your website; and multiplied that result by the number of times you mention “bacon” in your posts. Then I toss that number in the circular bin because it doesn’t really mean anything. After going through the motions of pretending to be scientific, I use the simple formula of “X = Who Influences Me?” It’s my list, after all. 3) I wanted more traffic to my website. You’re here, so I guess it worked. Linkbait is alive and well! So here we are in 2017 and I realized that it’s time once again to provide an updated list of the people in my sphere who have influenced me, in both large and small ways. If you appeared on the 2014 list, you won’t appear here a second time. It’s not that you aren’t influential in my life. It’s that I’ve already praised you for your wonder and beauty. Don’t be greedy. If you aren’t on the 2017 list, you may have been on the 2015 or 2016 list that never got written. Do you have any idea how long it takes to compile these lists? I did, however, think about you. And I think about you every night when I lay my head on my pillow. After I eat the mint left there by my imaginary housekeeper. Or, perhaps you’ll be on a future list. If you get your feelings hurt over not being on this list please go outside and play. I love all my friends. If you have any doubt about this, send me a message on Facebook and ask me what I think of you. I’ve got a chatbot set up to reply with “You’re #1 in my book!” and “I never stop thinking about you!” So, without further ado, here is my Top 50 Social Media Influencers of 2017 list. They are NOT in any particular order. But if Travis Wright wanted to say he was #1 in my list, I guess he could technically do so. Whatevs. I don’t care… tell people whatever you want. It’s the Internet! The bottom line is I am sharing awesome people with you. And THAT, my friends, is the point of social media. So get ready to meet some great people who influence ME in unique and special ways. You should get to know them! Let’s do this… 1. Travis Wright He’s an author. He’s a marketer. He’s a columnist. He’s a podcaster. He’s a technologist. He’s a speaker. He’s a consultant. Good grief, what doesn’t Travis do? He goes by the name T-Dub to many of his friends, but most of all he’s just a super-nice nerd who is as passionate about tech, digital and social as I am. He also likes people… especially people with a digital sense of humor. 2. Scott Smith – Are you looking for a swift kick to your attitude? Scott Smith is just the guy to deliver it! As the Chief Motivating Officer at Motivation to Move, Scott hosts the highest-rated motivational podcast in the world. His daily show has received over 20 million downloads. That’s a lot of motivation! Scott’s also a giver. I’ve experienced his kindness first-hand. 3. Vincenzo Landino Another from the millennial marketing rat pack, Vincenzo is savvy with digital and is most certainly a rising star. Along with his business partner and soon-to-be bride, Amy Schmittauer (featured in my 2014 list and affectionately known to me as Schmitty Schmitt Schmitt-Pants), Vincenzo runs AfterMarq, a broadcast & media production company. I first encountered Vincenzo on the now-defunct Blab (may it rest in peace) where we co-hosted the weekly BlabTalk Live talk show. Ah, those were the days… 4. Mark Schaefer He’s the author of multiple best-selling books including The Content Code and The Tao of Twitter (which happens to be a far more scholarly book on Twitter than my own Twitter Power). He’s also an internationally known speaker. Mark is a college educator (on faculty at Rutgers), but he’s also one of the nicest guys you could get to share a meal with. If I was able to place animal qualities on people, I’d have to put Mark in the teddy bear category. Try to hug him… you’ll see. Oh, he’s got a new book out called Known! 5. Virginia Salas Kastilio From the “Distinctly Amazing Human Being” file comes my friend Virginia. Most know her on Snapchat and in other social places as @GiniCanBreathe. She’s bold. She’s audacious. She’s entertaining. […]
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