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AlwaysOn and Technorati are pleased to present the first annual "Open Media 100,"  the power list of bloggers, social networkers, tool smiths, and investors leading the Open Media Revolution. If you fancy Vanity Fair's  annual New Establishment list of the media and IT titans who matter (like we didn't already know), you might think of the Open Media 100 as the new, new establishment - people you may not know but probably should. Although many of these folks may never grace the pages of the high-gloss pubs, they will most certainly be keeping an independent eye on those who do. As we've all witnessed, this is already happening. Both Dan Rather and CNN news chief Eason Jordon were handed their walking papers after being busted by bloggers.
The purpose of this list is to provide an initial, helpful framework of this emerging industry and highlight its key players who are influencing the adoption of open media and proving the impact it is already having on the technology industry, journalism, and marketing. To achieve this goal, we created the following categories: Pioneers, Trendsetters, Practitioners, Toolsmiths, and Enablers. We combined both a subjective and objective process, including nominations from bloggers, surveys, and measurable data using Technorati's blog search engine, which tracks more than 11.5 million weblogs and over 1.2 billion links. We respectfully acknowledge that the list represents our best educated guess in a fast-changing and fluid market. There are obviously many other folks one could persuasively argue should be included (hence our 50 honorable mentions list). And we admit that there was no way we could do justice on this list to the many great open media contributors operating outside of the U.S. who did not pop up on our radar screen.
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This list will evolve and change just as quickly as the Open Media Revolution continues to take hold. To our comrades we over-looked, don't fret. In the spirit of the revolution, we have posted this list on AlwaysOn, so that people we might've missed can stand up and be accounted. So, let us have it.
We would especially like to acknowledge and honor the early pioneers: Christoper Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger, who co-authored The Cluetrain Manifesto, open media's Declaration of Independence; Rebecca Blood, who wrote early on about the nascent phenomenon in The Weblog Handbook; and Hugh Hewitt, the author of Blog:Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World. These individuals were critical in establishing the cultural foundation for the movement. These pioneers, and the many others who followed, realize that open media isn't simply about blogs; it's about empowering people to find each other and interact using the connective power of the internet. The Open Media Revolution has always been (and will continue to be) about how to openly share information, collaborate, socialize, and join forces to make this world a better place.
The above post is an excerpt of the feature story in the current issue of AlwaysOn's new quarterly print blogozine. Other features include reflections on seven Chinese sins that might start a revolution, dining & dishing with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and a remarkable survey of 20 twenty-year olds from China and Japan. If you would like to get this issue (and have not yet signed-up), become an AO Insider by clicking here. If you want to buy single copies of this issue, contact Anna Maloney via email anna@alwayson-network.com or phone 415.751.0170.
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Member Comments
hi Tony,
that is really a good idea!
but how you want to convert that?
Because I have the same doubts as Christoph Jaggi:
How do you define and distinguish between pioneers, trendsetters, practitioners, toolsmiths and enablers?
Simply BS. This is just a list of the usual players and big bloggers. Example: no mention of new trend setting scientific websites (like PLOS--Public Library of Science), no mention of science or medical bloggers. We are not trend setters? BS! For our readers, we are. For script writers, like yourself, we aren't
This is a great first-step. I'm going to assume that this list is going to undergo dramatic changes from week-to-week, just like the old Top 40 radio playlists. The internet is such a driving foirce of change I cannot imagine the list being "static" unless I'm off base, overestimating the power of the Net to drive CHANGE.
As an agnostic resource that leverages Everyman's voice through our Online Visibility Engine, I'd be interested in seeing more of the business model leaders who are modifying current open-source and freeware models, and finding profits within (especially those gritty bootstrappers who have done it through sheer force of will).
Wyatt Starnes' TripWire is an elegant model (as Wyatt says (loosely translated): "We found an existing base of over a million downloads, a great name we could brand, and some ingenious technologies, and wrapped support and technical integrity around it... for an easy to digest cost. That's the "genius" of Tripwire".
Our own firm has taken a similar tack and said: "we'll develop the very best of class online visibility and distribution components into a unified engine. Pay what you can, and we assure you you'll get more bang for your buck (aka Online distribution) than anywhere in the Public Relations world. That's what we call Fair Commerce". That's PRWeb.
SixApart is another great leader in this high-value, low-cost model (good to see them listed twice above). Without their TypePad, LiveJournal, Movable type and other platforms, many of this years list would fail to exist in their present form.
Others that definitely deserve some merit are:
* Yahoo's store technology (the very best and most elegant off the shelf shopping cart in the industry).
*iStockPhoto, for bringing the cost of truly professional Stock imagery out of the stratosphere and into the hands of anyone.
*Ken Evoy and his SiteSell.com program. As an Alexa 200 site, he has built a dynasty by assuring neophyte and expert users all gain success by folowing the golden rules of commerce: traffic, a sales process, and the classic Joe Sugarman/Drew Kaplan conversational writing style that continues to outsell nearly every other approach.
I understand how difficult assembling this list must have been... and look very forward to next years results. My hat is off to you for risking the arrows to get this thing started. Talk about trying to nail down a moving target!
Thanks for a consistantly phenomenal product (and Yes, I still miss The Industry Standard...;-)
Next year we are going to create a wiki about four months before publication of the OM 100 list and really stir it up. My guess is the make-up of this list will alter fairly dramatically, as more entrepreneurs and investors jump in and new sectors, such as the scientific websites noted below, mature and gain influence.
Hi echocardiography - Indeed, as you noted, there are no science nor medical bloggers included as trendsetters or practitioners. This first year, inaugural list is largely based on Technorati's search engine rankings and measurable data which is mostly dominated by political, technology, and media oriented blogs, as well as input from open nominations from bloggers. Next year's list will look very different - we will also initiate an open process to select the categories, criteria, topic focus, to guide the nominations of the 2006 Open Media 100. Including science and medical bloggers is a great idea, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. Your input helps us to improve the process.
Simply BS. This is just a list of the usual players and big bloggers. Example: no mention of new trend setting scientific websites (like PLOS--Public Library of Science), no mention of science or medical bloggers. We are not trend setters? BS! For our readers, we are. For script writers, like yourself, we aren't.
Rich, forget the reporter for the major newspaper... i can see how he's confused. For the most part they make up the subjects and names - look at the Mike Barnacle of the B Globe.
Hell with that ... I want to podcast with everyone on that list... www.PodTech.net
This is the first year of the list, entirely unranked. so any movement will only become apparent in next year's list at the earliest. We'd like to hear what people haev to say about which metrics to use in ranking (there are lots of potentials).
There's a massive differnce between multimedia and blogging. Multimedia was done by few, with a huge audience (essentially broadcast), while blogging is many-to-many. That's what matters.
Rich Seidner | POSTED: 06.22.05 @22:00 | I rated this blog: [5]
I'm a reporter for a major newspaper, and I'm writing an article on the New Media. I'm a little confused and hope someone can help me out.
How will I be able to tell whether someone is (frankly) moving up on the list or moving down? Are any of those on the list showing their age, so to speak?
I'm glad I was already familiar with some of the names on the list, but some I wasn't and they're quite interesting. Thanks for the helpful list.
P.S. Can I just re-write the columns I wrote during the MultiMedia Revolution, re-purposing my old content for the new revolution? Or, are there major differences between multimedia and blogging?
I agree with poster Ed. The value of good blogs is their evanescence: intense conversations that flare up, generate much heat and not a little light, and then disappear forever.
As with a floating crap game or dance party, it matters not where the event takes place. It's about the network, not the blogger.
Great list! Certainly some of the early players in the "Open Media Space"
I am curious, I've heard reference to Open Media, Open Source Media, Participatory Media, Citizen Journalism, rumors of a GoingOn network. How are all these things differentiated if at all?
1) the list focuses on blogs in english and thus is not representative for the global market
2) How do you define and distinguish between pioneers, trendsetters, practitioners, toolsmiths and enablers? Looking for example at Dave Winer, there is no question that he fits all those categories.
I'm a little suspicious of lists like this, particularly when it comes to open or social media, where we're all trying hard to move beyond broadcast mode and engage in real dialogues. But that's the beauty of the medium--even a list of heavy hitters like this, to have any credibility in this space, has to open itself up to criticism.
I don't mean to sound churlish--I've learned a great deal from some of the folks on this list, and I respect their contributions immensely. But the essence of open/social media is its emphasis on (small "d") democratic access and the innumerable conversations that result.
Even as we pay our respects to the people who've made all this possible, we should resist the impulse to see them as broadcasters and remain determined to put their tools to our own ends.
slashdot
Thousands flee Chinese danger city
AlwaysOn and Technorati are pleased to present the first annual "Open Media 100,"  the power list of bloggers, social networkers, tool smiths, and investors leading the Open Media Revolution. If you fancy Vanity Fair's  annual New Establishment list of the media and IT titans who matter (like we didn't already know), you might think of the Open Media 100 as the new, new establishment - people you may not know but probably should. Although many of these folks may never grace the pages of the high-gloss pubs, they will most certainly be keeping an independent eye on those who do. As we've all witnessed, this is already happening. Both Dan Rather and CNN news chief Eason Jordon were handed their walking papers after being busted by bloggers. 
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