Visionaries
#5 Ben Silbermann
The Pinterest CEO is one of a select crew of C-Suiters redefining digital leadership
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The Newsweek Power Index - The Daily Beast
The Newsweek Daily Beast Digital Power Index
In two short decades, the Internet has changed almost everything about the way we live: The way we communicate, the way we shop, the way we read, the way we love, the way we fight, the way we play. So, too, the people shaping and changing the world are a breed apart from the old ruling class. Moguls, Masters of the Universe, military despots…your time has come and gone. The geeks have inherited the earth!
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Innovators
#6 Salman Khan
Among the pioneers breaking new ground is the creator of educational game-changer Khan Academy
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Evangelists
#6 Marissa Mayer
As a leading face of Google, she's an expert at generating excitement for her company's products
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Angels
#6 Peter Thiel
The Clarium Capital honcho is among tech’s top talent scouts with deep pockets and the uncanny ability to pick winners
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Personalities
#8 Daniel Tosh
With enthralling offensiveness, the Comedy Central host is erasing the lines between branding, merchandising and self-promotion
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Revolutionaries
#1 Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder is one of the rambunctious anti-authoritarians creatively subverting the status quo.
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Builders
#3 Bram Cohen
The man who built BitTorrent is ranked with the most influential architects of new software, putting the soul in the machines.
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Opinionists
#5 Arianna Huffington
With The Huffington Post, the editor and commentator is among the most influential voices online
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Navigators
#6 Alec Ross
Promoting anti-censorship world-wide, he’s one of the public servants defining digital regulatory boundaries
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Virologists
#5 Ben Huh
The Cheezburger Network CEO is one of the digital town criers among the leaders of impeccable curation and promotion of viral content
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The Top 100 Lists
To honor these digerati, we took a cue from that Tinseltown institution–the Oscars–and let peers nominate and vote for their fellows for outstanding performances in their individual digital fields. We call it The Newsweek Daily Beast Digital Power Index, our first-ever collection of the 100 most significant players in 10 fields across the rapidly-expanding digital universe. And taking another cue from the Academy, we’ve also named our own Life Achievement Award winners.
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Methodology
To compile the Digital Power Index, Newsweek/The Daily Beast convened ten panels of experts to nominate their peers based on their influence during the last year. Nominees were then scored by the panelists using three measures for influence: reach, impact and innovation. We also partnered with social-data firm Spot Influence to evaluate the winners’ influence on social-media platforms. Ninety percent of the final ranking was determined by each nominee’s expert-peer score, and 10 percent by his/her Spot Influence score.
Read more about the methodology
Who’s Following Whom?
Twitter isn’t the only measure of online connectedness—but it’s a useful way to look at who’s paying attention to whom.
Look Out!
The Internet As Destroyer
Despite the Internet’s power, a government can still shut it down. But rulers quickly discover that doing so harms their own interests.
Power Arrangers
The Geeks Inherit The Earth!
They’ve made billions and toppled regimes. Now they want to rewire your world.
Worlds Collide
A Digital Citizenship Revolution
We don’t get a free pass on bad behavior just because it’s online, says novelist Nick Harkaway. We’ve had the Internet long enough to start taking our life on it seriously.
Counterpoint
Invisible Woman
Who’s missing from this list? All the digital ladies! It’s time to look where we’re not looking.
How We Made the List
Watch as editor Lauren Streib explains the methodology behind our Digital Power Index.
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