I originally intended to include this in another post. When I realized the list was going to get very long I decided to split it off. This is a part of my #appreciationfriday that I replaced #ff on Twitter with. Partially inspired by a recent Chris Brogan blog post but also part of my dedication to the Amplify community. I want to let you know, please do not feel bad if you are a friend of mine on Amplify and not on my list. I am starting on the last page of sources which were the first people I followed and picking people that are active and influence me as I work backwards on the list. If the title of my article was confusing I think this will help:
If your name is here, I am paying attention to what you are doing because you do something that helps me discover new ways to do things, inspires me or sometimes entertains me. I hope other people benefit from your information as well:
Dave Grossman – Incredibly personable and part of the Amplify.com team. One of those guys you just want to meet for a beer after reading a few of his posts. Very genuine and fun, I suspect also a good friend of Eric, am I right? One of the very first people I followed on the site.
Flamplog – my Italian friend who never ceases to amaze me with his posts about Social Media, Mobile Phones, Marketing and Web 2.0 apps. He also has some extremely funny posts with a very European tilt.
Eric Goldstein… Inside my head – Eric is the CEO of Amplify.com and definitely the heart of the site. His passion, intelligence and appreciation of conversation are inspiring. He is a must follow and big up and comer in the Social Media industry as the leader of the talented Amplify.com team.
Danielle Ricks Productions – Video Producer, Social Media consultant, aspiring novelist, and blogger living life for the joy and laughter. I really enjoy Danielle’s perspective on many subjects.
Shashi Bellamkonda – Thoughts, Learning & Serving. Shashi’s top tag is “business” and it fits. Shashi is a great guy for business people to follow and plenty of others. Great posts on PR, Social Media, and much more!
Shonali Burke – Great insights on PR/Social Media. I appreciate her distinctive insight on issues that often have a great angle with regards to gender. Informative and enjoyable material.
Delilah Jones – I know Delilah is in marketing/PR but I know her more for her work with Peace4Missing with someone else who will soon be showing up on the list.
Dave Yankowiak – another genuine easy going guy. Extremely talented and capable, Dave was one of the first people I hired to do work from me through social media (unless you count IRC back in the 90’s). I always enjoy Dave’s posts and look forward to working with him on more projects.
There are so many great people on Amplify, I will be adding many more! I would be happy if others did this as well, I am really curious who people follow and why. This really helps me find more quality sources in a world where your sources matter a lot more than your followers.
Updates 8/6/2010
Paul Simbeck-Hampson – Paul is a personal and engaging fellow, he is also a very long standing Amplify.com user that was one of the first people I followed when I joined the site. Paul’s content can be a little eclectic and I enjoy that. Some times you just don’t know what you will find. Visit Paul’s website at simbeckhampson.com.
Daniel Durrant – Daniel is a very erudite individual. He is part of the Open Intelligence group on Amplify.com. I always appreciate Daniel’s perspective on issues and I can count on him to be honest and thought provoking. Visit Daniel’s website at danieldurrant.com.
Ben Jackson – Ben is a real life friend that I am happy joined Amplify.com. I think Ben is a real up and coming person in Social Media, Business, and Life. He’s a great guy to follow and converse with. I am fortunate to work with Ben on a regular basis. Visit Ben’s blog at captainjackson.wordpress.com.
Xan Pearson – Xan was one of my favorite tweeps and I was very happy when she joined Amplify.com. Xan is authentic, bright and produces great quality content. Xan is exceptional at showing appreciation for others and ranks among the most personable people I’ve met via Social Media. Visit Xan’s blog at xanpearson.wordpress.com.
Ramon B. Nuez Jr. I share a lot of interests with Ramon so I frequently recommend and comment on his posts. I get a lot of my #mobile info from his amplog. Also a fellow podcaster, family man and supporter of charitable efforts. You can also check out his companies website at newmediabrief.com.
Warren Whitlock Warren’s posts represent some popular content that I have been missing being less active on Twitter in recent history. Warren is also very passionate about Social Media and offers a lot more commentary per post than most people on Amplify. The extra commentary improves the value of his posts for me. I also know who to talk to if I ever decide to write a book! Check out Warren’s website bestsellerauthors.com.
I didn’t get to everyone I had hoped to this morning, but here are some quick links and expect detail later for: Diane Rayfield, Kathy Jacobs, Tim Southernwood, Svartling, Alcanzarlo, Alex Schleber and many others, hang in there friends I will definitely get you added soon.
Great post and love the image Joe… hope to make the top list one day too 😉
You're already on the list, I just have not worked forward to your name yet! 🙂
Cool… made my weekend 😉 You know what, you really can make friends on networks; can't wait to meet up one day and drink a beer or two…
You absolutely can! I am happy to hear CP from Amplify is going to be out here in the near future. Definitely going to meet up with him. If I make it to your neck of the woods I will give you advanced warning and hope you do the same. I know Eric and the team would love to have Amp-ups.
Amp Ups sound really fun 🙂 I'm game for that in the future…and will definitely look you up if I come across the pond. By the way, in response to the article regarding adding a list of people who are cool, I was thinking about keeping this within Amplify itself. What I mean is our 'Sources', are they not the ones we follow because they provide great content? I think it is very important to review your sources on a regular basis, and even remove some as necessary to ensure that your news-feed remains as contextual as possible. On FB I use lists to target key people with information (this has just been re-organised recently – you will get a mail very soon ;-), on Twitter I #ff, but may also add the tag #appreciationfriday as per your suggestion, so to create another list seems a little heavy. On the other hand, I like the idea of personally adding a commentary about why you like sources – perhaps Eric and co can build this into a rating system on Amplfy. What do you think?
Wow, you have some great ideas Paul. The main thing for me is to show appreciation. I will have to organize it on my blog because I will be doing similar things for a variety of other sources including Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and orgs that I think are “doing it right”. Born out of the spirit of Follow Friday I want to take it a step up and show appreciation. It's very rewarding to me and I also enjoy helping others.
Those are all good reasons 🙂 Also you get to reacquaint yourself with those who you bond with the most. I've reflected on your idea of cross mixing platform appreciation to form a personal list of those key people that are real contributors to your own learning and I'm really warming to it… more reflection, time to walk the dog 🙂
Good post! Inciteful as always!
Thanks Erebus, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, Joe! I wouldn't have come across Amplify if it hadn't been for Shashi, and as you know, I simply love it. Learning from you, Eric, Dave and so many others is a significant part of my day.
There is a great group of supportive super stars leading the way on Amplify, of course it really starts at the top. I've really enjoyed your posts and getting to learn more about you, Sashi and the others. Thanks for the comment.
Great list. At least I am mentioned. Thank you.
Thanks for the heads up Joe…
I do like the the expression 'eclectic' – it fits 😉
For those who, like me, didn't know the word, here is the explanation…
Noun: A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
Btw Joe, I'm currently in a 'rolling stone gathers no moss' phase 😉
Phrase explained…
This translates literally with the stone becoming a person and the moss becoming commitment, problems or anything perceived as negative, trying to gather on the person who in turn keeps moving, preventing problems gathering in the first place.
Hi Svartling – You brought a lot of great energy and quality content when you joined Amplify. I know a lot of other good people joined as a result as well. It's been great learning from your posts!
Your comment is a great example of how you approach things and supports my suggestion 🙂
Thank you for your kind words.
Honored to be included on this list Joe! I would say the same for you. It was because of you that I jumped on Amplify and have found it a great network! I’m just now expanding my sources and this is very helpful. I hope to have more time over the next few months to really delve into it, engage and post more frequently. Thanks again for your kind comments and introducing me to a wonderful venue for me and my clients.
Xan – I was very happy when you started using Amplify! 🙂
I look forward to the ongoing conversations with you. Thanks for your comments.