In the early days of microblogging, just as Twitter had launched, only three Twitter users were issuing tweets—company founders Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and Jack Dorsey—but now, with more than 100 million Twitter users, there are at least 140 key influencers in the Twittersphere, according to a Web Trend Map from Information Architects.
The Information Architects "Cosmic 140" maps the 140 most influential people on Twitter—ranked by follower count (indicated on the map by the size of the circle) and daily average frequency of tweets. Also on the map is the influencer's Twitter handle, the date of the person's first tweet—which influences how close to the center they are—and what the person first tweeted.
Below, a small section of the full map:
Among Twitter users closest to the center:
- Twitter founders: Evan Williams (ranked No. 60), Biz Stone (No. 68), and Jack Dorsey (No. 80)—who all issued their first tweets on March 21, 2006.
- Mainstream media: CNN Breaking News (No. 3), the New York Times (No. 12), and the Wall Street Journal (50).
- Major brands: JetBlue Airways (90) and Starbucks Coffee (67).
- Other media: Pete Cashmore at Mashable (5), TechCrunch (18), Reddit (136), and Digg (84).
- Marketing gurus: Guy Kawasaki (30), Chris Brogan (47), and Jeremiah Owyang (87).
- Famous people: Barak Obama (1) and Lady Gaga (2).
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See the full Cosmic 140 PDF here.
A printed version of the full map is also available for purchase from Information Architects.
