Online Media Cultist

Mike Fruchter, writing on louisgray.com, was kind enough to include me recently on a list of 10 People to Follow On FriendFeed for the Month of December (and man, I received a flood of FriendFeed subscribers over the last week from it!). Not only was it flattering, but it was also gratifying as I spend a great deal of time these days on social media platforms such as FriendFeed (and its amazing tie-in with Google Reader shared items and shared + note) and Twitter.

The “opportunity cost” is that I don’t write as many full length blog posts as I used to, but I think the tradeoff is a positive one in that I’ve pretty much eliminated the dreaded “filler piece.” As a fulltime web producer, it’s really efficient to be able to absorb torrents of information and then quickly share links, thoughts, and notes, and chitchat and pontificate with some of the smartest people on the planet in nearly real time. That in itself is an endorsement for and reason why these products are so popular these days!

In any event, the “Top 10 people to follow on FriendFeed” meme has gained momentum lately. I shared a GROWMAP.COM story on the topic, which prompted its publisher to encourage me to jump in on the action.

And so here we are! Here’s a quick list of 10 people on FriendFeed that can help strengthen your social media powers…

May the (social media) Force be with you.

* Louis Gray – It’s very difficult to deny the power of the Gray, and why should you? He’s a one man social media wrecking crew who is not so quietly compiling a rock star stable of writers on louisgray.com, including the good Mr. Fruchter, Jesse Stay, and Rob Diana. Plus, he shares a ton of great stories and always manages the time for a kind “like,” comment, and word!

* Duncan Riley – Duncan is flat out one smart Australian cat, and always seems to bring the most intriguing and unique stories and takes on the world. His budding online enterprise, The Inquisitr, is also becoming a top must read.

* Mike Fruchter – Mike’s the perfect example of what “smart people networks” can do for you. Tapping into his social media sharing makes your Force forceful!

* Rob Diana – When I head to Google Reader, Rob’s shared stories are one of the very first things I read. It’s really incredible when you think about it, Rob’s become one of my chief news aggregator/curator/filters all by himself!

* Mathew Ingram – Not surprising that some of my favorite bloggers are also my favorites on FriendFeed. Ingram’s a premiere journalist/blogger, and his participation on FriendFeed and Twitter proves that out.

* Robert Scoble – Scoble has grown larger on my social media radar more for his social media activities than his prolific blogging and journalist duties for FastCompany.com. Robert’s pure web and technology evangelist, and well worth your time.

* edythe – For the fun, the interesting, the bizarre, and a refreshing splash of visuals after digging through webby data, edythe always has the hookup.

* Steve Rubel – Rubel is one of the smartest minds out there, so the ability to tap into what he’s thinking, reading, and sharing is well, well worth your time.

* Hutch Carpenter – Yet another world class consumer, analyzer, and distributor of social media information!

* Jason Kaneshiro – I love Jason’s FriendFeed stream as he’s a lot like me in that we both are into tech/web as well as hugely obsessed with television!

There are plenty of other people who make FriendFeed a great experience (Mona N., Shey, Steven Hodson, Cains, Mike Reynolds, and on and on!) but this is a stellar group that will get you started at the least and absolutely strengthen your social media powers. Enjoy!