As soon as the Time Magazine revealed its annual TIME 100 which lists the most influential people in the world, I got the curiosity about who among of them are in the world of tech. While hearing or saying the word "influential" makes me think of Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates who are not just influential but also among the richest in their own generation, I was a little bit surprised to find out that most them who made it in the top list are completely unknown to me . But I feel happy now as my little research helped me to learn more information about them and so they are just no more a "somebody".
The man behind khanacademy.org, a free online education platform and non-profit organization, Salman Khan is an educator by profession who, through his Academy, wants to give every kid a free, world-class education. The khanacademy.org has over 3,000 short lessons that allow kids to learn at their own pace. Students can practice exercises and allow them to go back to the pertinent video when they're having trouble. The site has a detailed dashboard for teachers who use Khan Academy in their classrooms.
We may haven't noticed them but the passion, efforts and contributions they have given to their works have amplified productivity in the field of technology and helped and also inspired many people around and beyond them. And just as Jeremy Lin who was named the most influential people this year at the deserved number 1 spot, these people in the world of tech are all well-deserved to be part of the prestigious list.
#4 SALMAN KHAN (Educator)
His Khan Academy channel on Youtube has attracted 321,388 subscribers and has an outstanding 144, 016,152 views as of this April.
He has been previously featured and recognized in numerous online publications including The Colbert Report, PBS NewsHour, CNN and National Public Radio. He also received the prestigious Microsoft Tech Award for Education on 2009 and became part of Fortune's annual "40 under 40" list on 2010.
#15 BEN RATTRAY (Organizer)
Founder and CEO of change.org, Ben Rattray continues to change the world and influence more people through his petition platform. His disclaimer on his profile page in the site reads:
"I started this journey because I had little way of translating my passion for a cause into effective action, and I hope we can deepen engagement in social issues and empower people to make a difference in their communities and the world around them."
Moreover, the goal of Change.org according to him is to "change the balance of power between individuals and large organizations."
From a social networking site for activists to a blogging platform then transforming to a petition platform, Change.org is eyeing for a widely group of audience by expanding into other countries making its website available for different languages.
"I started this journey because I had little way of translating my passion for a cause into effective action, and I hope we can deepen engagement in social issues and empower people to make a difference in their communities and the world around them."
Moreover, the goal of Change.org according to him is to "change the balance of power between individuals and large organizations."
From a social networking site for activists to a blogging platform then transforming to a petition platform, Change.org is eyeing for a widely group of audience by expanding into other countries making its website available for different languages.
#24 Henrik Schärfe (Inventor)
A Professor, PhD and Director of Center for Computer-mediated Epistemology in Aalborg University, Henrik Schärfe became an inspiration and influenced many of his co-inventors when his Geminoid-DK named Doppelgänger start appearing on youtube and during the TED conference.
His cool but creepy android was formed from his creative point of view that will make people uneasy enough to think about the role of technology in their lives and the boundaries between humans and machines.
Anonymous, due to their brave protests, has been included in numerous enemies list including Arab dictatorships, the Vatican, banking and entertainment firms, the FBI and CIA, the security firm Stratfor and even San Francisco's BART transport system.
His cool but creepy android was formed from his creative point of view that will make people uneasy enough to think about the role of technology in their lives and the boundaries between humans and machines.
#36 Anonymous (Hackers)
The next influential figure who made it in the list is not a 'person' in particular but a name that represents a group of fearless hacktivist which has been very controversial recently because of their widely-publicized protests including The Pirate Bay, Megaupload and SOPA to name a few, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Anonymous is indeed, the world's most famous hackers and definitely one of the most influential figure in the web.
As described by Chris Landers through the Baltimore City Paper, "Anonymous is the first Internet-based superconsciousness. Anonymous is a group, in the sense that a flock of birds is a group. How do you know they're a group? Because they're traveling in the same direction. At any given moment, more birds could join, leave, peel off in another direction entirely."
Anonymous, due to their brave protests, has been included in numerous enemies list including Arab dictatorships, the Vatican, banking and entertainment firms, the FBI and CIA, the security firm Stratfor and even San Francisco's BART transport system.
#37 Pete Cashmore (Social News Guru)
In his very young age, 19, Pete Cashmore created his blog, Mashable way back in 2005 at Aberdeen Scotland. Today, the Scottish-American news website and Internet news blog is already one of the primary sources of timely and relevant news and information about the latest around the web primarily in social media, developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets.
Mashable's immense popularity allowed Pete to achieve greater achievements that made him extremely influential in and out of the web. He was one of the Inc's "30 under 30" and Forbe's "Top 25 Web Celebs" and was also included in The Huffington Post's Top 10 Game Changer, all these recognition was achieved on 2009.
The goal behind Mashable is that Pete wanted to be part of the conversation about technological change and Mashable gave him a voice. Today, it gives voice to millions who are trying to make their lives better through digital innovation.
Mashable's immense popularity allowed Pete to achieve greater achievements that made him extremely influential in and out of the web. He was one of the Inc's "30 under 30" and Forbe's "Top 25 Web Celebs" and was also included in The Huffington Post's Top 10 Game Changer, all these recognition was achieved on 2009.
The goal behind Mashable is that Pete wanted to be part of the conversation about technological change and Mashable gave him a voice. Today, it gives voice to millions who are trying to make their lives better through digital innovation.
