A September 2008 study from Universal McCann described a “new influencer landscape,” characterized by three trends: the rise in social media, the importance of digital friends, and the proliferation of influencer channels. According to the study, the impact of this phenomenon is threefold: an influence economy, the democratization of influence and the rise of the “super influencer.” While that might be a little philosophical for your average Web worker, it is clear that few have anticipated the meteoric rise of consumer generated content and social media. However, due to some growing pains (no practical business models) and mistakes caused by youthful over-exuberance, social media content is still considered by many to be in its infancy.

The use of social media does raise many questions for the population of Web workers and the Internet businesses that support them. Which sites are most important? What sort of time commitment should be made? How do we monitor our successes and failures? These questions and others are asked each and every day as those within the social media landscape learn from their collective experiences.

This edition of Website Magazine features 50 of the top social media resources available on the Internet. While you may find some of your favorite micro-social networks absent from the list, keep in mind that this is one sample from the overall behavior of one subset of the entire Web population. The list does, however, provide a valuable look as to where the mass of social Web users spend their time, sharing content and visiting sites in droves. Research for this report comes courtesy of Ranking.com, the Web’s largest provider of website popularity metrics and detailed website information on more than one million online destinations. To suggest a Top50 category for consideration in upcoming issues of Website Magazine, please visit us online or email Top50@WebsiteMagazine.com.

Website Magazine promised 50 more top social media resouces.