20 Leading Women in Social Media

02 Sep 20 Leading Women in Social Media

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Todd Defren is a real leader in social media marketing; he created the social media release template (in 2006) and is principal at a ground-breaking creative agency SHIFT.

He is also one of my favourite people to follow on Twitter, but last night he riled me up with a link to a less than complete list of “social media marketing leaders”. Why was it less than complete?

As I responded to Defren: “Gross. 2 of 20 are women. This list hardly seems worthy of your retweet; even if you are on it.”

In retrospect, not the nicest tweet ever. But my point stands.

True to form; Todd responded: “Come up with a better list, I'll happily tweet it like crazy.”

In response to the challenge to balance things out; here are twenty women who are social media marketing leaders:

Alexandra Samuel	@socialsignal	www.socialsignal.com
Jacquelyn Cyr	@infiltrators	www.brandinfiltration.com
Eden Spodek	@Bargainista	bargainista.blogspot.com
Tara Hunt	@missrogue	www.horsepigcow.com
Maggie Fox	@maggiefox	www.socialmediagroup.com
Rebecca Bollowitt	@miss604	http://miss604.com
Kate Trgovac	@mynameiskate	www.mynameiskate.ca
Kelly Rusk	@krusk	web2dotwhat.com
Tamera Kremer	@tamera	wildfirestrategy.com
Amber Mac	@ambermac	ambermac.com/
April Dunford	@aprildunford	www.rocketwatcher.com/blog
Paige Freeborn	@paigesaid	paigefreeborn.squarespace.com
Ann Handley	@marketingprofs	www.marketingprofs.com
Charlene Li	@charleneli	www.altimetergroup.com
Laura Fitton	@pistachio	www.pistachioconsulting.com
Amber Naslund	@ambercadabra	altitudebranding.com
Susan Murphy	@suzemuse	www.suzemuse.ca
Alexa Clark	@alexaclark	www.unsweetened.ca
Beth Kanter	@kanter	beth.typepad.com
Allison Fine	@afine	afine2.wordpress.com

Who else could be added to this list? Who inspires you in the social media sphere? Please let me know in the comment section.

Other women suggested by commenters:

Ruth Seeley	@ruthseeley	http://www.nospinpr.com/
Leesa Barnes	@leesabarnes	http://www.leesabarnes.com/
Katie Paine	@kdpaine	http://kdpaine.com/
Jennifer Evans	@sequentia	http://www.sequentiaenvironics.com/
Deb Brown	@debworks	http://debworks.blogspot.com/
Beth Harte	@BethHarte	http://www.theharteofmarketing.com/
Kathryn Jennex	@northernchick	http://www.kathrynjennex.com/
Connie Crosby	@conniecrosby	http://conniecrosby.blogspot.com/
Leona Hobbs	@flackadelic	http://flackadelic.com/about/
Lynn Crymbl	@uncommon_sense	http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/bandwidth/
Rahaf Harfoush	@rahafharfoush	http://www.rahafharfoush.com/category/blog/

UPDATE: I've added the names folks suggested in the comments. And, the always amazing Dawn Martinello has updated the list to include Twitter addresses.

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Posted In: Blog, MediaStyle, Social media, Twitter

44 Comments For This Post

Kelly Rusk (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:20am)

Thanks for making this list Ian (and including me! I’m very flattered)
It definitely irks me that women aren’t recognized as often as men when it comes to these types of lists. I will happily re-tweet!

Kelly
Bob LeDrew (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:30am)

Dooce?
Ruth Seeley (www.nospinpr.com)
Leesa Barnes (www.leesabarnes.com)
Bob LeDrew (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:36am)

OOOOOOOOH! Katie Paine!! http://kdpaine.com/
David Jones (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:38am)

Good list. Can’t argue with any of them. However, and with the caveat that i’m not a woman myself but a big fan of them, I’ve never bought into this male/female thing in social media. Some of the most interesting social media leaders I know are women: Leona Hobbs, Maggie Fox, Tamera Kremer, Connie Crosby, Eden Spodek and the former and current members of my team Lynn Crymble and Sharon Fernandes. H&K’s global digital head is a woman, UK and Australian digi teams a re run by women. Am I unique in feeling that I don’t see gender as being an issue at all? I don’t judge social media leadership by anything other than the content. That’s what gets my respect and devotion.
Ian Capstick (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:47am)

Dave,

I understand your point: but I see countless conferences, “leaders lists” and interviews featuring many more men in social media than they feature women. Many conferences are dominated by male speakers, speaking to a male audience using a male context. It’s not a male/female thing simply in social media: it’s a male/female thing in all industries. When a women’s voices are regularly ignored, not sought out this demonstrates and there is a failure to treat the sexes equally. I think social media as a new “industry” risks falling into the same patterns as old-boys business clubs.

Ian
Bryan L. (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:49am)

Jennifer Evans from Sequentia Environics. (http://www.sequentiaenvironics.com)
Susan Murphy (September 2nd, 2009 at 9:02am)

Flattered to have made your list, Ian! I agree with all of the others too – they are brilliant ladies, each and every one.

I’d also add Deb Brown (@debworks, http://debworks.blogspot.com/), Beth Harte (@BethHarte) http://www.theharteofmarketing.com/, and Kathryn Jennex (@northernchick http://www.kathrynjennex.com/)
Todd Defren (September 2nd, 2009 at 9:33am)

Good list, will tweet it!
(For the record I didn’t create the ORIGINAL list that got your dander up, though.)
Raf (September 2nd, 2009 at 10:35am)

Joan Vinall-Cox: http://twitter.com/joanvinallcox

She’s pretty awesome.
C.J. Minster (September 2nd, 2009 at 11:11am)

Thank you for this list. It would be much more user-friendly if it included the individuals’ Twitter handles. I really appreciate your point about including all genders in all industry gatherings. I’d add that it’s also important in politics, particularly in conflict resolution. (See http://www.peacewomen.org WILPF’s project on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 for more on that topic.)
@Suzwholley (September 2nd, 2009 at 11:13am)

Ian, it would be great to add in their Twitter names… and even better to add a blurb about their focus.
maggiefox (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:16pm)

Hey Ian, thanks a bunch for including me – what great company to be in!
Kate Trgovac (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:23pm)

Hi, Ian ..

Thanks for channeling your frustration about the original list into this post! We definitely need more people taking action than just complaining about something. I very much appreciate you including me on the list (plus, it shames me into writing a new post on my blog). And I know a lot of folks can be derisive about these lists (gendered or not), but I always find a few new people I didn’t know about. So thank you for doing this!

Cheers .. k
Kelley Kassa (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:31pm)

Bobbie Carlton — @bobbiec. She built up Mass Innovation Nights @MassInno just only social media.
Erica Mueller (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:33pm)

I’d have to add @JessicaKnows (Jessica Smith of JessicaKnows.com and Fleishman-Hillard) to the list. She is an amazing woman with groundbreaking ideas. Very dedicated to helping those new to social media/networking.

Love the list!

FYI: Twitter links in the first set of recommendations are not working correctly. The links are incorrect and are trying to redirect to a page (that doesn’t exist) within the site.
Amber Naslund (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:37pm)

Ian,

Thanks so much for including me in such a dynamite group! Very appreciated and humbling. The trick for me is that I’m inspired a lot by people who aren’t particularly “known” as social media-ites, but they’re the ones practicing this stuff every day at work and hammering out what works. Lots of in the trenches folks from companies (and disclosure: some are clients) like Intuit (Kara, Gretchen and Christine), Southwest Airlines (Paula Berg), Comcast (Bonnie), Higher ed (Rachel Reuben), Embarq (Zena Weist)… the list goes on.

But I’m seconding lots of your and your readers’ recommendations, and even finding a few new ladies to connect with. Thanks again!

Amber
Leona Hobbs (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:39pm)

Thanks to Dave Jones for the nomination. And thanks Ian for compiling this list.
Melissa (September 2nd, 2009 at 12:57pm)

Andrea Hill FTW: http://twitter.com/afhill, http://www.afhill.com/blog/
Ann Handley (September 2nd, 2009 at 1:24pm)

Thanks so much for including me, Ian. I appreciate it, especially given that lots of my friends and colleagues are on this list, or have been added, which is awesome to see.

I’d add Donna Tocci (@DonnaTocci), who is less well-known perhaps, but (as we say in Boston) Wicked Smaht….
Beth Kanter (September 2nd, 2009 at 1:36pm)

Ian,

Thanks so much for including me on the list! I’m humbled. I think KDPaine is a must on the list – she’s the goddess of social media measurement.

And, I’d like to give a huge salute to this list of women who work in nonprofits and social media
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/01/women-in-nonprofit-technology-who-rock.html

Beth Kanter
please note my name is spelled Kanter not Canter – thanks
Ian Capstick (September 2nd, 2009 at 1:47pm)

Heavens! I’ve fixed the spelling of Beth’s name now. Apologies Ms. Kanter.
@rebrivved (September 2nd, 2009 at 2:08pm)

Congratulations ladies.
Thx for the list, Ian.
No offense, Dave, but the old boys’ club is alive and well, even in social media.
Kat Gordon (September 2nd, 2009 at 2:33pm)

For shame for creating an almost all-boy list of social media experts. Guess which consumer segment accounts for the lion’s share of growth in social media? Yep, it’s moms.
jackie connelly (September 2nd, 2009 at 2:57pm)

I would add:

Danielle LaPorte
http://whitehottruth.com/
@whitehottruth

Lauren & Emira
http://www.soapboxgirls.com/
@laurenbacon and @emiramears

Great list so far!

Cheers,
Jackie
George Williams (September 2nd, 2009 at 3:01pm)

Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see Mari Smith’s name on your list. She was one of the original players in Social Media, and continues to be a major force. She certainly deserves to be on there. Some of the people listed might have even learned from her. She’s on Twitter @marismith. Thanks for the list!

George
Eden Spodek (September 2nd, 2009 at 3:15pm)

Ian, thanks so much for including me on this list. I’m humbled to be in such talented company. One thing I wanted to point out to people who may stumble upon this list and think we’re all a bunch of people hiding behind our laptops, many of us know each other in person too.

FYI, last year I added a Women who Rock blogroll to my blog in response to the Canadian women who are overlooked in social media. I introduced it with a post similar in spirit to yours and also as a call to women in this space to be more supportive of each other.

I’d add Whitney Hoffman to this list. In addition to the fine work she’s done building a community for parents of children with learning disabilities, she leads the Podcamp Foundation along with Chris Brogan and Chris Penn. You can find Whitney at http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/ and @LDPodcast.

The best place to find me on Twitter is actually @EdenSpodek.

Cheers and thanks,

Eden
Eden Spodek (September 2nd, 2009 at 3:23pm)

I should have also mentioned the managing director of iStudio Canada is Katherine Fletcher, another awesome woman in the digital space. (iStudio is Fleishman-Hillard’s digital brand in Canada and my employer.)

Cheers,
Eden
moya watson (September 2nd, 2009 at 3:32pm)

i’d like to put in a reminder about Caterina Fake — who, as one of the co-founders of Flickr, pioneered the early days of online community:
http://www.caterina.net/

she also built the Brickhouse innovation incubator, and is currently a leader at Hunch, which i’m personally watching out for, given her past and her skills and talents.
thanks,
-m
Paige (September 2nd, 2009 at 6:27pm)

Hey Ian!
Thank you so much for including me in the company of such incredible women!

This is an important and timely topic. I’ve shared more thoughts on my blog here: http://tr.im/xKP7.

The gist of which is this: Gender should not be part of the criteria (nor do I think it is) when choosing speakers on a panel, mentors, or industry leaders. Vision, courage, insight, wisdom, integrity, innovation, compassion. These all seem like far better criteria to me. Don’t they?
Alexa Clark (September 2nd, 2009 at 6:47pm)

Ian,

Great list of great people. I’m honoured to be included, thank you.
Robin Fray Carey (September 2nd, 2009 at 7:24pm)

Great to see so many of our bloggers on this list, and to see women be specially recognized. Choosing 2 out ohttp://www.mediastyle.ca/2009/09/20-leading-women-in-social-media/f 20 is nothing less than total blindness. There are some very effective women in whatever constitutes social media, but all too often they are drowned up by the blow-hards. If social media is to be taken seriously, if it is to begin to take a decent percentage of the corporate marketing budget, it will be because women like these are being paid attention to.

I’d also like to have seen some very effective business women on this list, including Diane Hessan of Communispace and Gina Bianchini of Ning.
Jerry Bowles (September 2nd, 2009 at 7:34pm)

Well, I think you have to include Gina Bianchini, co-founder of Ning; Diane Hessan, founder of Communispace, and my own partner Robin Carey, co-founder of Social Media Today LLC which, in addition to our popular web site of the same name, has also built and manages btob online communities for SAP, Oracle, Teradata and Siemens. These are not the names that are most visible but they are all extraordinary women leaders who are building real businesses in social media.
Bradjward (September 2nd, 2009 at 8:10pm)

Gotta throw two out there:

Becky McCray:
http://twitter.com/beckymccray
http://www.smallbizsurvival.com

Becky has created an amazing community for small business owners in rural areas. Provides massive amounts of content and practical application to help others be better and do more with their business using social media.

Liz Strauss
http://twitter.com/lizstrauss
http://www.successful-blog.com

Have only been following her for a few weeks, but see a great amount of passion and knowledge coming from her already. Surprised she isn’t on this list after seeing her credentials.
Ruth Seeley (September 2nd, 2009 at 11:24pm)

Flattered to be a contenda.
Deb Brown (September 3rd, 2009 at 7:57am)

Wow – thanks for adding me to a list of fantastic women who ROCK the social media sphere. They’ve taught me just to be out there every day and do your thing. And do it well, consistently.
@debworks
Jonathan Freed (September 3rd, 2009 at 11:40am)

Nice job, Ian. I have two MIAs to add.

Elana Centor
http://funnybusiness.typepad.com/funnybusiness/
http://twitter.com/FunnyBiz
Elana has been leading social networking and marketing efforts for several years, and now heads up Digital Wagon Train, a social media training, coaching & consulting company.

Toby Bloomberg
http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/
http://twitter.com/TobyDiva
Toby’s a social media pioneer with a passion for converting individuals to using social media, she has been winning social media converts since 2005 as an avid evangelist, blogger, journalist and marketing expert.
pamused (September 3rd, 2009 at 2:28pm)

not considering sex in shout-out lists or conference speakers etc is akin to saying we’re so progressive that we’re colour blind, then having only white folks in the room. even in an innovative field like social media where women are gloriously representin’, we all have to be deliberate in naming and recognizing them otherwise ian’s right, the ol’ boys club becomes the default.

so thanks, ian, for igniting this showcase.
Lisa (September 3rd, 2009 at 5:26pm)

What about http://twitter.com/DonnaAntoniadis
Anna (September 3rd, 2009 at 6:26pm)

On behalf of women in the social media sphere – and not – thanks.
Jacquelyn (September 3rd, 2009 at 10:41pm)

Well, how nice is this? Very! There are tons of smarties around these interwebs, so thanks for the inclusion on your lovely list.
Laura (September 4th, 2009 at 8:01pm)

What about Kathryn Finney (www.thebudgetfashionista.com), who not only has a large number of twitter followers, but also has a huge website and started the site The Budget Fashionista in 2003, which is paved the way for sites like Bargainista.
Whitney (September 11th, 2009 at 7:27pm)

I want to thank Eden for offering to inclue me here as well!

I think this man/woman thing sometimes devolves into linkbait and ignores the fact that men and women can compete on a level playing field – they have to bring what they are best at to the table, and success follows. Chris Penn, Chris brogan and I run the Podcamp Foundation, and there’s always a good mix of men and women at Podcamp, both as speakers and attendees. In fact, Podcamp is a great place to get experience speaking and hone your skills- it definitely has helped me make the jump to speaking and consulting for clients of all sizes, and it would not have happened without getting the experience through unconferences with open speaking lists.
JohnF (November 5th, 2009 at 5:07pm)

I’d nominate Margaret Wallace — @margaretwallace
Jeremy Straight (November 9th, 2009 at 11:42am)

I think another outstanding woman in social media is Lauren Cook @laurencook from Swarm Collective. She is doing some great work with innovative and effective campaigns for companies.