LinkedIn doesn't do things small. Since the site has over 364 million users who work in different industries, it seems natural that its first influencer list would be big. LinkedIn's Next Wave includes 150 influencers from 15 industries, including everyone from Man Repeller's Leandra Medine to S. Dallas Dance, Baltimore's superintendent of schools (the youngest person to hold that role).
On a cloudy, muggy Wednesday night, many of these honorees gathered at LinkedIn's offices in the Empire State building to eat tiny hors d'oeuvres, drink signature cocktails, and celebrate their successes. Everyone on the list was under 35, with firm "millennial" status. Dan Roth, executive editor of LinkedIn, agreed that while the influencers are all very different, they are connected by their generation.
"I think a lot of the [influencers] are creating their own workplaces," Roth explains. "The interesting thing about this list is the number of people who were in a business, saw a problem with it that the rest of us would put up with, and...said they would do something about it."
Roth also pointed out millennials' tendency toward philanthropic endeavors, noting that a number of people on the list have business ideas that could change not only a market, but the world.
LinkedIn editors "relied on a combination of data, editorial insights, and Influencer ideas to forge the list," Roth wrote in his announcement post. "Senior Data Scientist Caitlin Crump looked at information such as which profiles were most viewed by members in the same industry; social engagement performance; the frequency that candidates appeared in the news, using Newsle data; and more."
Next Wave is the first in a new quarterly initiative called LinkedIn Lists. Click here to see all 150 influencers, and click here to nominate next year's Next Wave.
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