PRWeek Power 25 Nowhere to be Found on Twitter

By Paul | Posted October 20, 2008 | Link

PRWeek magazine has revealed its PR Power List, which is stacked with 25 industry influentials. So, for a young entrepreneur like myself pushing for innovation within the public relations industry, it seemed like a natural group of leaders to connect with and follow on Twitter.

Only one problem . . . not a single Power 25 member appears to be on Twitter*! I did, however, find one “Supporting Power Player,” Katie Paine (@kdpaine), CEO of KD Paine and Partners.

Now I don’t have much room to talk, as I just became active on Twitter last week, but for a recognition that takes into account criteria such as “thought leadership,” “external visibility,” “innovation” and “media influence,” how is that possible?

Consider the influence and reach of some of the industry’s top Tweeters:

David Meerman Scott (1,958 followers): @dmscott is the best selling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, which should be required reading for every PR student in the country, and the first book handed out by agencies to interns and entry-level professionals.
Todd Defren (3,183 followers): @TDefren is principal at SHIFT Communications and creator of the social media release.
Brian Solis (6,867 followers): @briansolis is principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley.

Not sure why PR pros should be using Twitter, check out two recent posts from @laurelmackenzie (aka Laurel Miltner of PR 20/20):

Five Reasons I Use Twitter

Six Steps for Getting Started on Twitter

*Conducted name search of all winners on Twitter (10/20/08), so if I missed you, sorry. Please let me know in the Comments section, or @paulroetzer on Twitter. Also, I'd love to hear from and follow other PR pros on Twitter, so find me @paulroetzer.