In a world where people spend increasing amounts of time posting, linking and informing people of their current whereabouts with the aid of various social media channels, it was only a matter of time until there was going to be a ranking system based on how influential someone may be in social media circles.

In 1989, The Sunday Times newspaper brought out “The Rich List,” a definitive list of the wealthiest people in Britain. Each year thereafter, the paper has published an  annual update. Fast forward to today and the paper famous for publishing lists are at it again with a new interactive list, however this time the list is not based on capital wealth but on social capital and influence.

People love being able to see how they compare to their friends – it brings out the competitive spirit in everyone!

The Social List is an open invitation to anyone who has a Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in or even a Four Square account to determine who in the social media world has the most influence over their network. I first checked my ranking last Wednesday and was in the mid 3,000’s, apparently I’m a linchpin. Today I’m 5,629 and still a linchpin. It wouldn’t surprise me if more and more people are getting on the bandwagon in the coming weeks and days. Wonder if I’ll be 10,000 this time next week?

According to Econsultancy, the way the list calculates your score is not purely down to how many friends, followers, check-ins or tweets you make but essentially the list is ranking you based on how your networks responds to a tweet, a check-in or a post. In other words, you may have a million Twitter followers and very little retweets but on the flipside if you have a million retweets or direct responses then you might be considered very influential in social media circles.

The list is in its infancy but according to Mark Evans, Marketing Manager from The Sunday Times “the uptake so far has been extremely encouraging.” Mark also goes on to mention that The Sunday Times are “finding people are very keen to take part and consequently share their ranking across their social networks. People love being able to see how they compare to their friends – it brings out the competitive spirit in everyone!”

the uptake so far has been extremely encouraging

What effect will The Social List have on business?

What’s interesting is the potential impact this list may have on business. As social media becomes increasingly important to an overall communication strategy, so will business intelligence on identifying the greatest social media influencers in their industry. Who knows, you may see one day businesses paying influential tweeters to put in a favorable mention within their network.

I’m sure that as social media evolves, more businesses will be engaging with the movers and shakers in the social media world to capitalize on their “social capital” for their commercial benefit.