No. 1. Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira)
Ever heard of Mario Lavandeira, Pete Cashmore or Heather Armstrong? Probably not – yet they are among a select group of web celebrities, who have shaken up the entertainment industry and even changed how we talk to each other.
They were included by Forbes magazine in the top 25 biggest and brightest stars on the internet. People unknown in the real world who had gone on to hold huge sway online.
They vary widely from stay-at-home mothers to technology entrepreneurs and bed-ridden films enthusiasts. The fourth annual survey reveals how the world wide web has become a massive levelling force this century.
No. 2. Michael Arrington-Techcrunch.com
David Ewalt from Forbes.com, said: ‘A kid with a webcam can become a movie star; an entrepreneur with a smart idea can get on Oprah; a tech blogger can reach a bigger audience than a bestselling novelist.’
Forbes calculated their influence in four areas. How many web references they had, the traffic ranking of their home pages, how much TV and press interest they provoked and their number of followers on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Mario Lavandeira, a.k.a Perez Hilton topped the chart for the third time in a row. The controversial gossip blogger writes what he calls ‘Hollywood’s most hated website’, and has become something of a celebrity himself.
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