I've compiled a list of the people or firms that have inspired me both directly and indirectly. In addition, these people and/ or companies were influential in ChatterBox Publicity’s new business direction. Note: the following appear in alphabetical order.
1. Angela Benton and Markus Robinson / Black Web 2.0
2. Ava DuVernay / The DuVernay Agency/ The Urban Collective
3. Baratunde Thurston / Jack and Jill Politics Blog
4. Brian Solis / PR 2.0
5. CBP’s Social Media & PR Circle: Robin Caldwell / The J Standard, Christal Jordan-Mims/ Enchanted PR, Nicole Garner/ The Garner Circle, Dee Dee Cocheta-Williams/ ABC Publicity, Danielle Armstrong/ Organic PR, Keisha McCotry/ Prominence PR, Candice Reese/ Envision Global
6. Cedric “Big Ced” Thornton / Freelance Writer with Social Media Swagger
7. Dove Clark / AllHipHop.com & Tyger Eye Entertainment
8. Gina McCauley / Blogging While Brown Founder
9. HBCU Roundup Creators / Rustin & Bryndan Moore
10. Hill Harper / ForRealSolutions.com
11. James Andrews / Key Influencer
12. Jason Kintzler / Pitch Engine
13. Kevin Ross / 3 Baas Media
14. L. N. Rock / African American Political Pundit Blog
15. Marco Hansell / Fan Force, LLC
16. Maurice Cherry / The Black Weblog Awards
17. Necole Bitchie / The Urban Blogger
18. Pam Spaulding / Pam’s House Blend Blog
19. President- Elect Barack Obama, The Country’s First Social Media President and his Social Media Strategy Team: Blue State Digital, Rahaf Harfoush, Chris Hughes, and those we missed.
20. Shawn P Williams / The Dallas South Blog
21. Tamera Reynolds / Glam Media / Black Life
22. Todd DeFren / PR Squared
23. Twitter Founders: Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams
24. Wayne Hicks / BDPA Education Technology Foundation
25. Wayne Sutton / Social Media Evangelist, Guru
If you are unfamiliar with any of the above, this list is also a good guide to creating your own black book of social media contacts.
Happy New Year!
