LinkedIn Top Voices 2016: The 10 must-know writers in technology
Greg Leffler
Observability @Splunk. Past: SRE Leader, Hiring Architect, Editor at Large @LinkedIn.
Every week, writers on LinkedIn publish more than 160,000 articles. So who stood out in 2016 — and who do you need to start reading now?
We've sifted through the data, looking at factors as diverse as engagement (particularly comments and shares) to follower growth, to come up with the top 10 voices in technology. These writers covered some of the biggest stories this year: Pokémon Go, the mobile moment for the Internet, and Facebook's news suppression scandal.
Some clear themes emerged in their articles, too. Many remain optimistic about wearable technology, want to see the future of the blockchain and have strong opinions about how technology will continue to become more important in our social lives in 2017.
Here's the top 10 technology writers on LinkedIn in 2016:
Anurag Harsh | Senior Vice President, Ziff-Davis
What he writes about: Harsh writes about both technology and management, sitting at the intersection of technological trends and organizational psychology. His articles include research, opinions, and insights. Some highlights include posts about mobile overtaking the desktop, smartwatches, and cyber warfare.
2016’s post he’s most proud of: Learning how to build effective teams is something that has endless amounts of research around it, but few cogent summaries with meaningful action items. Harsh’s post on this topic is an excellent summary.
When he does his best writing: His best writing occurs during “flights and nights,” times where he’s either in flight to a new place and disconnected, or when his children are asleep and he can consolidate his thoughts into new posts, he says.
Shelly Palmer | CEO, The Palmer Group
What he writes about: Palmer generally writes essays that draw on his expertise in technology, media, and marketing, weaving these together into posts that address multiple topics at once — whether that’s exploding telephones or telling us why we need to care about Pokémon Go. He also likes to write about data-driven decision-making, like in this post where he helps us learn what ‘data literacy’ is.
His favorite post of 2016: "Your Comfort Zone May Destroy the World." Palmer likes this post because it allowed him to illustrate the dangers of living in a thought-bubble without taking sides. He especially enjoyed how his readers were vocal about how the article applied to their daily lives.
One thing not on his LinkedIn profile: Palmer is currently writing a science fiction novel and is “having the time of [his] life!”
Nir Eyal | Author, NirAndFar.com
What he writes about: Eyal writes about how psychology, technology, and business all interact. He’s written a book on how to build habit-forming products, and it’s unsurprising that many of his LinkedIn posts examine this further.
His favorite article of 2016: “Why People Check Their Tech at the Wrong Times (and the Simple Trick to Stop It),” with more than 235,000 views. Stopping tech from taking over our lives and our social interactions is something near and dear to Eyal’s heart; the trick, unsurprisingly, is to be direct: either declaring a setting “phone free,” or more practically, asking a question to the person distracted by tech to re-engage him in the conversation.
When he’s satisfied with an article: Asked how to know if a piece was successful, Eyal said that he focuses on how well his writing “answers a question that’s bothering [him].”
Susan Etlinger | Industry Analyst, Altimeter
What she writes about: Etlinger’s interests are in how algorithms are taking over the world — specifically how they are changing the way we consume information, make decisions, and how they influence business, society, and culture.
Article she’s proudest of: “Did Facebook Suppress Conservative News?” Her piece addresses the problem from both the algorithmic and the psychological perspectives, and discusses how trust is more important now than ever.
Story she thought would get more attention in 2016: “Privacy. I thought it would be a bigger issue, but [...] it hasn’t erupted in the way I thought it might,” she says.
QuHarrison Terry | Marketing Director, Redox
What he writes about: Terry writes about creativity, technology, and how technology will change life in the future.
Post he’s proudest of: “Blockchain is the Missing Link in the Kim Kardashian Diamond Robbery.” The article seized on the news to better explain blockchain technology and its applications. Terry’s theory: “Blockchain could prevent the masked bandits from ever getting any value from those diamonds.”Of course, including Kardashian in the title provided a distraction in the comments, but the post helps elucidate what blockchains are for people who didn’t fully understand.
How he measures success: “Ultimately, I aim to start a conversation in the comments section,” he says. He does this by specifically intending to be polarizing by taking strong stances on the news and injecting a creative lesson into his pieces.
Sarah Mancinho | Senior Consultant, LongView
What she writes about: Mancinho tells stories about her life that combine technology, transferrable skills, and work/life balance.
Post she’s proud of: "Thoughts on Work, Life, and the American Dream." In this article, Mancinho writes about following your own path, “job hopping,” and how change in technology and culture makes changing jobs make sense.“I learned that there are many people out there feeling jaded in their careers and personal lives, not because they have done anything wrong, but because society tells them they are supposed to follow a specific path in order to "fit in" and to be successful,” she says. “I think this article provided validation for people on many different levels.”
The best book she read in 2016: "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr. Mancinho describes the book as “a very interesting psychology-based research and reporting piece.”
Joy Tan | President of Global Media & Communications, Huawei
What she writes about: China, technology, diversity, and the future of the industry. She’s also written on personal confidence and on sustainability initiatives.
Noteworthy post: “Why Brains Beat Bytes”, where Tan discusses progress and new initiatives around technology and human brains. The piece helps us see a future where our brains are extensions of “the cloud” and what that means for us.
Her prediction for 2017: “Sensors in everyday objects will improve the way factories operate, farmers bring crops to market, and cities provide services to their citizens, giving people access to always-on support in their homes, workplaces, and vehicles,” she wrote.
Tom Goldenberg | Web and Mobile Engineer, Agolo
What he writes about: Goldenberg’s writing focuses on “trends in tech and how to forge a path in the industry even when the odds are against you.” His post on what it was like interviewing at Google as a bootcamp grad was also quite popular.
Post he’s proudest of: “Open Letter to Employers on Behalf of Bootcamp Grads.” After publishing the piece, Goldenberg received messages from bootcamp graduates explaining how they had been discriminated against by employers, and that they were inspired to keep trying thanks to the post.
Something not on his LinkedIn profile: Goldenberg lived in India for nine years and drew perspective on things in the U.S. from his time there.
Bo Ren | Product Manager, Tumblr
What she writes about: Ren’s writing is about technology, influenced by behavioral science, diversity, and our shared humanity.
Post she’s proudest of: "Diversity is a Broken Product. FIX IT." Ren wrote this post about her own personal experiences facing “discrimination, sense of otherness, and diversity issues” after leaving Facebook. She describes the post as ”the scariest and best thing [she] published this year.”
Where she does her best writing: Ren writes her first drafts at home, while burning a candle and wearing a Korean face mask. After the initial cut, revisions are done in coffee shops.
Seyi Fabode | Partner, Asha Labs
What he writes about: Fabode has written a wide variety of articles about topics ranging from utilities to technological innovation. He’s also written several visionary pieces trying to capture where industries are going and where opportunities lie.
Post he’s proudest of: “How Elon Might Be Screwing This Up…,” a critical look at the opportunities presented by Tesla’s merger with Solarcity, and thoughts on what Tesla needs to do to avoid making the same mistakes as the companies Tesla is disrupting.
What’s he watching for next year: Fabode is keeping his eyes on the turn towards increased localization in business and even more personalized technological services.
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7yGood luck to you all... Thanks for helping us all to see a little clearer...
Engineering Manager at Booking.com
7yLink for number 5: QuHarrison Terry is not working. Here's the correct one QuHarrison Terry / https://www.linkedin.com/in/quharrison-terry-728b3a89
Empowering SMB Growth with Strategy & Finance Expertise
7yCongrats, Seyi! I love seeing all your success! Keep it up!!!!