People have many misconceptions about leadership and influence. Many mistakenly believe that leadership is about a title or a position as if being a manager in a corporate environment means that you must be a good leader. Sometimes that may be true, but not always.

True leadership cannot be handed to someone in a title or assigned to someone as a duty. Real leadership is a result of pure, unbridled influence. The greatest influencers and leaders online aren’t people who were assigned that title. They are men and women who stood up and started making a difference.

This list represents those who have worked to earn that power of influence in our lives. These people are making a difference in the lives of people around the world. The people are influential.

Influential Bloggers #1: Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan is the New York Times bestselling author of Trust Agents and he’s a master of social media. He’s working hard to transform the way people interact and do business online. His philosophy can be summed up by this simple concept: being human from a distance. His unique look at online relationships is attracting huge crowds.

Influential Bloggers #2: Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse is the online authority when it comes to successful blogging. He’s the founder of several hugely popular blogs. Perhaps his most popular, Problogger, is the online authority when it comes to providing bloggers with the resources and information necessary to build powerful blogs.

Influential Bloggers #3: Brian Clark

Brian Clark is the driving force behind CopyBlogger where he educates people on how to write compelling content to vastly improve online marketing. He focus on teaching people how to get traffic, attract links, gain subscribers and sell stuff. His sites can be summarized by these two simple concepts: content strategies

Influential Bloggers #4: Matt Cutts

Matt Cutts is our link into the world of Google. He serves as the head of their spam prevention department and as such he has an intimate knowledge of what Google favors and what they frown upon. He shares blog posts, videos and interviews educating bloggers and webmasters as to the best ways to build great content that Google pays attention to.

Influential Bloggers #5: Rand Fishkin

Rand Fishkin is the founder and mastermind behind SEOmoz. Since it’s inception, SEOmoz has developed into one of the most visible online websites dedicated to search marketing. Rand has built SEOmoz as the go-to resource for all things related to Search Engines and the tactics necessary to get your site noticed.

Influential Bloggers #6: Seth Godin

Seth Godin has authored 10 bestselling books that have changed the way that people view marketing and work. His no-holds-barred style of writing at his blog has drawn an international following. Godin is working to persuade people to reinvent the way that they relate with the people around them.

Influential Bloggers #7: Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferris is grabbing some attention with his ‘experiments in lifestyle design’ blog and his runaway bestseller The 4-Hour Work Week. It has been said that Tim is the Indiana Jones for the digital age. He’s a bestselling author, a world record holder, a speaker of 5 languages, a public speaker, and much more.

Influential Bloggers #8: Yaro Starak

Yaro Starak is an entrepreneur from Australia. Yaro has built and sold several online businesses and now teaches people how to make a full-time living from blogging part time through his highly successful Blog Mastermind Program. He draws from his own experience and is passionate about helping others achieve the same successes.

Influential Bloggers #9: David Risley

David Risley’s blog is aptly subtitled Confessions of a Six-Figure Blogger. David Risley averages 18,000 per month through his online income ventures. His most popular website, PCMech, brings in around 250,000 visitors each month.

Influential Bloggers #10: Gary Vaynerchuck

Gary Vaynerchuck has became famous for his Wine Library TV where he offers a daily video with an unorthodox approach to a historically stuffy subject. His slogan has been changing the wine world and he really has been doing just that.

Influential Bloggers #11: Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki is a man on a mission. His blog is aptly titled How to Change the World. He’s a business mogul who’s determined to make an impact on the world. He has been described as a living legend to which he replied with the following quote:

“What you should do is create a great product or service…the goal is to change the world…if you do that, maybe you’ll be a legend.”

Influential Bloggers #12: John Chow

John Chow is, as he likes to himself, a media mogul. He’s an online entrepreneur, blogger, founder of an online advertising company, and an instructor to authors. He has often quipped that he makes money online by teaching others how to make money online.

Influential Bloggers #13: Daniel Scocco

Daniel Scocco is famous for his small ‘Daily’ blogs like Daily Blog Tips and Daily Writing Tips. Although his blogs may appear small, he’s built a massive following and has rallied a community around his sites.

Influential Bloggers #14: Nicholas Cardot

Nicholas Cardot is a full-time Infantryman in the United States Army and he’s the founder and author of Site Sketch 101. His military background has shaped his philosophical emphasis on building and sustaining a community.

Although he may not be the most influential blogger right now, he’s quickly growing his online presence, developing his relationships, and working to impact and empower as many people as he can. His online aspirations cannot be measured or described. He’s reaching for the stars as should every blogger.

Influential Bloggers #15: You

You are the one that is truly revolutionizing the way blogging is done. You’re the one reaching out to the online community in your topic. You’re the one that is blogging with real passion. You’re the one working hard to build relationships, to share information, and to build your community. You are the one who inspires and influences me.

Group Reflection

So who do you think should be added to the list and why? And who do you think should be removed? I want to know which bloggers have influenced you the most.