The most important thinkers in the world identified
The just published "Global Thought Leaders Index 2015" maps the global conversation and its most important voices on the Internet. The network analysis is a collaboration between the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute and "The WorldPost" / "HuffingtonPost".
The study analyzed 400 idea generators. At the top of the global (English-language) ranking are, for example, Pope Francis, the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, and Edward Snowden. Snowden and the Pope are also high up on the ranking list in German-speaking countries. In general, there are hardly any German native speakers at the top of the list. Instead, the lower half of the ranking brings together thinkers who are not well-known outside the language borders.
First time with China and Spain
The index has been calculated since 2012 using an analysis of collective intelligence developed by MIT researcher Peter Gloor. This year, in addition to the English and German language areas, the index also includes the Chinese and Spanish language areas for the first time. The Chinese language area, in turn, is clearly divided into two infospheres:
The non-Chinese conversation in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the diaspora is comparable to that in the global sphere. Inside the country, however, President Xi Jinping and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma are the weightiest voices; foreign thinkers are absent here. China's strategy of restricted access to the Internet, marked by censorship and firewalls, obviously shapes the list.
The leading media
Media continue to play a crucial role in the dissemination of ideas. The networking chart of the thought leaders in the English-language blogosphere clearly shows which are the most important. Of the five most important media or sources, two are traditional protagonists of global discourse - the British Guardian and the New York Times.
Two others, Twitter and Youtube, are considered more protagonists of the global conversation, the fifth of the most important media, the Huffington Post, occupies an intermediate position between fast and important. Nominated Thought Leaders 2015 were "The WorldPost" / "Huffington Post" as well as "El Pais", "Univision", "Fusion", "Guancha" and "The European".
The nominees' relevance in the global conversation was calculated on the basis of their mentions on Wikipedia, in tweets and in blogs. The "Global Thought Leader Index 2015" is published in the 15 international editions of the "Huffington Post," among others.
Details about the "Global Thought Leaders Index 2015" can be found on the English site:
