The Web Celeb 25 (18-25)

Our No. 18 Web Celeb, Owen Thomas
Age: 36
What: Blogger
Tech pundit Thomas cut his teeth at Suck.com, a humor site popular in the mid 1990s; he later worked at tech magazine Business 2.0. But Thomas is best known as the editor

of Valleywag, a snarky Silicon Valley gossip blog. The site is infamous for publishing unsubstantiated rumors about (and criticism of) the tech world's best and brightest. In

2008, publisher Gawker Media shuttered the title, but Thomas continues to write Valleywag posts for sister site Gawker.com.

Our No. 19 Web Celeb,  Dave Winer
Age: 53
What: Programmer, blogger
Computer industry veteran Dave Winer is a Web media pioneer--he launched one of the very first blogs; helped develop RSS, an important content syndication technology; and

helped develop the technology underlying the phenomenon of podcasting. But Winer doesn't just create the tools--he's a masterful user of them. His blog, Scripting News, is in

its 12th year, and has a large and devoted following.

Our No. 20 Web Celeb, Seth Godin
Age: 48
What: Marketing guru
In his book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin says that the key to success is to find a way to stand out--to be the purple cow in a field

of monochrome Holsteins. Godin himself may be the best example of how this theory works: The marketing expert is a best-selling author, highly sought-after lecturer,

successful entrepreneur, respected pundit and high-profile blogger. He is uniquely respected for his understanding of the Internet, and his essays and opinions are widely read

and quoted, both online and off.

Our No. 21 Web Celeb, Brian Lam
Age: 31
What: Blogger
Brian Lam is the man behind the curtain at one of the biggest blogs in the world--gadget site Gizmodo, which boasts an average 3.1 million pageviews a day. In late 2008,

Gizmodo made headlines as it aggressively reported rumors about Apple CEO Steve Jobs' health. While other outlets ignored the story or even criticized Gizmodo's coverage,

the blog was ultimately proved right. Lam himself even stole some of the story's spotlight when he posted a column ripping into his critics and praising his own coverage.

Our No. 22 Web Celeb, Mark Frauenfelder
Age: 47
What: Editor, blogger, illustrator
When Mark Fraeunfelder co-founded technology and culture zine Boing Boing in 1988, few would have predicted the project would eventually evolve into a new-media giant.

But in its current incarnation, Boing Boing is one of the most read and linked-to blogs in the world. Frauenfelder scores extra points thanks to his work as the editor-in-chief of

do-it-yourself magazine Make, a geek favorite.

Our No. 23 Web Celeb, Steve Rubel
Age: 39
What: PR expert, blogger
Public relations expert Steve Rubel writes on how smart bloggers can better market themselves--and the runaway success of his own blog, Micro Persuasion, makes it clear

he knows what he's talking about. An expert in how blogging affects the PR and marketing industries, Rubel works as a marketing strategist and senior vice president at

Edelman, a global PR firm, and is one of the most sought-after speakers in the business.

Our No. 24 Web Celeb, John C. Dvorak
Age: 56
What: Blogger, videocaster
Technophiles have known the name John C. Dvorak since long before there even was a World Wide Web; he's a tech journalism veteran, boasting stints at outlets including PC

Magazine, MacUser, Boardwatch and Forbes. He's also the author of more than a dozen books. But in the age of the Web, Dvorak has managed to increase his profile

significantly, maintaining an extremely popular blog, Dvorak Uncensored, and hosting a video podcast, Cranky Geeks.

Our No. 25 Web Celeb, Leo Laporte
Age: 52
What: Internet broadcaster
The hardest-working man in podcasting (or, as he calls it, "netcasting") produces more than a dozen regular programs for his TWiT.tv network, including the highly regarded

This Week in Tech, and appears regularly as a pundit on television and radio programs. In 2008 he launched Twit Live, which broadcasts live video from his Petaluma, Calif.,

studios, allowing viewers to watch and interact. Laporte returns to the Web Celeb 25 list this year; he ranked No. 17 in 2007, but dropped off in 2008.