Earlier this week, our contributor Ann Charles, founder and CEO of BRANDfog, wrote about 25 of the smartest women on Twitter, part of her company’s ongoing look at ways to maximize Twitter’s potential.
There are others in that group, of course, as many readers (seriously, lots) pointed out on Twitter and in real life. There was some appropriate criticism about who was missing (“Spoiler alert: not one Black woman,” one Twitter user sharply, correctly noted). And we followed closely as the whole thing morphed into hashtags, including #SmartBlackWomenOfTwitter and #SmartLatinaWomenOfTwitter. You’ll find a treasure trove of big thinkers and innovators to follow there. We consider ourselves lucky to have an engaged audience who calls it like they see it (or don’t see it in this case).
We’re big believers in the idea that the future of business looks a lot less like Steve Ballmer and a lot more like Kelvin Doe, Yvonne Greenstreet, and Reshma Saujani. That idea is reflected in our annual lists, including Most Innovative Companies and Most Creative People. We squandered the opportunity to do the same with our initial Twitter list.
With that in mind, let’s continue the conversation. Keep sending us great ideas (or keep tweeting) and we’ll keep talking about the people you follow and who inspire you. Here are just a few of the additional smartest women on Twitter you suggested:
Farai Chideya | @faraichideya
Farai Chideya is a journalist, political analyst, and author of four books including The Color of Our Future and Kiss the Sky.
Heidi N. Moore | @moorehn
Based in New York City, Heidi Moore is the finance and economics editor for the Guardian US. Formerly of the Wall Street Journal, Moore has over a decade of experience in financial reporting and commentary.
Imani Perry | @imaniperry
Imani Perry is a scholar of law, culture and race; write, and cultural critic. She currently serves as a professor at Princeton University’s Center for African American Studies.
Soledad O’Brien | @Soledad_OBrien
Soledad O’Brien is CEO of Starfish Media Group and broadcast television anchor and correspondent for CNN, HBO, and more recently, Al Jazeera America. She was recently named a Distinguished Visiting Fellow by Harvard Graduate School of Education (where she was recently commencement speaker) and joined the board of directors of the Foundation for The National Archives in Washington, DC.
Gina Trapani | @ginatrapani
Gian Trapani is an American tech blogger, web developer, and writer. She founded @ThinkUp, @todotxt, and @Lifehacker.
Anne-Marie Slaughter | @SlaughterAM
Anne-Marie Slaughter is an academic, foreign policy analyst, and public commentator. She currently serves as the Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University and was formerly dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Before that, Slaughter served as director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department from 2009-2011.
Helen Clark | @HelenClarkUNDP
Helen Clark is the former prime minister of New Zealand and administrator of @UNDP.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon | @gaylelemmon
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is the New York Times best-selling author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy program.
Vanessa Bush | @Vanessa_KBush
Vanessa Bush, is editor of Essence magazine (@essencemag) and an award-winning journalist.
Goldie Taylor | @goldietaylor
Goldie Taylor is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, CNN, and HLN; author, and executive consultant.
Anthea Butler | @AntheaButler
Anthea Butler is an associate professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the author of the forthcoming The Gospel According to Sarah: How Sarah Palin’s Tea Party Angels Are Galvanizing the Religious Right.
Janet Mock | @janetmock
Janet Mock is a activist, author, and founder of the social media project #GirlsLikeUs which aims to raise the visibility of trans women. Her book Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More will be released in 2014.
Susie Wee | @susiewee
Susie Wee is vice president of Cisco and CTO of Networked Experiences.
Donna Brazile | @donnabrazile
Donna Brazile is a political strategist, author, and contributor to CNN and ABC News.
Danyel Smith | @danamo
Danyel Smith is a novelist, prolific journalist, and John S. Knight Journalism Fellow. She is also the author of two novels, Bliss: A Novel and More Like Wrestling.
Feminista Jones | @FeministaJones
Feminista Jones is a mental health social work administrator, editor at BlogHer, Ebony.com columnist, and multi-faceted feminist and social activist.
Laura Chinchilla | @Laura_Ch
Laura Chinchilla is first female president of Costa Rica, and the sixth women to be elected president of a Latin American country.
Maria Hinojosa | @Maria_Hinojosa
Maria Hinojosa is a journalist and founder of The Futuro Media Group, an independent notprofit media organization shedding light on the diversity of the American experience. Previously, she was the first Latina to anchor a report on PBS’s Frontline.
Who would you add to this list? Tell us in the comments section below, please!
[Image: Flickr user Rusty Clark]