Whether you’re embracing the hype or eagerly waiting to see how things evolve, there’s no question the “Internet of Things” is creating excitement from living room to C- Suite
Of course, as with every new technology wave, there are those on the front lines shaping the discussion, influencing decision making, and charting the course for what the Internet of Things will mean to each of us in the not-too-distant future.
And these IoT thought leaders come from diverse industries and disciplines. There are the analysts, authors, and speakers who help us understand the opportunities and implications, senior executives that champion enterprise and startup initiatives, and those responsible for turning the Internet of Things into a daily reality.
But who are these people and what’s influencing their own perspective on IoT?
This is where social insights come in... as social media activity can give us a truly unique lens through which to gain insights into the people leading the conversation about the Internet of Things.
That’s why we’re excited to collaborate with Neustar to develop a social insights report analyzing these IoT thought leaders. What did we discover in researching and preparing this report?
Here’s what we learned.
1. Social Insights:
Internet of Things
How IoT executives,
practitioners, and thought
leaders engage on Twitter
A Social Insights Report from: In collaboration with:
2. Why an Internet of Things?
What does the Internet of Things mean to people?
For some, it’s excitement for all the cool things that
the latest Apple Watch or Fitbit will do to make our
lives easier or healthier. For others, it’s the day when
our smart-tastic fridge will call our self-driving car to
swing by the store for milk. But while these
innovations are both practical and phenomenal, they
barely scratch the surface of what the Internet of
Things will mean for us in the near future.
The explosion of connected devices will impact far
more than just consumer conveniences. The Internet
of Things—or “IoT” as it’s called by acronym-lovers—
will directly affect how factories are run, how products
are manufactured, how transportation operates, and
how energy is created and consumed. We’ll have the
ability to track, analyze, and alter most of our physical
world through the electronic devices around us. And
these devices will communicate with each other to
make our physical world a better place... with or
without our help.
This is exhilarating—but it can also be frightening.
In a world where devices interact with people,
systems, and each other, IoT must take into account
identity, data, and security in both human and
machine communications to work safely and
effectively. That’s where Neustar comes in. Simply
put, we will help to register and secure these devices
and empower the analytics to make enlightened
decisions that will affect everything around us. Pretty
cool, huh?
Who else is helping to shape thinking about the
Internet of Things?
With this question in mind, Neustar has collaborated
with Leadtail to look at how IoT experts, executives,
and practitioners are using social media to connect
with their peers and discuss the full potential of an
interconnected future.
What can you learn from the social insights we’ve
discovered about these IoT thought leaders? Read on
to find out...
Lisa Joy Rosner
CMO, Neustar
@LisaJoyRosner
3. Why Social Insights?
Whether you’re embracing the hype or
eagerly waiting to see how things evolve,
there’s no question the “Internet of Things” is
creating excitement from living room to C-
Suite
Of course, as with every new technology
wave, there are those on the front lines
shaping the discussion, influencing decision
making, and charting the course for what the
Internet of Things will mean to each of us in
the not-too-distant future.
And these IoT thought leaders come from
diverse industries and disciplines. There are
the analysts, authors, and speakers who help
us understand the opportunities and
implications, senior executives that champion
enterprise and startup initiatives, and those
responsible for turning the Internet of Things
into a daily reality.
But who are these people and what’s
influencing their own perspective on IoT?
This is where social insights come in… as
social media activity can give us a truly unique
lens through which to gain insights into the
people leading the conversation about the
Internet of Things.
That’s why we’re excited to collaborate with
Neustar to develop a social insights report
analyzing these IoT thought leaders. What did
we discover in researching and preparing this
report?
Here’s what we learned.
Carter Hostelley
CEO, Leadtail
@CarterHostelley
4. 21,308
retweets
and
61,695
mentions/
replies
10,007
unique
hashtags
Including
links shared in those
tweets…
49,748
Leadtail identified
Internet of Things
executives,
practitioners, and
thought leaders that
are active on Twitter
300
We then analyzed
public tweets published by
these IoT Leaders between
April 1– June 30, 2015
73,112
IoT Leaders Report - Data Set at a Glance
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail4
5. Social Insights About IoT Leaders
5
2. Share on social media in ways that reveal three key insights: the rise of rich visual content, the
resurgence of real-world events and meet-ups, and strong support for crowdfunding campaigns.
4. Read an unlikely combination of publications: both venerable trade journals, like IEEE
Spectrum, and modern digital magazines like WT Vox. IoT is bringing hardware and software
makers together in ways we’ve not seen since the Internet Revolution of the ‘90s.
3.Source information from their own community via social networks and collaborative
publications like Medium, in addition to publication staples in business and technology like
TechCrunch, Forbes, and WIRED.
5. Take cues from the startup world, engaging with social business experts and creating
companies where products and business leaders are social from day one.
The Internet of Things is a vast umbrella of devices encompassing everything from wearables and
connected cars, to robotics and industrial machines, and everything in between. Based on insights
gleaned from their social media chatter, we learned that IoT leaders…
6. Engage with dedicated IoT publications and Twitter accounts to specifically address the IoT
audience. These resources have emerged as a result of large enterprise technology vendors playing
a major role in defining the IoT landscape.
1. Cluster around US metros with established innovation firms, prestigious research universities,
access to capital, and thriving startup communities.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
6. Report Methodology
6
The methodology the Leadtail team used to create this report:
1. Identify IoT Executives, Practitioners, and Thought Leaders active on social media based
on criteria such as job title, role, type of company, and geographic location to create the
target audience panel.
2. Use the Leadtail Social Media Insights technology to extract insights around key social
media activities, such as what links are shared, who is mentioned and retweeted, popular
hashtags, popular platforms used to share content, etc.
3. Review, analyze, and package these insights into this report.
The specific data set analyzed for this report is comprised of:
} 300 IoT Leaders primarily based in the U.S. and Canada
} Distributed into three categories: 33% Executives, 35% Practitioners, 32% Thought Leaders
} Titles and responsibilities including: CEO, CMO, CIO, CTO, VP, Chief Architect, Strategist,
Founder, Analyst, Author, Consultant, Researcher, Speaker, Technologist, Writer
} Total potential follower reach: 1,676,463; median # of followers per panelist: 899
} Tweets published between April 1, 2015 – June 30, 2015
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
7. How This Report is Organized
7 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
This report is organized into four sections designed to provide social insights about Internet of
Things Leaders from different vantage points.
1. Social Insights – Internet of Things Leaders: This section includes social insights
benchmark data based on our full panel of IoT Leaders. Our panel is made up of
approximately equal parts Executives, Practitioners, and Thought Leaders as described
below.
2. Social Insights – IoT Executives: Select benchmark data drawn from the Founders,
CEOs, CMOs, CIOs, CTOs, GMs and Chief Architects of companies (or divisions of
enterprises) focused on IoT products and services.
3. Social Insights – IoT Practitioners: Select benchmark data drawn from the senior
individual contributors and team leaders who fill the functional roles required to design,
develop, market, sell, secure and deliver the Internet of Things.
4. Social Insights – IoT Thought Leaders: Select benchmark data drawn from writers,
publishers, consultants, speakers, analysts, and investors with a specific area of expertise
or practice around the Internet of Things.
8. Social Insights:
Internet of Things Leaders
8 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
9. Where Are IoT Leaders Located?
Internet of Things leaders are concentrated in US metros with strong innovation
credentials, research universities, access to capital, and startup communities.
9
Based on the location provided in the Twitter profile.
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
10. How Do IoT Leaders Describe Themselves?
IoT Leaders can emerge from any industry or discipline. The world cloud below
shows the variety of ways IoT Leaders describe themselves on the social web.
10 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
Based on keywords used in the Twitter profile.
11. What Do IoT Leaders Talk About?
Hashtags reveal the topics and events that captured the attention of IoT
Leaders during the report period.
11 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
12. % of IoT Leaders that shared content originating from this network to Twitter during the report period.
100%
54%
36%
26%
22%
15%
14%
13%
12%
12%
11%
9%
9%
7%
7%
6%
Twitter
YouTube
LinkedIn
Instagram
SlideShare
EventBrite
Paper.li
Meetup
Facebook
Vine
Kickstarter
Github
Swarm App
Vimeo
IndieGoGo
Periscope
Insight #3: “Fund Me”
Call it the “Internet of Getting Things Done”!
IoT Leaders are actively promoting crowdfunded
projects on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo.
12
Which Social Networks Drive Sharing to Twitter?
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
Insight #2: “Meet Me”
IoT Leaders share events and meetups at a
rate much higher than that of other senior
executives. Maybe it’s simply a case where
everyone wants to play with cool hardware?
Insight #1: “Show Me”
IoT Leaders favor sharing content
from networks that focus on visual
content, like YouTube and Instagram.
13. 11. Mashable
12. Bloomberg
13. Re/code
14. The Huffington Post
15. Engadget
16. Fast Company
17. WSJ Blogs
18. CNET
19. The Guardian
20. Google
21. Harvard Business Review
22. ZDnet
23. The Washington Post
24. The Next Web
25. The Economist
Following are the Top 25 Mainstream Media Content Sources shared by IoT Leaders during
the report period, based on the number of unique people who that shared each source.
What Are the Most Shared Mainstream Sources?
1. TechCrunch
2. Forbes
3. WIRED
4. The New York Times
5. Business Insider
6. Fortune
7. VentureBeat
8. Medium
9. The Verge
10. The Wall Street Journal
13 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
14. 11. IEEE Spectrum
12. TechRepublic
13. Thoughts on Cloud
14. EE Times
15. The Big Data Hub
16. Silicon Angle
17. Computer Business Review
18. eWeek
19. SlashGear
20. Phys.org
21. InfoWorld
22. InformationAge
23. All The Internet of Things
24. PCWorld
25. Gartner
Following are the Top 25 Industry Media Content Sources shared by IoT Leaders during the
report period, based on the number of unique people who shared each source.
What Are the Most Shared Industry Sources?
1. CIO.com
2. MIT Technology Review
3. Gizmodo
4. Computer World
5. WT Vox
6. Ars Technica
7. InformationWeek
8. O'Reilly Radar
9. Network World
10. Digital Trends
14 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
15. Which Topics Are Most Popular with IoT Leaders?
Which topics grab the attention of IoT leaders? Our analysis of headlines shared by this
audience provides insights into the topics and keywords that engage IoT Leaders most.
15 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
16. Popular Stories with IoT Leaders
16
The Internet of Things Landscape 2015: Top 100 Individuals
and Brands
Arthur Hilhorst (@arthurhilhorst), Onalytica
1
2
3
4
5
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
We Need To Get The Internet Of Things Right
Dave Evans (@DaveTheFuturist), TechCrunch
7 Ways the Internet of Things Could Dramatically Change
the Workplace as We Know It
Jacquelyn Smith (@JacquelynVSmith), Business Insider
How Internet Of Things Data Improves Product Development
Dan Woods (@danwoodsearly), Forbes
iPhone Killer: The Secret History of the Apple Watch
David Pierce (@pierce), WIRED.com
The stories popular with IoT Leaders reflect thought leadership pieces, practical stats, and a
desire to learn who else may have interesting ideas and expertise around the Internet of Things.
17. Which Publications, Vendors and People Do IoT Leaders Mention Most?
Mentioning an entity by name can
mean a few different things in social
media: giving credit for an idea or piece
of content being shared, engaging
someone directly in conversation, or
giving a shout-out to a person you’ve
recently met.
In any context, being mentioned is a
sign that you are an active part of the
social conversation, and those
mentioned most are the people you’ll
find at the center of engaging
conversations between IoT Leaders.
This word cloud shows the
publications, vendors and people
mentioned most by IoT Leaders during
the report period.
17 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
18. Most Mentioned Publications, Vendors and People
* Based on unique # of IoT Leaders in the sample who mentioned the Twitter handle.
11. @mashable
12. @intel
13. @ZDNet
14. @Cisco
15. @FastCompany
16. @IBM
17. @twitter
18. @gigastacey
19. @kickstarter
20. @Uber
21. @verge
22. @CIOonline
23. @CNET
24. @engadget
25. @qz
26. @nytimes
27. @PTC
28. @amazon
29. @Inteliot
30. @OReillySolid
31. @ATT
32. @Gartner_inc
33. @USATODAY
34. @pmarca
35. @IDC
36. @Inc
37. @SAI
38. @ThingWorx
39. @WhiteHouse
40. @ValaAfshar
41. @business
42. @Computerworld
43. @Entrepreneur
44. @facebook
45. @Cisco_IoT
46. @elonmusk
47. @HarvardBiz
48. @IIConsortium
49. @techstars
50. @ThingsExpo
1. @TechCrunch
2. @Forbes
3. @WSJ
4. @WIRED
5. @FortuneMagazine
6. @YouTube
7. @google
8. @LinkedIn
9. @VentureBeat
10. @Microsoft
18 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
19. Whether tweets are timely, topical,
provocative, or data-driven, the brands,
people and publications IoT Leaders
retweet the most are not only an
indicator of the sources of original and
curated content that engages them, but
drives them to share it with their
networks.
And while it helps to be a rocket
scientist, or a successful venture
capitalist, we mere mortals can take a
page from the playbooks of these
influencers. Each has built a personal
brand based, in large part, on the type
and quality of content they create,
curate, and share.
19 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
Which Publications, Vendors and People Do IoT Leaders Retweet Most?
20. • Based on unique # of IoT Leaders in the sample who retweeted the Twitter handle.
11. @BenedictEvans
12. @HarvardBiz
13. @FastCompany
14. @WSJ
15. @iotattack
16. @TheIoT
17. @TheEconomist
18. @gigastacey
19. @Forbes
20. @TheNextWeb
21. @FortuneMagazine
22. @Recode
23. @Atmel
24. @businessinsider
25. @Inc
26. @KirkDBorne
27. @ThingWorx
28. @mashable
29. @nytimes
30. @CNET
31. @NetOfEverything
32. @alexanderwear
33. @WSJD
34. @evankirstel
35. @pmarca
36. @simonlporter
37. @EconBizFin
38. @Entrepreneur
39. @Onalytica
40. @IBMcloud
41. @cdixon
42. @OReillySolid
43. @CNBC
44. @wef
45. @IBM
46. @SAI
47. @Timothy_Hughes
48. @SuB8u
49. @CiscoIoE
50. @ITredux
1. @ValaAfshar
2. @TechCrunch
3. @ForbesTech
4. @VentureBeat
5. @wtvox
6. @Things_Internet
7. @engadget
8. @WIRED
9. @PTC
10. @verge
20 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
Most Retweeted Publications, Vendors and People
22. Internet of Things Executives
22 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
Founders, CEOs, and other executive champions of IoT programs are charged
with turning vision into strategy, and marshaling the best resources available to
execute. They’re also responsible for making sure that the products and services
they deliver can sustain or transform a business plan or corporate strategy.
Ray Potter
CEO,
SafeLogic
@SafeLogic_Ray
Andy Rhodes
CIO,
United States Golf Association
@arhodesCIO
Sce Pike
Founder / CEO,
IOTAS
@spike75
Tristan Barnum
Founder,
Tellient
@super_luminal
Stephanie Atkinson
CEO,
Compass Intelligence
@StephanieAtkinson
Adam Justice
Vice President,
Grid Connect
@AdamJustice
Some Examples of IoT Executives from Our Panel
23. IoT Executives - Social Insights
1. #IoT
2. #tech
3. #Wearables
4. #BigData
5. #security
6. #cloud
7. #Startup(s)
8. #InternetofThings
9. #analytics
10. #smarthome
11. #innovation
12. #M2M
13. #AppleWatch
14. #mobile
15. #data
1. @ValaAfshar
2. @BenedictEvans
3. @gigastacey
4. @pmarca
5. @levie
6. @timoreilly
7. @michaelwolf
8. @bfeld
9. @elonmusk
10. @mkrigsman
11. @inafried
12. @MaribelLopez
13. @chris_rezendes
14. @dhinchcliffe
15. @evankirstel
1. YouTube
2. TechCrunch
3. Forbes
4. WIRED
5. LinkedIn
6. VentureBeat
7. The New York Times
8. Fortune
9. Business Insider
10. Medium
11. Mashable
12. Instagram
13. The Verge
14. Re/code
15. The Wall Street Journal
Top Hashtags Top Influencers Top Content Sources
23 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
25. Internet of Things Practitioners
25 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
The senior contributors and team leaders of IoT companies and business units
perform the wide range of functions required to design, develop, market, sell,
secure and deliver IoT solutions to industry and consumers.
Tamara Dull
Director of Emerging Technology
SAS Best Practices Institute
@tamaradull
Kirsten Billhardt
Global Marketing Lead, IOT
Dell
@kirstenatdell
Michael Cavaretta, Ph.D.
Manager, Connected Vehicle Analytics
Ford Motor Company
@mjcavaretta
Jay Sales
Innovation Strategist
The Shop @ VSP Global
@soupsales
Daniel Holmlund
IOT Community Evangelist
Intel Developer Relations
@agnathan
Susan Politzzotto
Sr. Manager, Product Marketing, IoT
Qualcomm
@Susan_P
Some Examples of IoT Practitioners from Our Panel
26. 1. #IoT
2. #BigData
3. #tech
4. #InternetofThings
5. #cloud
6. #Wearables
7. #security
8. #analytics
9. #mobile
10. #M2M
11. #innovation
12. #Startup
13. #data
14. #Apple
15. #IoE
1. @ValaAfshar
2. @gigastacey
3. @chrismatthieu
4. @KirkDBorne
5. @danablouin
6. @rexstjohn
7. @chris_rezendes
8. @elonmusk
9. @evankirstel
10. @alexanderwear
11. @ITredux
12. @MichaelEPorter
13. @timoreilly
14. @ArjenSAP
15. @ashishbdatta
1. YouTube
2. Forbes
3. TechCrunch
4. WIRED
5. Fortune
6. Business Insider
7. The New York Times
8. LinkedIn
9. VentureBeat
10. The Verge
11. Instagram
12. Medium
13. The Wall Street Journal
14. The Huffington Post
15. ZDnet
Hashtags Influencers Content Sources
26 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
IoT Practitioners - Social Insights
27. Social Insights:
IoT Thought Leaders
27 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
28. Internet of Things Thought Leaders
28 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
We rely on Thought Leaders to put the present and future of the Internet of Things
into personal, business, and cultural context. In their roles as consultants,
evangelists, journalists, and analysts, they are often able to attain a “20,000 foot
view” of what’s happening across corporate boundaries and entire industries.
Ted Friedman
IT Industry Analyst
Gartner
@ted_friedman
Setrag Khoshafian
Chief Evangelist, VP of BPM Tech
Pegasystems
@setrag
Tom Rikert
Partner
Next World Capital
@tomrikert
KC Phaneuf
Director Client Relations
Bill Hill Research
@kcphaneuf23
Maxine Bingham
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
IoT Perspectives
@MaxineBingham
Michael Chui
Partner
McKinsey Global Institute
@mchui
Some Examples of IoT Thought Leaders from Our Panel
29. 1. #IoT
2. #BigData
3. #Wearables
4. #security
5. #tech
6. #InternetofThings
7. #cloud
8. #analytics
9. #mobile
10. #M2M
11. #innovation
12. #smarthome
13. #data
14. #cybersecurity
15. #IoTDay
1. @pmarca
2. @ValaAfshar
3. @BenedictEvans
4. @gigastacey
5. @evankirstel
6. @POTUS
7. @simonlporter
8. @chris_rezendes
9. @holgermu
10. @timoreilly
11. @MichaelEPorter
12. @alexanderwear
13. @DaveTheFuturist
14. @JonBruner
15. @mims
1. YouTube
2. TechCrunch
3. LinkedIn
4. Forbes
5. Business Insider
6. WIRED
7. The New York Times
8. Medium
9. VentureBeat
10. The Wall Street Journal
11. Fortune
12. Bloomberg
13. Google
14. WSJ Blogs
15. Slideshare
Hashtags Influencers Content Sources
29 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
IoT Thought Leaders - Social Insights
30. Conclusion
30 Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
Whether you think the Internet of Things is an exciting wave of new innovation, or the logical
evolution of decades of technical progress, one thing is for certain: it’s here, and it’s going to
transform our businesses and our lives.
Here’s what we’ve learned (so far) by analyzing our panel of IoT Leaders:
} Behind the connected devices that many consumers think about as the Internet of Things,
C-Suite executives are grappling with big questions and challenges around privacy,
security, and the right business models to sustain both the consumer and industrial IoT.
} The Internet may have become a broad consumer medium, but the Internet of Things still
(mostly) belongs to the techies and the geeks. It helps to find your niche and your tribe.
} With exposure to multiple clients, industries, and startup pitches, IoT Thought Leaders
gain a unique perspective on how the IoT is evolving, and can help put that vision into
context for executives and practitioners.
So whether you’re an executive charged with charting your company’s course in this new
connected world, a maker delivering a new class of smart products and services, or an
investor on the lookout for that unmet need, the social insights in this report will help you
quickly identify the publications, vendors, and people that are driving and shaping the IoT
conversations you’ll want to join.
31. About Neustar
31
Neustar, Inc. is the first real-time provider of cloud-based information services and data
analytics, enabling marketing and IT security professionals to promote and protect their
businesses. With a commitment to privacy and neutrality, we operate complex data registries
and use our expertise to deliver actionable, data-driven insights that help our clients to make
high-value business decisions in real time, one customer interaction at a time.
Marketers rely on Neustar to plan strategies and optimize cross channel campaigns with
advanced marketing analytics, custom segmentation, and media optimization. Our real-time data
driven intelligence and marketing analytics help drive informed, actionable decisions across the
entire marketing lifecycle. To learn more about our marketing services, visit
www.neustar.biz/marketing-solutions.
IT/Security professionals use Neustar to direct and manage the flow of Internet traffic, resolve
Internet queries, and protect against fraud and cyber attacks. To learn more about our IT/
security services, visit www.neustar.biz/it-security-services
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail
32. About Leadtail
Leadtail came about from our desire to help marketing executives tap into the power of social
media to get closer to target buyers and radically improve their marketing strategies.
We work with innovative companies to create social media strategies and leverage social
insights research. Our team has developed and implemented programs for leading business
brands and venture backed startups including: WageWorks, Trend Micro, Zuora, Robert Half,
Hoover’s, and NetBase.
We also publish social insights reports about the C-Suite and decision maker groups such as
digital marketers, sales leaders, recruiters, and innovation leaders. These reports have been
referenced in major publications including: The Wall St. Journal, Business Insider, Forbes,
Huffington Post, Adweek, and MarketingProfs.
Interested in collaborating on a future social insights report? Email us: hello@leadtail.com
32
LinkedIn.com/company/Leadtail
Leadtail.com/blog
@Leadtail
Social Insights for Decision Makers | Internet of Things Leaders 2015 | Leadtail