10 of Forbes Top 100 Powerful Celebrity 2011

Forbes has just revealed the top 100 list of Powerful Celebrity(calculated May 2011). Lady Gaga topples Oprah Winfrey from her No.1 spot on our list, which she's given up for only the third time in seven years.

Gaga is there not just because of the $90 million she earned with a monster tour, but also because of her 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million Twitter followers--aka Little Monsters--who helped move 1 million digital downloads of her recent single "Born This Way" in only five days.

They're also happy to buy the MAC makeup, Monster headphones and Virgin Mobile phones she features in her videos.

Here's the top 10 out of 100 list: (Name, Pays)

1 - Lady Gaga $90 M

Facebook Friends
32,585k+
Twitter Followers
10,131k+
twitter.com/ladygaga
Google News Results
5,050,000
TV/Radio appearances
4,376
Press Clips
54,174



Sometimes it pays to be weird. The Queen Monster grossed $170 million on 137 shows in 22 countries over the past 12 months and has sold an estimated 15 million albums worldwide. No surprise that advertisers want a piece: endorsement deals include Polaroid, Virgin Mobile, Monster Cable, Viva Glam and PlentyOfFish.com. A Russian billionaire reportedly paid $1 million to appear in her "Alejandro" video.

2 - Oprah Winfrey $290 M

Facebook Friends
5,391k+
Twitter Followers
5,631k+
twitter.com/oprah
Google News Results
1,900,000
TV/Radio appearances
8,517
Press Clips
37,410



As her long-running syndicated show winds down, Winfrey is doing all she can to make her new cable station, OWN, a success. The network features shows like The Judds about the mother daughter country music team. Ratings so far have been anemic leading to the ouster of chief executive Christina Norman.

3 - Justin Bieber $53 M

Facebook Friends
25,614k+
Twitter Followers
8,983k+
twitter.com/justinbieber
Google News Results
4,533,000
TV/Radio appearances
3,641
Press Clips
32,364



Though he may not know where Germany is, the cherubic crooner has attained international superstardom: his new album My Life 2.0 quickly attained platinum status, his concert movie Never Say Never grossed $100 million globally and Bieber's live shows around the world bring in $600,000 in gross ticket sales per night. The music video for Bieber's hit song "Baby" has been viewed a YouTube record 500 million times.

4 - U2 $195 M

Facebook Friends
8,234k+
Google News Results
1,811,438
TV/Radio appearances
427
Press Clips
30,272



The ageless rockers are wrapping up the most lucrative tour in the history of music. In April the group's 360 Tour surpassed the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang Tour, which grossed $554 million from 2005 to 2007. By the time U2's tour ends this summer, the band will have sold $700 million worth of tickets over two years and played to more than 7 million people.

5 - Elton John $100 M

Facebook Friends
951k+
Google News Results
1,300,000
TV/Radio appearances
1,196
Press Clips
19,803



Sir Elton has sold 250 million records worldwide over the past 30 years and isn't slowing down, he grossed $204 million performing 102 live shows in the past 12 months. The Rocket Man still has time for family. With partner David Furnish, he welcomed surrogate son Zachary in 2010. Lady Gaga is the tyke's godmother.

6 - Tiger Woods $75 M

Facebook Friends
1,826k+
Twitter Followers
787k+
twitter.com/tigerwoods
Google News Results
1,000,000
TV/Radio appearances
3,584
Press Clips
40,100



Woods has struggled to win tournaments and sign new sponsorship deals since his November 2009 car crash and the infidelity scandal that followed. Yet Woods continues to be the world's best-paid athlete thanks to $3 million overseas appearance fees and two sponsors that stuck with him: Nike and Electronic Arts. First week sales this spring of EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters were the highest in the 14-year history of the popular video game franchise.

7 - Taylor Swift $45 M

Facebook Friends
19,728k+
Twitter Followers
6,043k+
twitter.com/taylorswift13
Google News Results
2,380,000
TV/Radio appearances
1,408
Press Clips
12,259



Whether you consider her music country, pop or both, there's no question that Swift is a moneymaking machine. Her new album Speak Now was certified triple-platinum barely a month after its October release. Touring brings gross ticket sales of some $750,000 per night. Just don't break her heart: scathing love ballad "Dear John" was rumored to be directed at former flame John Mayer.

8 - Bon Jovi $125 M

Facebook Friends
11,356k+
Twitter Followers
276k+
twitter.com/bonjovi
Google News Results
878,000
TV/Radio appearances
387
Press Clips
10,763



Who says you can't go home? Bon Jovi opened New Jersey's New Meadowlands Stadium with three consecutive sold out concerts last May and another in July. The band grossed $200 million playing 74 shows over the past 12 months and released a greatest hits album. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi was named to the White House Council for Community Solutions by President Obama.

9 - Simon Cowell $90 M

Facebook Friends
319k+
Google News Results
546,000
TV/Radio appearances
1,059
Press Clips
20,549



Cowell's exit from American Idol this year didn't kill the show, but it left fans hungry for his biting criticism. Lucky for them, the American version of Cowell's The X Factor is slated to launch on Fox this fall. Cowell has said that the format, which allows for single and group performers over the age of 12, is his favorite. It doesn't hurt that he's revived the old Idol chemistry by hiring on fellow former judge Paula Abdul.

10 - LeBron James $48 M

Facebook Friends
5,915k+
Twitter Followers
1,723k+
twitter.com/kingjames
Google News Results
1,330,000
TV/Radio appearances
5,582
Press Clips
38,799



James' reputation took a hit last summer when he announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat on a national televised special dubbed "The Decision." His negative Q score soared 77%. Despite the animosity, James continues to be a hot ticket. His jersey was the NBA's best seller this season and he has the No. 1 basketball shoe on the market. In April, James partnered with Fenway Sports Group to manage his business interests. As part of the deal James received a very small stake in FSG-owned soccer club, Liverpool.

Please visit forbes.com to get the complete 100 list. Thanks.

• Reference/Source: forbes.com by Dorothy Pomerantz [05.18.11]

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10 of World's Top Universities 2010

Here's the list of World's Top 10 Universities (according to Rank, Country, Size and Score)

1 - University of Cambridge
United Kingdom, L, Score: 100.00

The University of Cambridge is rich in history - its famous Colleges and University buildings attract visitors from all over the world. But the University's museums and collections also hold many treasures which give an exciting insight into some of the scholarly activities, both past and present, of the University's academics and students.
The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest universities in the world and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Its reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known world-wide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. Its reputation is endorsed by the Quality Assurance Agency and by other external reviewers of learning and teaching, such as External Examiners.
These high standards are the result of both the learning opportunities offered at Cambridge and by its extensive resources, including libraries, museums and other collections. Teaching consists not only of lectures, seminars and practical classes led by people who are world experts in their field, but also more personalised teaching arranged through the Colleges. Many opportunities exist for students to interact with scholars of all levels, both formally and informally.

There are 31 Colleges in Cambridge. Three are for women (New Hall, Newnham and Lucy Cavendish) and two admit only graduates (Clare Hall and Darwin). The remainder house and teach all students enrolled in courses of study or research at the University
Each College is an independent institution with its own property and income. The Colleges appoint their own staff and are responsible for selecting students, in accordance with University regulations. The teaching of students is shared between the Colleges and University departments. Degrees are awarded by the University.
Within each College, staff and students of all disciplines are brought together. This cross-fertilisation has encouraged the free exchange of ideas which has led to the creation of a number of new companies. Trinity and St John's have also established science parks, providing facilities for start-ups, and making a significant contribution to the identification of Cambridge as a centre of innovation and technology.
In addition to the collections on display in the University's libraries & museums, there is a wealth of sporting and cultural activity at the University of Cambridge, much of it organised by individual clubs and societies run by staff and students. Although the University does not offer courses in the creative arts or sport, there is a strong tradition of achievement in these fields, with many former students going on to gain international standing as artists, performers and athletes. Initiatives ensure that aspiring performers enrich their education with a high level of activity outside the lecture.

2 - Harvard University
United States, L, Score: 99.18

Harvard College was established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was named for its first benefactor, John Harvard of Charlestown.

Harvard is America's oldest institution of higher learning, founded 140 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. The University has grown from nine students with a single master to an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates, including undergraduates and students in 10 principal academic units. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in one or more courses in the Harvard Extension School. Over 14,000 people work at Harvard, including more than 2,000 faculty. There are also 7,000 faculty appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals.

Our mission, to advance new ideas and promote enduring knowledge, has kept the University young. We strive to create an academic environment in which outstanding students and scholars from around the world are continually challenged and inspired to do their best possible work. It is Harvard's collective efforts that make this university such a vibrant place to live, to learn, to work, and to explore.

3 - Yale University
United States, M, Score: 98.68

Yale University was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School in the home of Abraham Pierson, its first rector, in Killingworth, Connecticut. In 1716 the school moved to New Haven and, with the generous gift by Elihu Yale of nine bales of goods, 417 books, and a portrait and arms of King George I, was renamed Yale College in 1718.

Yale embarked on a steady expansion, establishing the Medical Institution (1810), Divinity School (1822), Law School (1843), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1847), the School of Fine Arts (1869), and School of Music (1894). In 1887 Yale College became Yale University. It continued to add to its academic offerings with the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (1900), School of Nursing (1923), School of Drama (1955), School of Architecture (1972), and School of Management (1974).

As Yale enters its fourth century, it's goal is to become a truly global university?educating leaders and advancing the frontiers of knowledge not simply for the United States, but for the entire world. Richard C. Levin, the president of Yale University, says: ?The globalization of the University is in part an evolutionary development. Yale has drawn students from outside the United States for nearly two centuries, and international issues have been represented in its curriculum for the past hundred years and more. But creating the global university is also a revolutionary development?signaling distinct changes in the substance of teaching and research, the demographic characteristics of students, the scope and breadth of external collaborations, and the engagement of the University with new audiences.

4 - UCL (University College London)
United Kingdom, L, Score: 98.54

Described by The Sunday Times as 'an intellectual powerhouse with a world-class reputation', UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top three multifaculty universities in the UK and features in the top 5 universities worldwide.

UCL is a multidisciplinary university with an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching across the academic spectrum, with subjects spanning the sciences, arts, social sciences and biomedicine. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) UCL was rated the best research university in London, and third in the UK overall, for the number of its submissions which were considered of world-leading quality. The RAE confirmed UCLâ??s multidisciplinary research strength with outstanding results achieved across the subjects, ranging from Biomedicine, Science and Engineering, and the Built Environment to Laws, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

Teaching at UCL is 'research-led', meaning that the programmes we offer reflect the very latest research and are often taught by academic staff members who are world-leaders in their fields. UCL has one of the best staff-student ratios in the UK and places a strong emphasis on small group teaching.

As well as being dynamic and intellectually challenging, UCL offers a very cosmopolitan and international environment in which to study. Over 30% of our students are from outside the UK, coming from nearly 140 different countries. UCL also attracts academic staff from around the globe, and international staff and students alike are welcomed for the different perspectives and diversity they bring to teaching and learning at UCL.

The university is located on a compact site in the very heart of London and is surrounded by the greatest concentration of libraries, museums, archives, cultural institutions and professional bodies in Europe.

5 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
United States, M, Score: 98.19

The mission of MIT is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

The Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. MIT is dedicated to providing its students with an education that combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community. We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.

The Institute admitted its first students in 1865, four years after the approval of its founding charter. The opening marked the culmination of an extended effort by William Barton Rogers, a distinguished natural scientist, to establish a new kind of independent educational institution relevant to an increasingly industrialized America. Rogers stressed the pragmatic and practicable. He believed that professional competence is best fostered by coupling teaching and research and by focusing attention on real-world problems. Toward this end, he pioneered the development of the teaching laboratory.

Today MIT is a world-class educational institution. Teaching and research-with relevance to the practical world as a guiding principle-continue to be its primary purpose. MIT is independent, coeducational, and privately endowed. Its five schools and one college encompass 34 academic departments, divisions, and degree-granting programs, as well as numerous interdisciplinary centers, laboratories, and programs whose work cuts across traditional departmental boundaries.

6 - University of Oxford
United Kingdom, L, Score: 98.16

Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and lays claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. As an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research, Oxford attracts students and scholars from across the globe, with almost a quarter of our students from overseas. More than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of over 18,000.
Oxford is a collegiate university, with 39 self-governing colleges related to the University in a type of federal system. There are also seven Permanent Private Halls, founded by different Christian denominations. Thirty colleges and all halls admit students for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Seven other colleges are for graduates only; one has Fellows only, and one specializes in part-time and continuing education.
There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

Oxford is one of Europe's most innovative and entrepreneurial universities. Drawing on an 800-year tradition of discovery and invention, modern Oxford leads the way in creating jobs, wealth, skills and innovation for the 21st century. The leading UK university for knowledge transfer and commercial spin-outs, Oxford was also the UK pioneer in developing a university intellectual property policy.

Each year, Oxford welcomes students with great potential, at both undergraduate and graduate level, from all over the globe. Our students are attracted by the chance to study at an internationally-renowned seat of learning, with a centuries-old reputation for outstanding academic achievement and innovation.
Oxford meets the needs of students, teachers and the international research community with an extremely rich and diverse range of library resources provided by over 100 separate libraries.
Oxford's museums and collections are world renowned. They provide an important resource for scholars internationally, and welcome visits from members of the public. Admission is free, except for the Botanic Garden, where visitors are charged a small admission fee, and Christ Church Picture Gallery, which makes a small charge, with concessions for children, students and senior citizens.

7 - Imperial College London
United Kingdom, L, Score: 97.78

Imperial College London is a university of world class scholarship, education and research in science, engineering and medicine, with particular regard to their application in industry, commerce and healthcare. Established in 1907, it is located in the heart of London. It is consistently rated among the United Kingdom's top three universities, and was ranked 5th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2009.

The College has over 3,000 academic and research staff and almost 14,000 students from over 120 different countries. Our reputation for excellence in teaching and research in science, engineering, medicine and business attracts students and staff of the highest international calibre. Imperial College staff are frequently consulted by governments, and also act as members of professional bodies, advise industry, and offer informed comment to the media.

Imperial nurtures a can-do entrepreneurial culture and as a result has an enormous amount of intellectual capital. It has about 90 spin-out companies to date and is adding to this by an average of two per month.

Imperial has three Faculties, of Engineering, Natural Sciences, Medicine; the Imperial College Business School; and a Humanities Department. Interdisciplinary research is promoted through several Institutes, for example the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Energy Futures Lab. We provide undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in all branches of science, engineering and medicine. Two Graduate Schools, Engineering and Physical Science, and Life Sciences and Medicine, provide training in a broader range of student skills. College accommodation is provided for undergraduate students in their first year.

8 - University of Chicago
United States, M, Score: 97.52

A private university chartered in 1890 by John D. Rockefeller, the University of Chicago has been shaping higher education and the intellectual lives of undergraduates for more than a century. William Rainey Harper, the first president, imagined a university that would combine an American-style undergraduate liberal arts college with a German-style graduate research university. The University of Chicago quickly fulfilled Harper's dream, becoming a national leader in academia and research.
Boasting its 211-acre campus on the shores of Lake Michigan, UChicago has been home to over eighty Nobel Laureates, the largest number affiliated with any American university. UChicago scholars were the first to split the atom, to measure the speed of light, and to develop the field of sociology. The College is the largest academic unit of the University, which encompasses 10 graduate divisions and professional schools, including on-campus law, business, and medical schools.

9 - California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
United States, S, Score: 96.46

The mission of the California Institute of Technology is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.

10 - Princeton University
United States, M, Score: 96.03

Princeton is the fourth-oldest college in the United States. The ambience of its earliest days is palpable in historic landmarks on campus, most notably Nassau Hall, which in 1783 was the temporary capitol of the United States.

From such a distinctive beginning grew something great -- a community of learning that continues to evolve, providing abundant opportunities to talented students from around the world.

As a research university, it seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding, and in the education of graduate students. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching.

The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources -- in a residential community committed to diversity in its student body, faculty and staff -- that help them achieve at the highest scholarly levels and prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor.

Through the scholarship and teaching of its faculty, and the many contributions to society of its alumni, Princeton seeks to fulfill its informal motto: ?Princeton in the Nation?s Service and in the Service of All Nations.

Please visit topuniversities.com to get the complete list of world's top universities. Thanks.

• Reference/Source: topuniversities.com [2010]

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10 of Web's Most Popular Social Networks

In the past few years, Facebook has surpassed MySpace as the most popular social network and Twitter has become so popular that news anchors read tweets while on the air. And while the surge in popularity for social networking centered around social networks designed for schools, it is being increasingly used by adults, with only one out of every ten Twitter uses being under the age of 18.

For the last couple of years, Compete.com has published a list of the top twenty-five social networks. Since Compete didn't publish the list this year, I thought it would be fun to see how the social networks are doing.

However, to change things up, I'm using unique visitors as the key demographic rather than total monthly visits. This gives a slightly different perspective, with social networks like LinkedIn that people may not visit on a daily basis looking a little better side-by-side with Facebook, which people might visit several times a day.

Here's The complete top 10 list of popular social networks:

Facebook with 133,623,529 unique visits.

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users. Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics. The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the United States to help students get to know each other better. Facebook allows any users who declare themselves to be at least 13 years old to become registered users of the website.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities before opening to high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over, but based on ConsumersReports.org on May 2011, there are 7.5 million children under 13 with accounts, violating the site's terms.

MySpace with 50,615,444 unique visits.

Myspace,stylized My____ and previously MySpace, is a social networking website. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, News Corp. Digital Media, owned by News Corporation.
Myspace became the most popular social networking site in the United States in June 2006, a position that it held throughout 2007 until 2008.[9] In April 2008, according to comScore, Myspace was overtaken internationally by its main competitor, Facebook, based on monthly unique visitors.

Twitter with 23,573,178 unique visits.

Twitter is a website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling its users to send and read messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user's profile page.
The website is based in San Francisco, California. Twitter also has servers and offices in San Antonio, Texas; and Boston, Massachusetts. Twitter, Inc. was originally incorporated in California, but as of 2011 is incorporated in the jurisdiction of Delaware.
Twitter was produced in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched in July. Since then Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and is estimated to have 200 million users, generating 65 million tweets a day and handling over 800,000 search queries per day.

Linkedin with 15,475,890 unique visits.

LinkedIn (pronounced /ˌlɪŋkt.ˈɪn/) is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 22 March 2011, LinkedIn reports more than 100 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The site is available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Quantcast reports Linkedin has 21.4 million monthly unique U.S. visitors and 47.6 million globally.


Classmates with 14,613,381 unique visits.

Classmates.com is a social network service created in 1995 by Randy Conrads who founded Classmates Online, Inc.
The social media website was originally designed to assist members in finding friends and acquaintances from kindergarten, primary school, high school, college, work and the United States military. In 2010, CEO Mark Goldston described the transition of the website "to increasingly focus on nostalgic content" such as "high school yearbooks, movie trailers, music tracks, and photographic images. To this end, and to appeal more to older users, the website name was changed to Memory Lane, which included a website redesign.

MyLife with 8,736,352 unique visits.

MyLife (formerly Reunion.com) is a social network service founded in 2002 by Jeffrey Tinsley after meeting his wife at their high school reunion. The company began with the acquisition of highschoolalumni.com and PlanetAlumni.com. The website claims to help members find and keep in touch with friends, relatives and lost loves.
In its own press release, Reunion.com claims to be the 6th top social networking site as of August 2007 with 28 million members, growing by nearly 1 million new members each month, mostly in the United States and Canada. Quantcast estimates Mylife has 4.2 million monthly unique U.S. visits.

Ning with 6,120,667 unique visits.

Ning is an online platform for people to create their own social networks, launched in October 2005. Ning was co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini. Ning is Andreessen's third company (after Netscape and Opsware). The word "Ning" is Chinese for "peace" (simplified Chinese: 宁; traditional Chinese: 寧; pinyin: níng), as explained by Gina Bianchini on the company blog. Quantcast estimates Ning has 7.4 million monthly unique U.S. visitors.

LiveJournal with 3,834,155 unique visits.

LiveJournal (LJ) is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community. LiveJournal's blogging features include those found in similar blogging sites (multiple authors, commenting, calendars, and polls). However, LiveJournal differentiates itself from other blogging sites by its WELL-like features of a self-contained community and some social networking features similar to other social networking sites.

Tagged with 3,800,325 unique visits.

Tagged is a social networking site based in San Francisco, California, United States, founded in 2004. The website suggests new people for members to meet based on shared interests. It also allows members to browse people, play games, and share tags and virtual gifts. Tagged has 100 million registered members. Quantcast reports Tagged has 6.2 million monthly unique U.S. visits and 20.4 million globally. Tagged's first acquisition was the popular social and instant messaging client Digsby, which has 3 million registered users.

Last.fm with 3,473,978 unique visits.

Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed over 40 million active users based in more than 190 countries. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for £140m ($280m USD).
Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the songs the user listens to, either from Internet radio stations, or the user's computer or many portable music devices. This information is transferred to Last.fm's database ("scrobbled") either via the music player itself (Rdio, Spotify, Amarok) or via a plugin installed into the user's music player. The profile data is then displayed on the user's profile page. The site offers numerous social networking features and can recommend and play artists similar to the user's favourites.

Perhaps the two biggest surprises were Facebook's nearly doubling their monthly visitors in the last year and Twitter quadrupling their monthly visitors. Twitter also tripled their monthly visits, which makes it easy to crown them as the fastest growing social network.
Also of interest is MySpace's 13% decrease. It might not be surprising to note that MySpace is losing traffic to Facebook, but MySpace recently acquired Imeem, which was previously ranked 10th on the most popular social networks list. When you add the two together, MySpace shrunk by around 20% over the last year.

• Reference/Source: About.com
• Reference/Source: Wikipedia.org

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Top 10 of Wold's Billionaires 2011

Here is the Forbes List 2011 Billionaires – Top 10:

1. Carlos Slim (Mexico) – $74 billion, telecommunications

Carlos Slim Helú (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos esˈlim eˈlu]; born January 28, 1940) is a Mexican business magnate and philanthropist who has at various times been noted as the richest person in the world. He is the chairman and CEO of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil and has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso SAB, as well as business interests elsewhere in the world.
América Móvil, which at 2010 was Latin America’s largest mobile-phone carrier, accounted for around US$49 billion of his wealth by the end of 2010. His corporate holdings at February 2011 have been estimated at US$74 billion and from these estimates he is the wealthiest person in the world.

2. Bill Gates (USA) – $56 billion, Microsoft

William Henry "Bill" Gates III, (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, philanthropist, author and is chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder with more than 8 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.
Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Although he is admired by many, a number of industry insiders criticize his business tactics, which they consider anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
Bill Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates' last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as non-executive chairman.

3. Warren Buffett (USA) – $50 billion, Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Edward Buffett (pronounced /ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor, industrialist and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and is the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011.
Buffett is called the "Oracle of Omaha" or the "Sage of Omaha" and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Grinnell College.

4. Bernard Arnault (France) – $41 billion, LVMH

Bernard Arnault (born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH, a large luxury goods conglomerate consisting of over fifty luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi. According to Forbes Magazine, Arnault is the world's 4th and Europe's richest person, with a 2011 net worth of US$41 billion.

5. Larry Ellison (USA) – $39.5 billion, Oracle Corp

Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate, co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, a major enterprise software company. As of 2011 he is the fifth richest person in the world, with a personal wealth of $39.5 billion.

6. Lakshmi Mittal (India) – $31.1 billion, steel

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal (Hindi: लक्ष्मी मित्तल; born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company.
Mittal is the second richest man in Europe and is presently the sixth richest in the world with a personal wealth of US$31.1 billion or £23.8 billion.He is the 44th most powerful person of the 68 most powerful people in the world. One out of 5 cars in the world is made up of the steel materials of his steel empire. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's marriage was the most expensive in the recorded history of the world.
He is a independent director of Goldman Sachs, member of the Board of Directors of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, World Steel Association, Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the International Investment Council in South Africa, the Investors' Council to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the World Steel Association's Executive Committee, the Presidential International Advisory Board of Mozambique and the International Iron and Steel Institute’s Executive Committee.
He also presently serves as a board council member of the Prime Minister of India's Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians. and members in the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management, Executive Board at Indian School of Business and St. Xavier's College, Calcutta Alumni Association, London Chapter.
In 2006, Financial Times named him "Person of the Year". In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".

7. Armancio Ortega (Spain) – $31 billion, retail
Amancio Ortega Gaona (born March 28, 1936) is a Spanish fashion entrepreneur. He is the founder, along with his then-wife Rosalía Mera, and chairman of the Inditex Group. He is ranked by Forbes as Spain's richest man; Europe's second richest man; and the seventh richest man in the world in 2011. He currently lives with his second wife in a discreet apartment building in the centre of A Coruña.
Ortega arrived at A Coruña, Spain, at the age of 14, due to the job of his father, a railway worker. Starting as a gofer in various shirt stores in A Coruña, Galicia, in 1972 he founded Confecciones Goa (his initials in reverse), which made bathrobes. In 1975 he opened the first store in what would grow into the enormously popular chain of fashion stores called Zara. He owns 59.29% of the Inditex group (Industrias de Diseño Textil Sociedad Anónima) which includes the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Zara Home, Kiddy's Class, Tempe, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear/Often and Bershka and has more than 14,000 employees.
Ortega keeps a very low profile and there are practically no photographs of him (except from one photo published at the Inditex website). He refuses to wear a tie, and likes to dress in blue jeans and T-shirts. He is said to take a very active part in the production and design process in the company.
When he made a public appearance in 2000 - as part of the warm-up prior to floating his company on the stock market in 2001 - it made headlines in the Spanish financial press. However, he has never given an interview, and his secrecy has led to the publication of books such as Amancio Ortega: DE CERO A ZARA (From Zero to Zara).
Ortega, announced his imminent retirement from the fast-fashion giant Inditex, parent company of the Zara chain, stating that he will ask Inditex vice-president and CEO Pablo Isla to take his place at the helm of the textile empire.

8. Eike Batista (Brazil) – $30 billion, mining, oil

Eike Fuhrken Batista, more commonly Eike Batista or simply Eike (Governador Valadares, November 3, 1957), is a Brazilian business baron. He has founded companies in different business sectors, mainly in mining. He is the son of Eliezer Batista da Silva, a longtime head of mining company Vale. As of March 2011, he is the eighth richest person in the world.

9. Mukesh Ambani (India) – $27 billion, petrochemicals, oil and gas

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born on 19 April 1957) is an Indian business magnate is the current chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, the largest private sector enterprise in India, a Fortune 500 company, and one of the largest private sector conglomerates in the world. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%.
He is a member of the board of director of Bank of America Corporation and a present member of the international advisory board of Council on Foreign Relations.
In 2010, he was named among the most powerful people in the world by Forbes in its list of "68 people who matter most" As of 2011, he is the second richest man in Asia[11] and the ninth richest man in the world with a personal wealth of US$27 billion. In 2007, a strong rally in the Indian stock market and the appreciation of the Indian rupee boosted the market capitalisation of Reliance group companies, briefly making him the world’s richest man. According to Forbes Magazine forecasts, he is expected to regain the title of the richest man in the world in 2014

10. Christy Walton (USA) – $26.5 billion, Wal-Mart
Christy Ruth Walton (born 1955) is the widow of John T. Walton, who was a son of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. After John's death in June 2005, she inherited his fortune of $15.7 billion.
As of 2011, she is the 4th richest person in the United States according to Forbes Magazine and the 10th richest person in the world. As of March 2011, she had an estimated net worth of US$ 26.5 billion, the bulk of which comes from her shares in Wal-Mart, but also from First Solar, in which her late husband invested. She is currently the richest woman in the world.

She currently resides in Jackson, Wyoming and has one son, Lukas.

• Reference/Source: forbes.com
• Reference/Source: wikipedia.org

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10 of World's Most Corrupt Nations/Countries 2010

The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain, and measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among a country's public officials and politicians.

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties.

Forms of corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, it is not restricted to these activities.

Here is the ranking of 10 Most Corrupt Nations in 2010 according to Transparency.org:

1 - Somalia

Corruption Score: 1.1

2 - Myanmar

Corruption Score: 1.4

3 - Afghanistan

Corruption Score: 1.4

4 - Iraq

Corruption Score: 1.5

5 - Uzbekistan

Corruption Score: 1.6

6 - Turkmenistan

Corruption Score: 1.6

7 - Sudan

Corruption Score: 1.6

8 - Chad

Corruption Score: 1.7

9 - Burundi

Corruption Score: 1.8

10 - Equatorial Guinea

Corruption Score: 1.9

Notable among decliners over the past year are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits. Among those improving in the past year, the general absence of OECD states underlines the fact that all nations need to bolster their good governance mechanisms.

The message is clear: across the globe, transparency and accountability are critical to restoring trust and turning back the tide of corruption. Without them, global policy solutions to many global crises are at risk.

• Reference/Source: transparency.org
• Reference/Source: Wikipedia.org

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