Jeremy Waite unveils his top 100 people in social media to follow led by Sir Tim Berners Lee

Father of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners Lee is the most important person to follow in social media according to new research undertaken by a Social Buzz awards judge.

Sir Tim tops the list of 100 most influential people in social media according to Jeremy Waite, former head of social strategy for TBG Digital, ahead of the launch of his book Follow Me, I'm Right Behind You.

The book, which will go on sale in December, is about ‘leaders who lead from the middle of the pack’, with the list decided by Waite following a lot of debate.

Waite said in a blog post: “I want to showcase the people behind the networks and technology that we use everyday, in a way that might inspire or entertain you. For the next 100 days, leading up until 1st January 2013, I’m going to publish one blog post each day about each one of the people included in this list. It will be a quick read with links to more cool stuff if you like what you see.

“I’m doing this because I believe that social media exists to do five things. Brands especially often forget this, and become consumed by an arms race for the most fans, followers, subscribers, views, pins or check-in’s. In my opinion, all social media should do one or more of these five things: Inspire; Inform; Educate; Entertain; Challenge.”

Jeremy Waite is on the Social Buzz Awards judging panel. Check out the live blog from today's judging.