Imitation Is The Sincerest Form of Flattery, Or Something: The Atlantic 50

Mediaite experienced some déjà vu this morning when the press release for the brand new Atlantic 50 landed in our inbox. The ’50,’ we were informed “follows hundreds of leading opinion-makers and commentators to provide an essential framework to the day’s best analysis and most daring and important arguments.”

Sound familiar? To us, too! Some digging resulted in this explanation from Atlantic editors as to how they came up with their ’50′:

* Influence: A survey of more than 250 Washington insiders – members of Congress, national media figures, and political insiders – in which respondents rank-ordered the commentators who most influence their own thinking

* Reach: Comprehensive data collection and analysis to measure the total audience of each commentator

* Web Engagement: In partnership with PostRank, a company specializing in filtering social media data, the Wire analyzed top commentators on 16 measures of webiness, including mentions on Twitter and performance on popular social media sites like Digg and Delicious

The final list is the result of an algorithm that brings together these three factors.

Such a great idea. Here’s part of the original explanation from our Mediaite Influence Index/Power Grid FAQ page:

What we feel is most unique about the rankings is the fact that our proprietary algorithm combines the traditional metrics used for judging influence, such as Rupert Murdoch’s estimated net worth or the estimated number of magazines Anna Wintour sells, or NBC’s estimated viewers, with less traditional metrics such as Google hits, Twitter influence, and amount of airtime on major television networks.

Somewhat similar, no? Smart ideas travel fast. Except, of course, instead of 50 people we rank 1581 — Paul Krugman’s power is not to be scoffed at! You can find them all here.

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up for Mediaite's daily newsletter.