LinkedIn Top Voices 2017: Technology

The 10 must-know professionals weighing in on everything from Uber to artificial intelligence.

There are more than 100,000 unique articles created on LinkedIn each week. Standing out amongst the crowd can be difficult, but for LinkedIn’s Top Voices in tech, they have the process nearly down to a science.

To compile the list, we use a combination of data and editorial signals designed to capture the voices making a mark in their industries. This includes engagement (specifically the likes, comments and shares across each member’s articles, posts and videos); growth of followers tied to publishing activity; and number of times the writer had been featured in editorial channels, a signal of high-quality content. We also emphasize diversity of topics and voices.

The result is a list of the top 10 writers and creators expanding the conversation about technology both on and off LinkedIn. Whether it’s being one of the first to spot the potential implications of voice tech, to question the business models of goliaths like Uber and Lyft or to break down why we need to critically think about the ethics behind artificial intelligence, these voices are telling us what we need to care about now.

Here are the Top Voices in technology this year:

Shelly Palmer | CEO of The Palmer Group

What he talks about: Palmer’s essays on technology, media and marketing help his readers think about the future in productive ways. Taking a pragmatic view of the looming end of “net neutrality,” Palmer says: “It’s an unintended consequence, but the FCC is about to give a lot of smart marketers an opportunity to shine.”

Favorite conversation starter: Palmer warns about the consequences of over-reliance on automated assistants in “Just how dangerous is Alexa?”

The questions that lead to his best ideas: “What would super-smart, super-busy executives want me to write about this week? What insights or analysis might create enough value to warrant a few minutes of their attention?”

See more by Shelly Palmer.

Lisa Seacat DeLuca | Distinguished Engineer with IBM Watson Internet of Things

What she talks about: DeLuca helps readers understand the role that the Internet of Things could (and already does) play in their lives, and shares her experience as a woman in tech.

Favorite conversation starter: In “Lessons learned from what felt like a $7,508.50 kickstarter marketing scam,” DeLuca grabs readers immediately when she tells them her fifth Kickstarter ended 140% above goal at $25,215. “But I'm not happy,” she says, continuing on to share the mistakes she made partnering with a marketing company to try to fund a children’s book. 

Beyond the better mousetrap: A prolific inventor — in fact, IBM’s top female inventor — DeLuca has more than 600 patent applications.

See more by Lisa Seacat DeLuca.

Seyi Fabode | Partner & Strategy Consultant with Asha Labs

What he talks about: Fabode shares his thoughts on tech, innovation and energy, “highlighting the underlying systems and (non-obvious) strategic considerations that drive the growth of the leading technology companies.” Never afraid to take a controversial angle, he’s been known to question Tesla, praise Lego and disparage Amazon.

Favorite conversation starter: In "Why companies like Lyft, Uber, Postmates, Instacart etc will never be profitable,” Fabode calls out the fatal flaws of the broker platform business model of tech companies like Uber and Lyft.

Eye in the sky: While he may not be buying into the Amazon Echo Show, Fabode says he is working on getting his drone pilot license. 

See more by Seyi Fabode.

QuHarrison Terry | Marketing Director, Redox

What he talks about: Terry seeks to “harmonize the advancement of technology with the human identity” through his writing, which covers unequal access to technology, unbelievable advances in automation and ways that A.I. is reinventing healthcare.

Favorite conversation starter: In “Microsoft has created an A.I. that can write its own code,” Terry devotes an article to an important question about the future of coding and A.I.: “Given enough time and learning, this algorithm could easily outshine the coding capabilities of the world’s best engineers. Will we limit its progress to maintain our power?”

When thumbs become obsolete: A trend Terry is keeping an eye on is the monetization of voice as a user interface, which will allow people to replace their thumbs with their voice.

See more by QuHarrison Terry.

Nir Eyal | Behavioral Design Consultant & Investor

What he talks about: Eyal is an expert on technology’s impact on daily life. Whether you’re addicted to messaging or looking for the secret to productivity, or want a smart digest of the most important news about technology and psychology, he has you covered. 

Favorite conversation starter: In "How to use a powerful psychological hack to achieve your goals," Eyal challenges a few commonly held notions of how people motivate themselves and provides useful strategies to get more out of life.

When predictions come true: Eyal finds a dark pleasure in watching the predictions about addictive technology from his best-selling book “Hooked” come true.

See more by Nir Eyal.

Paul Daugherty | Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Accenture

What he talks about: Daugherty, who’s responsible for technology strategy and innovation at Accenture, discusses how tech advances are dramatically disrupting the way we work and live — and, ultimately, why this matters.

Favorite conversation starters: At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Daugherty served as a speaker for a number of sessions focused on the theme of responsive and responsible leadership. A series of three articles came out of this experience, chronicling big issues like trust in the age of A.I.

One thing not on his LinkedIn profile: You can find Daugherty out sailing when he’s not in the office. “I love being on the water, feeling the wind and adjusting the sails,” he says. “It’s the one place where I can leave everything else behind.”

See more by Paul Daugherty.

Jennifer Pahlka | Founder & Executive Director, Code for America

What she talks about: Pahlka, who runs Code for America, talks about government in the 21st century, including topics like digital infrastructure and open data policies. “My practical pieces are about how to use the principles and practices of the digital age to improve how government serves the American public, and how the public improves government,” she says.

Favorite conversation starter: Shortly after the 2016 election, Pahlka reflected on the role of public servants under President Trump. The success of the piece was deeply personal: Pahlka’s own father, an English teacher, said it helped him process a Trump victory.

Where she does her best writing: “I don’t get to be picky,” says Pahlka, “I write when I can, wherever I am. Airplanes, the guest bedroom. Rarely the office.”

See more by Jennifer Pahlka.

Christoph Auer-Welsbach | Partner, IBM Ventures

What he talks about: Auer-Welsbach is a partner at IBM Ventures, the VC arm of the tech giant, and the co-founder of City.AI, a global community of A.I. developers and enthusiasts. What he shares on LinkedIn reflects his work: The impact of A.I. converging with technologies like blockchain, quantum computing and the Internet of Things.

Favorite conversation starter: “The ethics of A.I.” includes insights into conversations Auer-Welsbach had over six-plus months with people from different cultural backgrounds. “It helped to define clear actions on such an important topic right now,” he says.

One thing not on his LinkedIn profile: “I’m mostly inspired by my two daughters when I’m not thinking about business,” says Auer-Welsbach.

See more by Christoph Auer-Welsbach.

Ellen Pao | Founding Team Member, Project Include

What she talks about: Pao rose to fame by revealing the deep-seated sexism within venture capital. She’s gone on to found Project Include, a community developing diversity solutions within tech, and has taken to LinkedIn to share her own experiences — and what she’s doing to change business..

Her standout article this year: As part of the #TechTalksDiversity series on LinkedIn, Pao reflected on the broken ecosystem of VC and startups, pointing out that “massive wealth and power are concentrated into the hands of a few, and tech companies are built in the same mold with the same dysfunction and inertia.”

Her advice for the industry: “To make tech truly diverse, we need to welcome every category of people and set them up to succeed,” writes Pao.

See more by Ellen Pao.

Sara Holoubek | CEO, Luminary Labs

What she talks about: Holoubek helps organizations develop innovation systems and her writing builds on that expertise — how humans and technology can solve giant problems, like stemming chronic disease or closing the skills gap.

Post she’s proudest of: “I enjoy composing short and provocative posts, if only to exercise my ability to distill an argument to its essence,” says Holoubek. See this post about Ikea’s TaskRabbit purchase, which asks how a company known for generous employee benefits will integrate a gig economy model.

One thing not on her LinkedIn profile: “Most people are surprised that I grew up in rural America,” she says. “And despite my tech leanings, I enjoy doing things that are decidedly manual: I like buying my own groceries (and carrying them home), urban gardening and cooking.”

See more by Sara Holoubek.

You’ve read about the Top Voices in tech this year. Now, check out the #LinkedInTopVoices in venture capital and entrepreneurship, marketing and social media, management and more.

[The list reflects publishing activity over a 12-month period, from November 2016 to November 2017, and as with all LinkedIn Lists, we excluded LinkedIn and Microsoft employees from consideration.]