Each year, the #Nifty50 awards honor 50 men and 50 women who actively engage on Twitter. 2011 was the inaugural year. In 2012, the #Nifty50 recognized the top men and women on Twitter in the technology realm.

The purpose of the award is to acknowledge the contributions of honorees to their fields, as well as their level of engagement on Twitter; to encourage interaction with these leaders; and to expand social networks. When the timing is right, the #Nifty50 will be expanded to include an element of social good — the #Nifty50 Kids project, which will provide access to advanced technologies for low-income children.

This year’s #Nifty50 highlights men and women who write  — more specifically, who regularly produce some form of business-related online content (blog posts, news articles, videos, infographics, etc.) and who actively engage on Twitter. The honorees include both full-time (e.g., journalists, authors, or PR professionals) and part-time writers (e.g., bloggers).

Since the first awards, the #Nifty50 hashtag has been tweeted and retweeted nearly 7,000 times, with a total exposure of more than 50 million people, according to Topsy. The #Nifty50 was also featured in the new book by Mark (@mnburgess) and Cheryl Burgess (@ckburgess), The Social Employee (McGraw-Hill, August 2013) How Great Companies Make Social Media Work – Success Lessons from IBM, AT&T, Dell, Cisco, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, and Domo on building a social culture.

For 2013, we’re pleased to honor 50 women (below) and 50 men (in a post on the Blue Focus Marketing Blog) who are both outstanding writers and content producers and active social media connectors and engagers. Beyond their professional lives, the interests of these women range from the fairly conventional (travel, food, wine, health, fashion, family) to the unexpected (Star Wars, Milk Duds, beer, Swedish fish).

We’re proud to acknowledge these 50 women from 48 different organizations as the top #Nifty50 women writers on Twitter for 2013. You can find and subscribe to or follow the entire list on Twitter here.

(Editor’s note: Though I’d be proud to claim her as a member of my extended clan, I’m fairly certain that Marissa Pick and I have no familial relationship.)

Jennifer Aaker
@Aaker

 Diana Adams
@adamsconsulting

Ardath Albee
@ardath421

Kare Anderson
@kareanderson

Judy Bellem
@JudyBellem

Meghan M. Biro
@MeghanMBiro

Susan Borst

@susanborst

Lisa Buyer
@lisabuyer

 Sandy Carter
@sandy_carter

Karima-Catherine
@karimacatherine

Ann Charles
@annmcharles

Dorie Clark
@dorieclark

Heidi Cohen
@heidicohen

Julie Cottineau
@JCottin

Gini Dietrich
@ginidietrich

Jenna Dobkin
@JennaSD

Esther Dyson
@edyson

Marni Edelhart
@CarpeDiFemme

Kristi Eells
@Kristi_Eells

Laurie Friedman
@lauriefriedman

Anne Deeter Gallaher
@AnneDGallaher

Ann Handley
@annhandley

Catherine Hays
@catharinehays

Elizabeth Hitchcock
@ElizHitchcock

Amy Howell
@HowellMarketing

Martine Hunter
@martinehunter

Jennifer Kane
@JenKaneCo

Julie Kehoe
@juliekehoe

Katrina Klier
@KatrinaKlier

Shelly Kramer
@shellykramer

Megan Leap
@MeganLeap

Heather Lloyd-Martin
@heatherlloyd

Margaret Molloy
@MargaretMolloy

Wendy Marx
@wendymarx

Lori Moreno
@LoriMoreno

Marissa Pick
@marissapick

Maria Poveromo
@mariapoveromo

Tonia Ries
@tonia_ries

Jill Rowley
@jill_rowley

Lori Ruff
@LoriRuff

Angie Schottmuller
@aschottmuller

Esta H. Singer
@sheconsulting

Mari Smith
@marismith

Michele Smorgon
@maxOz

Elizabeth Sosnow
@elizabethsosnow

Jayme Soulati
@Soulati

Ann Tran
@AnnTran_

 Casie Vogel
@casievogel

      Deborah Weinstein

@DebWeinstein

Patricia Wilson
@brandcottage

Again, you can find and follow the entire 2013 #Nifty50 Twitter women’s list here.

 Also, you can find and follow the entire 2013 #Nifty50 Twitter Men’s List here.