This past week I attended the 2012 BlogWorld & New Media Expo and was completely blown away with some of the speakers and presentations on content marketing and social media.

Some of the speakers I was already following around on the web, but some of them were new to me. I gain most of my inspiration from looking at non-automotive companies and how they're "doing" social media and then I apply that to the car industry.

I wanted to share who I thought were my current top 5 influencers that I believe every digital automotive professional should be looking to for inspiration for their social strategies. 

1. Lynette Young - Lynette stood up in front of the audience and announced that she owned Google+.  She is currently followed by 1.25 million people and through the Google+ circles she is actually connected to everyone who is currently on Google+. Lynette is releasing an e-Book on the platform this year, keep an eye out for it: http://lynetteyoung.com/

2. Derek Halpern - A well known podcaster, Derek actually started with his blog but hit it big with his podcast. Actually, he calls it a "master class" because he believes the word podcast devalues the content. Listen to Social Triggers here: http://socialtriggers.com/ 

3. Corbett Barr - A polished speaker, Corbett had an air to him that drew the attendees into every word. Get to know Corbett through one of his most popular blog posts http://thinktraffic.net/21-quick-actions-for-massive-blog-success. 

4. Jay Baer - Jay is not only informative, but always has the audience laughing and at the edge of their seats. Convince and Convert has a fantastic email newsletter called "One Social Thing" that gives simple tips on content and social media. Sign up for that here: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/ 

5. Chris Brogan - you may know him through his book "Trust Agents" but Chris Brogan has a new book on Google+. He has a lot of great blogging tips and can be followed here: http://www.humanbusinessworks.com/ 

Who are your online influencers? Digital rock stars? Share their websites, Google+ profiles or Twitter handles below.