Social Media Royalty



I have to admit that I get a little skeptical when I read "the best of" anything.   It sometimes seems bias with little support on how the nominees are identified.  If you aren't part of the identifier's club, then it is less likely you will be listed.  However, there are definitely some that appear everywhere.  I want to help with this by doing my own research (which I will disclose at the end).



 From my vantage point, it seems that there are certainly those that reign supreme on the frontier of social media.  

I decided to take a look at my own compilation of authority figures and organizations that really should be on your radar if you are a student of social media like I am since I started in March 2010.

I will list who are Social Media Royalty and the sources I turned to make mentions.  I will share who are on the lists upon lists then cross-reference with third party evaluators who support it by numbers.

On the sidebar, I have these people and organizations listed alphabetically after extrapolating their names from a number of sources:



#socialmedia MATTERS







WIKIPEDIA

According to Wikipedia the definition of "social media" is defined by:

Attempting definition[edit]

A recent attempt[2] at providing a clear definition reviewed the prominent literature in the area and identified four commonalities unique to current social media services:
(1) social media are Web 2.0 internet-based applications,[2][3]
(2) user-generated content (UGC) is the lifeblood of the social media organism,[2][3]
(3) users create service-specific profiles for the site or app that are designed and maintained by the social media organization,[2][4] and
(4) social media facilitate the development of online social networks by connecting a user's profile with those of other individuals and/or groups.[2][4]

CLASSIFICATION
The development of social media started off with simple platforms such as sixdegrees.com.[12] Unlike instant messaging clients such as ICQ and AOL's AIM, or chat clients like IRC, iChat or Chat Television, sixdegrees.com was the first online business that was created for real people, using their real names. However, the first social networks were short-lived because their users lost interest. The Social Network Revolution has led to the rise of the networking sites. Research[13] shows that the audience spends 22 percent of their time on social networking sites, thus proving how popular social media platforms have become.

DISTINCTION

Virality[edit]

Some social media sites have greater virality – defined as a greater likelihood that users will reshare content posted (by another user) to their social network. Many social media sites provide specific functionality to help users reshare content – for example, Twitter's retweet button, Pinterest pin or Tumblr's reblog function.Businesses may have a particular interest in viral marketingnonprofit organisations and activists may have similar interests in virality.

Mobile use[edit]

Mobile social media refers to the use of social media on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. This is a group of mobile marketing applications that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.[14] Due to the fact that mobile social media run on mobile devices, they differ from traditional social media by incorporating new factors such as the current location of the user (location-sensitivity) or the time delay between sending and receiving messages (time-sensitivity). According to Andreas Kaplan, mobile social media applications can be differentiated among four types:[14]
  1. Space-timers (location and time sensitive): Exchange of messages with relevance mostly for one specific location at one specific point in time (e.g. Facebook PlacesFoursquare)
  2. Space-locators (only location sensitive): Exchange of messages, with relevance for one specific location, which are tagged to a certain place and read later by others (e.g. YelpQypeTumblr)
  3. Quick-timers (only time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media applications to mobile devices to increase immediacy (e.g. posting Twitter messages orFacebook status updates)
  4. Slow-timers (neither location, nor time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social mediaapplications to mobile devices (e.g. watching a YouTube video or reading aWikipedia article)



SOURCES


As promised, I am going to share where I got my information to compile this list of the gurus and the gifted on all things social media.  

ALL TOP
To be fair, I tried to go alphabetically.  All Top champions the following as the almighty top blogs.

Find your favorite missing?  All Top allows you to subscribe for free and then suggest a site.  Just submit who you think should be included.  

Using Google search as a guide is not always the best to rely upon because it is influenced by your personal searches, your own location.  That is why I am relying on these outside sources to determine the honorees.

You may be asking what I have often done myself:  can you earn an income solely from having a blog?  I put the question forth and found some of the answers interesting:


Forbes
In an article that asks this very question, I found some of the excerpts enlightening.  The short answer:  YES.  The honest answer:  like anything else, it is the top 20% who are making 80% of the cashola:

Can you earn a living as a blogger?
Well, maybe.  But first, the bad news. According to the 2015 Women’s Blogging Industry and Business Annual Report — a survey of thousands of bloggers by iBlog magazine — very few bloggers earn much. In fact:
  • Only 11% of respondents earned more than $30,000
  • 68% earned less than $5,000
  • And 57% made less than $2,500
That said, some bloggers earn six-figure incomes and 6% of respondents indicated they make over $60,000 annually.


Top earners

I had to lean on Google in this instance and the top source shown as an authority on this subject was Tech Unblocked.  They showcased the following.
Courtney Rosen
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL: http://www.ehow.com/
Earning: $soon
Daily Page Views: 38,210,000
[sociallocker] [/sociallocker]
Daily Unique Visitors: 4,770,000
Alexa Rank: 223
Blog About – Online How to Stuff, how to guide web, Tutorials

2. Pete Cashmore
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL: http://mashable.com/
Earning: $soon
Daily Page Views: 29,210,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 3,800,000
Alexa Rank: 290
About: Tech, Technology, Daily lifestyle, business and world

3. Shawn Hogan
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL : https://forums.digitalpoint.com/
Earning: $ soon
Daily Page Views: 26,210,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 3,200,000
Alexa Rank: 325
About: World Biggest forum on  marketing, blogging and SEO guide,

4. Markus Frind
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL : http://pof.com/
Earning: $250,000/month
Daily Page Views: 26,100,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 3,300,000
Alexa Rank: 322
About: Online dating around the world

5. Kevin Rose
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL: http://digg.com/
Earning: $soon/month
Daily Page Views: 15,200,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 1,900,000
Alexa Rank: 560
About: Sharing blogs and contents

6. Michael Arrington
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL: http://techcrunch.com/
Earning: $150,000/month
Daily Page Views: 13,100,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 2,100,000
Alexa Rank: 510
About: New Technology

7. Perez Hilton
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL : http://perezhilton.com/
Daily Unique Visitors: 1,110,000
Earning: $100,000/month
Daily Page Views: 8,210,000
Alexa Rank: 1035
About: Celebrities activity

8. Jeremy Schoemaker
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL : http://www.shoemoney.com/
Earning: $80,000/month
Daily Page Views: 410,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 70,000
Alexa Rank: 14960
About: Skills to pay the bills

9. Amit Agarwal
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL: http://www.labnol.org/
Earning: $50,000/month
Daily Page Views: 3,100,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 390,000
Alexa Rank: 2733
About: Technology Blog

10. Pankaj Agarwal
top 10 highest Google adsense earners in the world 2015 image photo
URL : http://www.clickindia.com/
Earning: $20,000/month
Daily Page Views: 1,900,000
Daily Unique Visitors: 230,000
Alexa Rank: 4500
About: Buying and Selling Ads

A difficult task
Now I understand why the opinions vary and there is no definitive answer to my question:  "Who is social media royalty?" It seems that whatever path I follow, a new crop of names emerge.  No wonder there is so many conflicting answers to what should have been a simple question.




Lists upon more lists

According to Forbes, these are the biggest social media influencers.  You will note that until now, several had not cropped up to this point.  It makes one ask:  "what makes any one source more of an authority than the other?" I was fond of the the disclosure on how the writer arrived at the results:  "Peek Analytics".


#1. Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan - Chris, President of Human Works, has a social pull of 3,019
#2. Ann Handley @marketingprofs. Ann manages the contributory blog at marketingprofs and has a social pull of 2,962
#3. Guy Kawasaki @guykawasaki, formerApple AAPL -0.41% evangelist, with a social pull, 2,651
#4. Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee, video king, with a social pull of 2,332
#5. Scott Stratten @unmarketing with a pull of  2,218
#6. Robert Scoble @scobleizer, long term blogger and trend setter, pull of 2,216
#1. Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan - Chris, President of Human Works, has a social pull of 3,019
Digital Marketing
Is another term form social media marketing.  According to Klout, these are the top experts under this umbrella (familiar names already noted):


Facebook
One cannot formulate a definitive list of social media royalty without looking at it from the topic perspective on KLOUT who says they are:




Twitter



Linked In



Alexia

I asked and then was shown under Top Sites by Category:  "Top Social Media" sites were identified as:



If you really want to amass the expertise from the experts I recommend you follow the above-noted authorities on identifying who is who.   The best way to do so is to subscribe to the BLOGS from these professional listers like Alexia to gain tips on how to reinforce your own presence and build your brand.

Unfortunately, unless I subscribe to a "free trial" I won't be able to access specific details from Alexia.  On to the next ....


Defined by Gender

Women dominate all Social Media platforms. According to Pew Research Center, 77% of the internet users that are on Facebook are women, 21% of female Internet users are on Twitter, 27% on Linkedin 27% of LinkedIn, and a whopping 42% on Pinterest users. But who are the female thought leaders in Social Media? We picked seven of the most powerful influencers to follow on Twitter for amazing social media marketing tips and insights. Take a look:

Ann Tran

Ann Tran is a social media marketing strategist, a travel writer with a unique approach to social media.

Pam Moore

Pam Moore is a social media influencer and the founder and CEO of a successful digital marketing agency. Her tweets are always insightful and provide excellent tips and “how to’s” based on her expertise.

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a Twitter expert who always has excellent advice to tweet about social selling and managing social media.

Marsha Collier

Marsha Collier is the author of 48 books, focusing on social media commerce and online customer service.
Respect your customer's time. If you want them to take THEIR time to fill out a survey to help YOU improve. Offer an incentive

Eve Mayer

Eve Mayer is the CEO of Social Media Delivered, a social media company focusing on consulting, training and social media management. Although ‘officially’ a LinkedIn queen, Eve Mayer covers all social media sharing tips and insights into different platforms.

Ann Handley

Ann Handley is the Head of Content at Marketing Profs a great source of social media marketing tips.
Which Digital Marketing Tactic/Channel Has the Biggest Revenue Impact? http://buff.ly/18JFrRA 

Pam Dyer

Pam Dyer is a though leader in strategic marketing and a social media marketing blogger. Her tweets are always insightful, covering all the latest trends in social media management.

The Social Media Examiner

Hosts an annual "Top 10 Social Media Blogs" by year.  I was unable to uncover a singular point to list, so I did it manually (cut and paste from their site):

2016


#1: Buffer Social

Buffer Social regularly addresses questions many marketers have, answering them with authoritative, in-depth articles on cutting-edge topics.

#2: Jenn’s Trends


Jenn’s Trends is laser-focused on Instagram, but occasionally offers tips on social media marketing strategy and tactics.

#3: Peg Fitzpatrick

Peg Fitzpatrick combines resourceful content on a variety of social media platforms with practical advice for marketers.

#4: RazorSocial

RazorSocial delivers well-researched and comprehensive content on social media tools.

#5: Rebekah Radice

Rebekah Radice uses plenty of examples to support content that teaches social media marketers about topics that are important to them.

#6: Simply Measured

Simply Measured uses a data-driven, example-rich approach to help marketers understand best practices for using social media.

#7: Socially Sorted

Socially Sorted helps marketers learn to use all things related to visual content in social media.

#8: Sprout Social

Sprout Social publishes advice for marketers alongside insights from their own team.

#9: The Social Media Hat

The Social Media Hat features authoritative content that takes no shortcuts with explanations of what to do and how to do it.

#10: Unmetric

Unmetric uses an analytical approach to uncover and share surprising insights into social media marketing.

2015
We (the Social Media Examiner) received over 560 nominations for our sixth-annual Top 10 Social Media Blogs contest (the blogosphere’s biggest contest for social media blogs).
The list of 20 finalists is pretty impressive! See for yourself below.
The Judges: Our judges include Douglas Karr (author ofCorporate Blogging for Dummies and founder of the Marketing Technology blog), Nichole Kelly (author of How to Measure Social Media and CEO of Social Media Explorer) and Pat Flynn (founder of Smart Passive Income). They’re currently finishing up their reviews of these sites.


Subjectivity
So there you have it.  The Social Media Royalty has been an interesting journey.  As my theory presented, it is based on where you look and who is doing the listing.  Hosts an annual "Top 10 Social Media Blogs" by year.  I was unable to uncover a singular point to list, so I did it manually.  

Fickleness

This research did allow me to arrive at one conclusion.  Joining the ranks of any of the best of anything can be fickle from one year to the next.

Conclusion

If this research adventure proved anything to me, it is that you have to be in the IN CROWD to be named.   Some, very few, surface at every turn.  Others are not.  

Whether you want to claim fame or fortune, it is wise that you follow most, if not all, of the nominees and winners to afford your learning journey access to the top notch of social media.










artIcUlating aBOUT people DYNAMics ON here

What is on here or where is it?
I'm pretty sure I'm in touch or actually GET the type of people who I tend to surround myself with on here:  well, they're certainly mostly early adopters of social media, some, a few, or a many have gone on to bigger and better things like actually in a movie or on television because of the major impact they've made on communications.  We often think of politicians first when we think of strong communicators: think Abe Lincoln, Pierre Trudeau and now Hillary Clinton rhymes better so she'll be the choice.  I'm the boss of this writing so I get to make up the rules.
What is on here or where is it?
Unfortunately, we often forget who are the true instigators of change don't we?  I think we do because our Millennial kids barely know those names.  A flash back to the past to anyone who would have been 22 to 23 in 1983.
  !?! WARNING !?! 
U may develop a slight tic or a nod to the beat as the memory overwhelms you, regardless of who you are with or where you first listen to this ::.. people won't understand what that twitching means.  Worried that you at last blew out into a goofball, instead of a stern parent, solely a spouse, or a parent of one or many. 
//CREATIVITYsurge\\
 Alas, you are more likely to be a creative thinker or mental enerGIST (I thought that up on my meanderingsABOUT.blogspot BLOG a couple of months ago).

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7431209/rewinding-the-country-charts-in-1983-ricky-skaggs-raced-to-no-1





I'm making up the most AMAZing recipe for NEW potatoes (that are good for diabetics, gluten intolerant and over all a better option RECIPE (there are 2 of us but I'm making enough for leftovers on purpose because they'll taste even better the next day grilled in a cast iron pan or fried if you wanna call it that RE: fat ::.. make for a BIG family or work BBQ::.. AND if you DO TRY it, BE sure to tweet@me OptioneerJM with a photo or tell me how it went over! IF you come to my meanderingsabout blog (super sleuth yourself and find it) i PROMISE to POST ur COMMENT ::=:: 6 medium-large new white potatoes, steamed 55 min in rice cooker (you never thought this would be easy did ya?) While potatoes are steaming, prepare dressing ingredients: 1/3 pkg bacon 1 whole medium Walla Walla Washington ONION (best #onions in the world * PROMISE* ) + 1 WHOLE garlic bunch (about 6 to 8 sections) ::=:: start off bacon and onions on high, then add garlic medium-sized + coarse pepper (I like Club House coarse pepper best) -->> message to get email address to forward etransfer money order in support of this mention. When potatoes are steamed, even better if the peels are peeling back from them, take 1/2 tub of sour cream and cover potatoes after placing in a LARGE bowl top with bacon/onion mixture finally sprinkling a bit more dusting of the coarse black pepper. Toss lightly in a bowl to allow all the ingredients to blend gently, not in clumps and not so fast that you'll have mashers. Bon Appetit my friends ~..~ jm

Commentators that are the most representative of who I am as a human being, instigator of PEACE through GRATITUDE and the pesky ATTITUDE that R objectionable 2 SUM.  And I came here to highlite the goings on with Stampede.  To live vicariously through my Calgary fans, friends, readers.  Because they will use #bestofeverything hashtag to get in their vote on what they think are the best of the best in anything :: music | entertainment | art | photography | technology | innovation | writing OR | socialMEdia'g about URself |-=-| p.s. DOnt 4GET foLLOW 2GET aweSOME moRE attentIon 2 U 


Why do you do what you do?

A do do DO

What are you doing on here?
My best friend and her hubby came over for a BBQ this evening.  The hunkster hubby is trying to get his project off the ground:  our getaway car wrapped up in a 1979 Porsche.  Sound pretty fantastic doesn't it, except when you dwell on the fact that you haven't had a spin for 4 years (at least).

Why life ain't fair
What is it that a guy can have a "project" last for eons and cost mucho moola without a poof of smoke or a vroom vroom.  I should, to be fair, state that the car was started and the cloud of smoke was worse than any carbon tax register.

The girls are gals
We did a fabulous job of hanging out on the driveway while our hunks piddle and screwed around (with screwdrivers) with tools and we were content.  Ask us 50 somethings whether we could turn back time and put the breaks on these never-ending project that suck mucho moola out of the funds.

To be fair
We may have extended ourselves beyond the requirements: do we need those many shoes or purses?    Our defense mechanism is that we need as many pairs of shoes as they need tools.  

Take that!?!!
Truth be told, we really don't need those many purses, shoes or accessories as they need tools.  But never has anyone argued with the "in case".  The tool that is bought because it is needed for the specific time is far different than the "in case' that particular tool meets a specific requirement is like that purse or pair of shoes that we buy "in case" we need it.

An explanation or evasion?
My greatest friend, who has known me since we worth both 18, starting out at college asked me what the big fuss was about social media?  She said anything she has crossed paths with is nega-tive.  She links it to negative association or being tricked into saying something or her kids being trapped into something.  Something that they should avoid at all cost.

An explanation or defense?
If you find yourself fooling around on social media, we have to be prepared to defend why we do what we do do DO.    As I said to my dearest friend, or tried to explain to her, social media is not a news cast, or about what is trending in the news, or what has people all hopped up about.

Occupation or preoccupation?
To try to explain to a non-participant is a challenge.  It isn't like I get paid to tweet, blog or post.  I tried to tell her that you can be recog-nized for your efforts.  To try to explain how it can be measured is like trying to defend why smoking or drinking alcohol is okay.

About writing or expression?
My very best friend who has known me for so many years, through some challenges, and championed triumphs, asked me:  "When did you decide you liked to write?"  It was awkward.  I was reacting defensively at first.  Then I had to internalize the question and think about the answer in it's realism:  I didn't know I loved to write until I started to write and I felt this physical release.  It was like I could just write and it dissipated those worries or thoughts.  

The reaction to attraction
Whether it is from a post of words, a quote that resonates from you inner being, or an image that just seems just too cool not to share.  Writing, posting or blogging on social media is a source for saying how you really feel, what you think to be true, or what would help others.  

A piece of the peace
There is a peace that envelopes you when you can be expressive through means that are outside your own creation.  Whether it is a reaction to what is happening or a thought on what could be a reaction to what is going on around us.  Writing a blog, posting on social media, is found at the inner core of our being. 

attraction TRACTION :


Measuring SoMe efforts



Do you monitor your traction? I do sometimes. The 


most revealing are those that have been invited to like


 my page and haven't responded. Seeing that this is 


"social networking" to me, it communicates who my 


supporters are from those who would rather have me


 like or share their stuff. Social Media is a reciprocal 


business it needs to be saidI am not going to go on


 about it other than just carve back who I follow so 


that I can add more value to those who support 


me back. 



http://www.pinpuff.com/how-much-do-keywords-still-matter/


How Much Do Keywords Still Matter?

Back in the 1990’s or early 2000’s if you were a part of the SEO scene you know that keyword density reigned supreme as the quickest method of making money. People made a fortune literally overnight and many a webmaster feverishly calculated the keyword to total word count ratio in an attempt to hit that perfect keyword density per page. The belief was that when a particular page reached this ratio it would have a better chance to rank for that keyword. It was a simple scheme that made it easy for almost anyone to start ranking. READ MORE ...... 





Self promotion NOTIONS

Some people certainly have been able to create a 

niche for themselves on social media.  And, there are

a TON of wannabes like me.  Those that want to 

REALLY quit their day jobs and be able to blog and

post professionally.  Say whatever they want and 

people will be attracted to that.  


For sale:  the official car of optioneerJM (wish:  MiniCooper convertible)


MINI owes much of its incredible longevity and success to the quirky and timeless appeal of its iconic outline. Since joining the BMW Group in 1994, the brand has steadily evolved from a niche vehicle for “enthusiasts” to become far more mainstream—all the while gaining a reputation for creating eye-catching guerrilla marketing and offbeat campaigns.
The brand is set on solidifying a reputation that goes beyond buzzworthy marketing, and has been hard at work to ensure that it remains relevant. In the first nine months of the year, BMW sold more than 246,426 MINI vehicles globally, and in the U.S. alone, year-to-date MINI sales were up 14.8 percent from 2014. But the brand isn’t done yet. Earlier this summer, it unveiled the 2016 MINI Clubman, a six-door estate that marks its entry into the premium compact segment, an area predicted to grow to make up 27 percent of global car sales by 2020. The Clubman signals its realigned strategy for MINI to “concentrate on five core models with strong characters.” To that end, a redesigned and simplified logo was rolled out midsummer, and two of the brand’s models—the Coupe and the Roadster—were retired.



From Brazil with love

What a crazy thing happened... here I write about 

attraction traction and why it is always a cool 

revelation when you take a look at who you may be

attracting to your blog, twitter feed or content 

everywhere.  The surprises never cease to unfold.  My

own discovery this evening when I saw a dramatic 

spike in readers from Brazil.  Maybe I am going to 

win a free trip and be hosted to visit all the hotspots in

preparation for the RIO games right around the 

corner.  What a dream to see, feel and share what it

may feel like for visitors to the Olympic Games in 

Brazil next month.  (I'll take it!!)


My fellow Canadians must be out celebrating Canada Day and US starting early


The next best trend

Would be where people pay MOI to be able to have 

an ad on my site.  As the legend grows and readership

goes, the page views, subscribers, followers will 

increase, then so will be the rates to be able to 

advertise in a few prime spots.  Only a couple of 

banner ads and a handful MAX of ads to the right.




 
 


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

No. 3 Brand:  Coca Cola according to Rankings.com
When the celebrated TV series Mad Men wrapped up earlier this year, viewers were left with an iconic moment of marketing genius: Coca-Cola’s “Hilltop” ad. The 1971 commercial, which features a multicultural mix of youths singing “I’d like to buy the world a Coke,” speaks to a simpler time for America—and for the brand.
Now, the world’s biggest beverage brand is trying to recapture that magic for millennials through its “Share a Coke” campaign, a global marketing initiative that began in Australia in 2011. The personalized bottles were so successful in the U.S. in 2014 that the campaign was expanded this year. In September 2015, Coca-Cola teamed up with Twitter to create a custom emoji—two Coke bottles clinking—that appeared in tweets bearing the hashtag #ShareaCoke. The result: a record 170,500 mentions over a 24-hour period. 
Few companies can harness the emotional horsepower that Coca-Cola can. The challenge, instead, for the 129-year-old beverage giant is that sales of cola and its carbonated cousins have been declining over the past decade amid health concerns. As a result, the company has broadened its array of lower-calorie and lower-sugar sodas, introduced smaller container sizes, and added healthier beverages to its brand portfolio, ranging from iced tea to coconut water. READ MORE ..... 



















The voice of a generation

Can be channeled at one origin.  Initially, not sub- 

scriber based.  Where people of similar interests hang

out.  The bygone product being the founding fathers 

of social media as interest-based content is where the

moola or cashola will be had.  Any and every brand

has read (and for the most part ignored) the value of

having a blog.  Yet, seriously, how many heed?  Let 

me check.

Google:  No. 2 according to Rankings.com

















Who are the top 10 brands globally?

This awesome website granted me my wish.  (Isn't it

stunning how easy it has become to find exactly what

you're looking for when you look on Google?  A 

while back, (dreams of an assistant editor who can 

these nuances for my blog, on where I say or predict

something as it relates to:

  • advertising
  • business
  • consumer spending
  • leadership
  • companies
  • policies
  • trends
According to Rankings.com the biggest brand is:


APPLE
 
“If you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will,” Steve Jobs once notably remarked. In the past year, Apple has again held true to this belief, as it continues to outdo its existing products and launch all-new ones. The Apple ecosystem expanded exponentially throughout 2015, along with its customer-centric focus, as reflected by a 43 percent rise in brand value this year. 

 
If you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will,” Steve Jobs once notably remarked. In the past year, Apple has again held true to this belief, as it continues to outdo its existing products and launch all-new ones. The Apple ecosystem expanded exponentially throughout 2015, along with its customer-centric focus, as reflected by a 43 peralue this y