The Oddest, Most Uninterpretable, Top 50 List Ever Created

So, FastCompany, a publication I really enjoy, just released a Top 50 list of “Reader Favorites.”

In their opening paragraph, they say: “You nominated companies. You rated them. You commented on them. In the
end, we have the 50 companies that you, our readers, have chosen as the
most innovative.”

Now I looked through this list.  And I now have absolutely no idea how I would ever create an ad that could run in Fast Company.  Sure, there are a few companies in here that make obvious sense (like FedEx and Zipcar), and a bunch that I don’t know anything about.  But here are some questions I have:

  • How does a top 50 list of “Innovative Companies” not include Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft or Amazon? 
  • The Boston Red Sox?  Innovation?   Huh? 
  • Weber Shandwick?  A PR firm?  Interesting.

Anyway, here’s the list:
1. Marathon Technologies
2. Data Robotics, Inc.
3. Sales Spider
4. Consorte Media
5. YouMail
6. Greenplum
7. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc.
8. Slalom Consulting
9. Persistent Systems
10. VBT
11. JVKellyGroup, Inc.
12. BlogHer
13. Bluepulse
14. Our Hope Place
15. Illumina
16. Bomgar
17. Amerikal Products Corporation
18. Brand Sense Partners
19. Datran Media
20. KACE
21. Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
22. Paramount Defenses Inc.
23. GridApp Systems
24. The Rubicon Project
25. Varonis
26. mSpot, Inc.
27. Mozilla Corporation
28. Fenway Sports Group/Boston Red Sox
29. Operative
30. Salesforce.com, Inc.
31. Peanut Labs, Inc.
32. Validus DC Systems, LLC
33. 11i Networks Inc.
34. Imagekind
35. Fresco Microchip
36. Canaan Partners
37. Zipcar
38. ActiveCare Network, LLC
39. Lehigh Technologies, Inc.
40. Citrix Systems, Inc.
41. BDNA
42. Allvoices.com
43. Weber Shandwick
44. AECOM
45. The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies
46. 4Home
47. Junk my Car LLC
48. Luminex Corporation
49. FedEx
50. SynthaSite