This event is part of a series of unique how-to huddles on the campuses of the world's best universities, taught by some of America's top social media practitioners and experts. SMASH pushes the traditional conference into something much more ...

Gezime Amer with her 12-year-old twin boys Abdulah (top left) and Rahman (top right) and 10-year-old twin girls Zenebe (bottom left) and Kerima (bottom ...

For Innovative, I nominate ourselves- SuddenDeals.com

We are a live entertainment/discount network in the Twin Cities. We connect merchants with shoppers in real-time through the use of SMS text messages on mobile cell phones. The innovative part is that with our network, merchants get to share each other’s customers and don’t need to build their SMS lists from scratch!

@suddendeals_com

Here is my vote:

Robert Stanke - has been a gracious mentor answering my many stupid questions and teaching me a lot along the way.

Arik Hanson - Great insight and tips to help me navigate SM.

Scott Borsch - another great mentor with good insight. Learn something with every interaction.

I humbly submit all of my co-founders and crew of @TheUpTake. From organizing volunteer Twitter teams, to webcasting every second of the Coleman/Franken trial, to on the fly channel changers and google masups, these folks live it:

Jason Bartnett @jbarnett@mmcintee@chuckumentary@noahkunin@zosiablue@MattJhsn
Mike McIntee
Chuck Olson
Noah Kuhnin
Jennifer Whigham
Matt Johnson

I hope you will allow an expatriate add his two cents? Even if I am no longer based in the TwinCities, I am still very proud of all my friends who *have* put MN on the map.

As many have already mentioned, five is far too few. (Maybe I should make my own list of everyone-I-know-who-uses-twitter-in-minnesota-and-why they-are-awesome?)

For the sake of this exercise, however, I'll stick to the innovation theme:

@jojeda - for bridging the gab between traditional and social media

@rickmahn - for making sure that these social media tools reflect true networks and stay social

@taulpaul - for ridiculously creative projects, and more importantly a sincerity that is unfortunately rare

@newcoventry - for exposing higher education to the benefits of engaging students and prospects on their own turf

@lindsi - for using these tools where they are perhaps most important: in the non-profit space

really? I have to stop now?

Clearly, some people did not read the rules in the post ;) So, just to be clear, for those who nominated more than five (yeah, I'm looking at you Kelly Groehler ;) I will be taking the first five you mention in your nomination post.

Only 2 more days to nominate your innovators!

This is a great idea, but like @missashe, I think your list should be broken down by profession/genre if possible. I'm a tweeting soon-to-be lawyer, so I've been following Minnesota legal tweeters and social media folk. My recs for the top 5 Minnesota legal social media folk are (drum roll).... (in no particular order)

@samglover@shaunjamison@Ethics_Maven@no634@smallfirm

Thanks for doing this. Can't wait to see the results. - Leora @Leoramaccabee

For me a list of the Social Media Innovators would have to include:

1. @myklroventine and 2. @conniebenson both of whom are inclusive, generous leaders. @myklroventine is always helping us bring national efforts local like TechKaraoke, Social Media Club (and breakfast), and Ignite Minneapolis. 3. @donmball for his conception and brilliant roll-out of the Unsummit (http://www.unsummit.org), two of the best and most original conferences I have attended in a long time. 4.@mnheadhunter who supports his community teaching people how to use social media for job searching during the economic downturn. 5.@josephrueter for extendr.com/ (maybe he'll hire me one day)

Meg (@megcanada)

As a nonprofiteer, I'd like to share some orgs that are using social media in cool ways (and inspire me in my work all the time). Some you may know, some you may not. But trust me, they are all using the available tools in a strategic wayy that enhances their mission.

@theuptake: What more do I say?

@newtactics: You don't even know the cool stuff happening here - this is a community of human rights practitioners sharing ideas and resources on really tough issues (like torture). Their activists are across the globe (with varying degrees of Internet access) and Kristin (@kjantin) finds the tools to make it work. Check out http://www.newtactics.org/.

@wellstoneaction: @e_lana is one smart cookie. She's doing great stuff at WellstoneAction! and is a great colleague and friend to bounce ideas off of and share resources. Don't know her? Um, you should.

@mnfringe: Really digging how the Fringe keeps upping the ante each year. New website, nifty partnerships, and an engaged base of loyal followers who review their hearts out each year. And seriously, live theater all over the Twin Cities is a spectacle only rivaled by, um, Social Media Breakfast?

@allianceMN: Yeah, you have a budget and dedicated community managers, but I dig your smart thinking. You may not agree with them (full disclosure, I do) but they are doing smart work. Keep bringing the clever posts, fun games, and savvy hires. As an aside, their team can seriously rock - they should come to TechKaraoke.

Those are my 5 cents - agree or disagree at will.

@missashe (aka Ashley Schweitzer)

PS. Very honorable mentions to: @2Harvest, @MinnPost, @ARTSMIA, @walkerartcenter, @HCLib, @MNHS - you guys are doing great work

Last but NOT least, I nominate:@perfectporridge
(Greg Swan) - for being one of my very first teachers of anything related to social media; for constantly working to connect smart people both on and offline; and for loving his job so much it makes him glow :-)

I also nominate:@mykylroventine
- for his kind, patient teachings of social media AND for combining his passion for social media and love for music/singing to bring Tech Karaoke to Minneapolis.

I nominate:

@JenKaneCo - for embracing social media, keeping ahead of the trends, and then producing Kane Camp, a series of events that not only teach social media strategies and tools to marketing/PR/communications professionals in a casual environment where there are no dumb questions, but also provide an opportunity for local Twin Cities professionals to highlight their skills as presenters of their craft.

Good nominees, but don't forget about @LeeAase, the leader behind Mayo Clinic's social media identity.

I Nominate:@CamGross@MNheadhunter@MrChristopherL

Please don't forget about us Minnesota Real Estate Folks

@JasonSandquist@TBoard@Ladin_Ventures

@derickson

and some folks from outside the TCs:@LZXpress@kaxeheidi@JohnShepard@griffinjay

How is Phil Wilson (http://twitter.com/philson) not on this list yet? I think he deserves a definite personal mention, not just grouped in with Minnov8. If we're talking innovation here, it can't just be the people we like the most. (Not that I don't love you, Phil.) He's got Minnov8 (and because of Minnov8, MinnPost), RemainComm, Localtone and ComicTwit. Probably more that I'm not thinking of.

I'll also second/third/fourth/? the mention for Christopher Lower. I love to see what he does with local restaurants. (Don't we have him to thank for the Moto-i buzz? I think so.)

And more:

Paul DeBettignies - @MNheadhunter - for his work with recruiting/recruiters.

Tim Brunelle - @tbrunelle - for his MIMA efforts, and helping traditional marketers and MCAD students understand the power of interactive. (He won me over with his SMB speech: http://bit.ly/S4OJL)

Don Ball - @donmball - for UnSummit.

Great idea!

@derickson for his long standing evangalism for all things social media and for introducing me to Twitter.

@dbrauer for his stellar content!

@npnicole and @missashe for representing for the local nonprofit community!

Seeing way too many of the same names on this list. Let's mix it up a bit:

@keithprivette - Keith is just an all-around nice, genuine guy who lives & breathes human interaction and has a great bit of genius.@socialwendy@mlane@danwegner
- if you weren't at the #civicsummit (http://www.nationalcivicsummit.com) last week then you might not understand her awesomeness. If you are in, or want to be in, the social world then you need to know her.
- Mike is also very nice and is a west coast-style web design resource tweeter. He posts excessive (in a good way) amounts of links to anything & everything UX/UI. The guy deserves some serious credit.
- You know those people who you can't remember how you met or what the circumstances were? To me, that's Dan. But I'd still haul a can of paint... wait, wrong reference.

Wow, great list of nominees. We truly do have an amazing social community right here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Just like to second the nomination of @warehousemedia for his brainchild, Minnesocia and his superb work in creating one of the most successful higher education YouTube channels in the country.

Also like to nominate @dbrauer for his outstanding media reporting. His Braublog is a must-read for Twin Cities media personalities and PR pros.

Again folks, thanks for all the great nominations. Your passion and energy are validating my claim that we, without a doubt, have one of the strongest digital communities around.

A few other nominations that came in today via DM/email: Rick Mahn (2), Jason DeRusha, Dave Erickson, Arik Hanson (2), Connie Bensen, Paul Saarinen and @mckmama.

A couple I really like:
@arikhanson: Mutual admiration society, but no one has done more to build community through social media locally than Arik.
@jaredroy: Likewise, with the community building, and he's the one guy on my list with all the SM and related job openings.
@mnpr: Ryan May's PR blog celebrating its 5th birthday --- one of the early communications resources in social media and religiously followed by locals.
@minnpost: Among local media, they have it figured out on Twitter. News comes to me throughout the day.
@garyschwitzer: This one is about quality, not quantity. His experience as CNN medical correspondent leads him to comment on the completeness/bias of national and local news coverage. Twitter account wraps in nicely --- not too much, but just enough to keep you in the know.

Making things possible for organizations:@benhedrington
& @garykoelling-- not only in using social media, but creating tools that help organizations be real, authentic and efficient. amazing talents that push the envelope & ask hard questions. results? transformed businesses.

Transformed food and social scenes:@MrChristopherL@bloisolson
-- bringing the twin cities food and social scene to life. forward thinking and shaping an industry in Minnesota

changing the direction of the hr industry:@jakahn@mnheadhunter
-- crazy innovative stuff to help organizations identify the best talent for jobs; i've seen no one else anywhere do what they're doing

just plain awesome@rodneybryant
-- bringing together many things unheard of on www.geeksquad.com; a techie who knows how to bring social media and marketing strategies together to make a business impact

Hi again,
I had to drop in and thank folks for the mentions - it means a lot.

But I have to add more to this great list.

Another key person at BBY that doesn't get enough mention is @CamGross, who's helped build and manage BSN Mix at Best Buy.

I'll second that call out for @MrChristopherL, who has single handedly done more for bringing attention to great, local, unique eateries to national and global attention than anyone else I've known.

@DonBall, @MegCanada & @MyklRoventine for bringing us UnSummit! 'Nuff said there except: Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Tons of great suggestions above. One glaring omission, IMO, is @quick13 / Fiona Quick. Her live college hockey tweets are reliable and fantastic, and she does a great job keeping us up to date on off-ice news as well.

What a great idea and wish I'd thought of it. Because of this, my first nomination goes to:

@ArikHanson for his continued innovation.

@TCTHURHAPPYHOUR because he is an amazing networker for both business and pleasure.

@RickMahn for his inspirational gift of gab in 140 characters or less.

@bstudt for her ability to apply social media to the commercial construction industry.

@bloisolson because not only are his tweets informative but they are quite helpful as well.

I look forward to seeing the results and learning more about the nominees.

I guess this post goes to show how MSP is evolving as an area with regard to practitioners who know their craft. This influence is not just local but on a national level. While most on the left and right coasts still see MSP as a cow town on the digital innovation list, we are right there in the mix of cities pushing the conversation including NYC, LAX, SFO/SJC, SEA, CHI, Austin, etc.

Local practitioners are also having influence on the enterprise helping $40B companies like Best Buy transform into a platform. This starts with persons like Steve Bendt @sbendt (now with MSFT) and Gary Koelling @garykoelling who sit down with C-Level peeps who control budgets like Barry Judge and teach, train, and educate. They are like moles in a sleeper cell, activating the organization by hosting activities like Social Media Breakfast @rickmahn, Social Media Club @socialmediaclub, conversations with authors/influencers (@JeffJarvis , David Meerman Scott @dmscott, @JeffPulver). These in turn influence new cultures of listening like @Twelpforce.

Next month General Mills is hosting @Sernovitz and the Social Media Council for a conversation with Ford, WallMart, McDonalds, and others on enterprise social media. @djsmith4 helped influence the organization to open up.

Hopefully more start-ups stay in town and are funded locally. Persons who assist in this area @graemethickins, @thingles, @Martone @akispicer will be the ones to watch as well as MSP locals in SFO building new businesses like @uniquevisitor or @thomasknoll

If you get it share it, and MSP should share even more their story of transformation with the world. We have the practitioners, authors, evangelists, in-house educators, and F500s to make this one of the most vibrant digital communities around.

I would like to nominate:@TCTHURHAPPYHOUR@Warehousemedia@ArikHanson@RickMahn@RPMaus
- Organizes fun networking events for all TC people to meet
- offers fun comm. field information, created Minnesocia (webisodes about social media using Minnesotans)
- Need I explain??
- everyone else has already explained why he deserves it
- for keeping me up to date on the latest u of m news and sports

Oh, wow... this is so difficult. I share your sentiments on the livliness and stength of the Mpls/St. Paul social media community Arik! If I had to choose five, which is terribly difficult as many have impacted my day-to-day in many ways, I would choose the following:

@arikhanson - As a communications professional, I find Arik's blog extremely valuable in the overall global conversations about the evolution of an industry I have been interested in since I was a kid. His contribution to the conversation is thoughtful, well articulated and provides great value to many locally and far beyond.

@derushaj - As a local reporter, I'm astonished at the way Jason has leveraged social tools to involve the people in their own community. His blog and use of twitter make me far more interested in local news and feel more involved in my hometown.

@leeodden As far as communications go, we are more integrated now than ever. The PR, ad, mktg. and search worlds have collided, all dependent upon one another for optimal results. A PR person that aspires to learn enough about search to be a bit dangerous, I am constantly impressed at Lee's Online Marketing blog and twitter interactions. I learn much from his insights regularly.

@rickmahn For organizing this community for almost two years. His commitment, dedication and enthusiasm for social innovation in the Twin Cities is solid. Thanks Rick!

And... last on this list, but certainly not the list in my mind...

@perfectporridge - Hitting the agency world post college, I have been exposed to Greg's work at Weber Shandwick and his many contributions to the community. His case studies and take on social as it pertains to the communications industry and beyond are extremely valuable and impactful. He has a very methodical, simple and practical explanation and approach for social media strategy that I appreciate.

Great idea Arik. Thanks.

I'll nominate Ward Tongen, most recently in the (yes the ONLY) corporate emarketing role at Medtronic. Ward is a prolific thinker when it comes to social media, SEO, analyzing opportunities and generating results. It's because of Ward that a big company like ours is even dipping a toe in social media...and yes, we've dipped. Thanks Ward! You are missed.

Okay, I'm on the B2B side which doesn't get the buzz, but I'll second three on the consumer side - @derushaj - Jason DeRusha - for diving in head first and early, and not taking things too SERIOUSLY. Another vote for Julio Ojeda-Zapata, who has done a lot to educate the public on social media but had a track record as a great reporter years before Facebook, Twitter or anything like that. And our own Greg Swan - an activist for the local social media community @perfectporridge.

I'd also like to give a nod to his colleague, B2B pro @andykeith, who I interviewed and who now teaches me much more than the other way around.

I nominate Troy A Peterson CEO of Nibi Software Group. His innovation includes developing an entirely new platform for learning online including video, wikipedia, and other resources.
I also second all those who have mentioned Julio Ojeda-Zapata. Following him on Twitter is a joy.

Glad to read @pjbfcp's shout out, as my nominees are all of my colleagues. There is a lot of talk about innovation in social media. But when you see it stretch and expand a company from the inside out; when it gets messy; when we learn from mistakes and missteps; when we fail and move on, then you know it's really making a difference. And that's what these people have done over the past two years inside Best Buy.

@garykoelling @benhedrington @rodneybryant @bernierjohn @jakahn @camgross @bby_community @BBYGamerMom @gina_bestbuy @kevinmatheny @timconnelly @susanbuch

I would like to nominate Troy A Peterson the creative force behind Nibi Software, a Stillwater Minnesota company featuring educational software whose by-line is 'Together We Learn.' He knew from inception that social media needed to be a key component; that sharing and collaborating are ways to leverage the power of learning. In addition to using social media as an element of the platform, he uses Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to promote the flagship site, Nibipedia.com, and connect with potential investors.

Thanks for the nods guys. I'm working on a promise that I would share more of what I'm doing. I'm just trying to navigated the NDAs. There are a ton great people in this list who I wish I had more time for 1 on 1 conversations.

@chuckumentary Chuck Olsen because he's weird, showed me what videoblogging was before Youtube was around. His work with the Uptake, and the RNC using Qik blew my mind, and for spending time educating people around the country on things way before they become mainstream.

@garykoelling / @camgross for their pragmatic approach to the practice, and surviving an environment early on that was probably not conducive to be open and transparent

@derushaj / @jojeda for being early adopters in the MSM world. You probably got teased for being nerds in the newsroom, but you're also probably used to it. You'll both get the last laugh. I promise.

@rickmahn for taking probably one of the most difficult jobs in this field, and making sure we all keep in contact once a month.

Since it's come to my attention that I joined Twitter the same day @taulpaul live tweeted his daughter's birth, it's very likely that's why 2 years ago I ended up on Twitter... so I have to nominate Paul Saarinen for that reason.

I second Julio Ojeda-Zapata. In the journalism world, he's done an incredible job crowd-sourcing via Twitter. He's an evangelist internally at the Pi Press.

James Lileks isn't a guy often mentioned among the hipsters using the interwebs. But he's an incredible innovator. Nearly 9000 Twitter followers. He uses social media not as a spammy promotional tool, but as an extension of his personal brand.

Thanks Jeff and Kasey. Even you Don :)

I simply don't know as many people in the social media space locally as I'd like.

There such a convergence of disciplines within social media between PR, interactive, search, customer service and direct it's hard to limit this to 5.

Albert Maruggi - Podcasting social guru-ness and being a great source of insight within the PR world. He's also a friendly MN face I get to see at PR conferences.
Julio Ojeda-Zapata - Innovating journalist's use of social as has DeRusha
Rick Mahn - For innovating social media breakfast of course
Connie Bensen - Top tier community builder
Gary Koeling - Working social on the inside with BSN

Take this poll again next year and @AdamSinger is sure to be on the list.

There's been a focus on individuals here, which is great and all of the above mentioned people rock, but some seriously innovative work has come out of collaboration at Minneapolis agencies. I'll start with an individual though-

1. Paul Isakson. That whole Mad Men on Twitter trend? Paul started it as the original @don_draper. In addition, he always seems to be one step ahead of the game at all times, always pointing out the latest/greatest work in the digital realm.

2. Albert Maruggi who has been dabbling in social technologies since before I was even born, I think. ;-p

3. Adrian Ho & the Zeus Jones team for their "Usemore" concept. It won PhizzPop Nationals for a reason- http://vimeo.com/3718332

4. I'll second the nomination for @taulpaul.

5. I give a nod to the Fallon planners who came up with Skimmer and the SARAH Twitter presence.

And honorable mention goes to The Nerdery developers who take ideas like Skimmer and Usemore and make them a reality.

Wait a second. There's a big word at the top of this article. Innovators. I don't know that anyone has been more social media innovator-y than those folks over in the sand crawlers. @benhedrington, @garykoeling & @sbendt. Between BSN, Giftag, SpyApp & Retweetradar I don't know that there's a more innovative crew.

I'm surprised not to see @mrchristopherl on the list so far. I think he's had a great affect on the local social scene. Just ask a burrito.

Thanks everyone for the nominations! I agree with quite a few above, and I'm learning a lot about some new folks in our community today.

Other nominations coming in via email/DM include:

Greg Swan, Jason Sprenger, Dave Erickson, Arik Hanson (crazy!), Gary Koelling, @fanchatter, Blois Olson, Sara Benny, Ryan Maus, and Lisa Grimm.

Keep the nominations coming! I will be collecting them all week. You can also reach me via DM or email (arik.hanson@gmail.com)

I would also like to nominate Jason DeRusha from WCCO. He is really reaching out to his audience and keeping people interested in news and MN events with Facebook, Twitter and his JasonCam at his desk at WCCO. He is a great guy, and is putting social technology to work in great ways.

@taulpaul for being a true innovator: he live tweeted the birth of his daughter before half of us were even on Twitter.

http://mashable.com/2007/08/06/twitter-live-birth/

Jen Kane, @JenKaneCo is my #1 pick. She is so enthusiastic about social media, she offers incredible workshops that are well priced and packed full of quality information. The workshops are hands on and the participants walk away with information they can begin using immediately. Jen is a great advocate for getting people on board in using social media, she is professional and brings fun to everything she does. Jen deserves a top spot on your list!

I nominate Troy A Peterson @troyapeterson. Troy's company has built a Twitter following of 30K+ for his flagship site nibipedia.com and it was through Twitter that Troy found his first investor.

I am quite new to the social media world and learning from, as well as interacting with many in the Minneapolis area. I have learned from the community as a whole but would nominate people I have personally met:

@leeodden (I worked at TopRank as an intern and learned this world of social media there)

@robertstanke (He is a great networker online and offline, which I appreciate learning from)

@kathyswanson (I can learn from her about what to do in regulated industries, which I have to deal with)

@MatthewCrowe (Great entrepreneur locally that wants to help other aspiring entrepreneurs)

Those are just a few of the people I have met that I think are innovators for different reasons, I look forward to meeting more of the top social media folks.

@TCTHURHAPPYHOUR (Jeff Nolan)

Jason DeRusha! He is the only media personality actually using lifestyle trends to connect to a broader demographic (ok, technically lots of people/organizations use twitter, FB etc but not in the broad-based, personal approach he employs. He is consistent, up to date and interacts with everyone. Nice guy too!)

Hey Arik, this is a cool idea and thank you for the link.

We have a lot of talented folks in our area but the best part is, they share and are good people.

I think all of the ones I would have suggested have been mentioned but one.

There is a Recruiter in town who many of you may not know but is well thought of here in the Recruiter/HR community and around the country.

Joshua Kahn @joshuakahn
Accenture at Best Buy

He spoke a month or so ago at the Social Recruiting Summit put on by ERE Media and hosted at Google Hq's.

He did it here Friday and the our local group was floored at the awesome content.

Josh is leading a group at Best Buy and many/most of the new ideas they are running with are coming from his team.

I would nominate:

@craigpladson@mnheadhunter@rickmahn@janekaneco@irishgirl

These people are thinking and acting upon the landscape of Social Medis/Business/Networking while others watch from the sidelines. I have had the pleasure to establish a relationhip both online and offline. They are awesomeness knows no bounds!

I would also throw @DeRushaJ in the mix also. In an indutry that is failing to grasp this new world Jason has grabbed the bull by the horns and made that bull bow down!

These are my thought leaders I like to follow and you should too! Plus I think they could win this this thing. I only like picking winners and rock stars!

@keithprivette

I'd like to add Lee Odden to this list. What he is doing over at Top Rank and what he's doing personally, is top notch. When I think of innovation in Minneapolis, he one of the first that come to mind.