“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.” ~Pete Cashmore
Pete Cashmore is one of the youngest and most successful people in the tech industry today. Image: Time
Pete Cashmore is of the young generation of technology gurus. When he was just 19 years old, he conceived the idea for Mashable, which has since become a must-read website for those wanting to keep up to date in the tech world. After its founding, Mashable rapidly grew to become one of the most profitable blogs in the world. As its CEO and founder, he has gained worldwide acclaim for its success, landing a spot on Inc.’s “30 Under 30” list. He was also listed as one of Forbes’ “Top 25 Web Celebs.”
In 2012, Pete Cashmore was listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, categorized as a “Social News Guru.” That’s no surprise, considering he has over 3 million twitter followers—nearly twice that of Arianna Huffington.
“Pete started Mashable because he wanted to be part of the conversation about technological change,” reads his Time description, written by Alyssa Milano. “Mashable gave him a voice. Today, it gives voice to millions who are trying to make their lives better through digital innovation.”
As if life wasn’t busy enough for the 27-year-old techie, he also writes a weekly column for CNN, where he discusses technology and social media. Given his worldwide success, he now splits his time between his native Scotland, New York City, and San Francisco.
Cashmore has also been honored as Briton of the Year by Telegraph (2010), is a World Economic Forum 2011 Young Global Leader, and is an active philanthropist. Perhaps one of his most memorable philanthropic endeavors was when he took social media by storm in 2008 to raise money to build fresh water wells in Africa—which he did. He and his team also started Social Good Summit, which is now an annual conference dedicated to leveraging social media to improve the world.
All this, and Cashmore isn’t even thirty yet. What will the next thirty years bring?
