TIME MAGAZINE REVEALS ITS MOST INFLUENCIAL PEOPLE OF 2011

May 2011 issue of TIME

TIME Magazine has announced its annual TIME 100, honouring the most influencial People in the World. whose ideas have sparked dialogue and even revolution.  Included on the list this year are Arianna Huffington, Bruno Mars, Chris Colfer, Blake Lively,  Justin Bieber, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Matt Damon, Mark Zuckerberg, Colin Firth, Sting, Amy Poehler, Michelle Obama and more!

Check out the complete list here.

(Photo credit: TIME)

AOL PURCHASES "THE HUFFINGTON POST" FOR $315 MILLION

Arianna Huffington & Mr. Will-W.

Congratulations to Arianna Huffington and The Huffington Post!  The news website is one of the most widely-read in the World and it was announced midnight that it has been acquired by AOL.

The deal is for a total $315 million US.  The New York Times reports that $300 of this will be paid in cash, while the remainder $15 million is in AOL shares.  It has been said that AOL over the past ten years has lost its lustre as a go-to authority for News, thus this move looks to help them improve their brand in that regard.

The Huffington Post was co-founded in 2005 by Huffington and Kenneth Lerer on a $1 million investement.  Despite being privately owned and not under any obligation to report profits/losses, the Company reportedly made $60 million in 2010.  Wow.

The lovely Huffington, who I was lucky enough to meet in Toronto late November, will now be overseeing AOL's editorial content on a national and local level as the President and Editor-in-Chief of what is now known as The Huffington Post Media Group.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, CO-FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF "THE HUFFINGTON POST" IN TORONTO

Arianna Huffington & Mr. Will-W.

Arianna Huffington née Arianna Stassinopoulos needs no introduction to those of you who follow widely-read website The Huffington Post, known most for its Liberal perspective on Politics.  The website is so popular that many Celebrities have Guest Blogged on it including the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Ashley Judd, Paul Reiser and Mark Ruffalo.  In addition to being a respected Commentator, Editor and Co-founder of that prolific website, Huffington was ranked as Forbes Magazine's twelfth Most Influencial Woman in Media in 2009.  It is expected that this result will not be dissimilar when 2010's tally is published.

The gorgeous and poised Huffington arrived in Toronto Sunday night to promote her latest book Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream.  Among other appearances, she was slated to visit Global Television and CBC.  Huffington's book critiques how Americans have destroyed their own ideal of the American Dream, yet also offers insights on how to correct these problems.  She also was to serve as a Keynote Speaker at the Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards Summit & Gala on Monday night to be held at Allstream Centre.  Surely she would have a lot to say about WikiLeaks' recent publishing of raw and confidential government documents in the tens of thousands.  To bring yourself up to speed on that, click here.