TALLINN - The mayor of Tallinn, Edgar Savisaar, took first place on the list of the most Web Important People in Estonia, reports Internet portal wiplist.com.
Savisaar, also the leader of the Center Party, says that "New media is by its very nature more democratic and less manipulative, compared to so called 'old media.' The Internet is much more level when compared, for example with broadcast TV or radio, it provides real access to all, regardless of their social strata, mother tongue, age or political education," speaking with The Baltic Times.
"In an Estonian (old) media context, the WIPlist news may be seen as surprising. But if you compare this result, for example, with Estonian public opinion surveys, you can see obvious correlations. The Center Party is leading heavily in the opinion polls and I, as a leader of this party, can enjoy high rankings on different popularity lists, almost as ex-officio," he added.
After the mayor, second on the list comes former Prime Minister and Vice-President of the European Commission, Siim Kallas, who is next followed by the well-known composer Arvo Part. Part is also especially popular among foreign audiences.
After the three leading men on the winners' podium comes the beautiful, well-known political scientist, EU energy policy expert and coincidently the youngest on the list, Anna-Maria Galojan. "Finding myself on the WIPlist together with Estonia's former prime ministers, presidents and cultural celebrities was a great pleasure for me."
The WIPlist "is a very good example of an international list which has its own rules and voting mechanisms, with procedures kept well under control. I think that the people working in this mechanism are doing a great job," she says.
"Of course, appearing on some local or international lists gives you some inspiration and support, which is quite important for us to do our work better and achieve more goals in our career. But the most important thing is not just to appear on the list but to try to keep your level high, and then to show that you really deserved being on the list," says Galojan.
"None of the WIPlists, even international ones, could guarantee one success. In fact, only by means of hard work, a desire to develop oneself, and continuing lifelong studies can one be on the long but effective path to success; of course, we should do our best to help our country to have a better future," Galojan told The Baltic Times.
The WIPlist chose 100 of the most popular people on the Internet in each country for the poll. In the U.S., the winner this year was President Barak Obama, coming in second was pop star Michael Jackson.
Last but not least in the Estonian poll was film-maker Rene Vilbre.
The WIPlist claims to measure the presence of the most referenced people in the Internet, that is, the number of pages in which the person appears, and places a value, either positive or negative.
