Madison Who’s Who Blog

The first Who’s Who was published as a 250 page volume in 1849 and had no biographical content but only thirty-nine lists of ranks and appointments and the names of those holding them. These included the Royal Household, members of the House of Peers and House of Commons, judges, archbishops and British envoys abroad.

In 1897 a change of ownership brought about the biographical style that we have today.  Bernard Shaw was the first Who’s Who nominee to answer the question “What is your favorite recreation?”  It is so highly revered that Winston Churchill intervened during WW II to assure that Who’s Who’s made it to press.

Who’s Who directories have come a long way since those times.  In fact, almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who.  There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers and a Who’s Who’ of athletes.  Every company has its own roster’s of who’s who and every profession looks within it’s own ranks to spotlight their most brilliant with a who’s who designation.

If you’re trying to build your professional network, then Madison Who’s Who is a tremendous tool for you.  It can help you gain additional business exposure, career expansion, and job recruitment.  Madison Who’s Who professional directory is constantly growing. Their research staff may choose candidates through research. They also get candidates through professional associations and societies, trade organizations, or newspapers and magazines.  Candidates may also be nominated by a colleague via Madison Who’s Who website. 

Many professional Who’s Who directories specialize in providing its members with current biographical information of Executives and Professionals in virtually every industry.

This is to help people maximize their networking capabilities.  To do this Madison Who’s Who allows you to search for members in their online registry.  You can search by almost any criteria. You may select criteria such as, company name, industry, title, name etc. For anyone wanting to build a solid professional network, checkout the impressive services offered by Madison Who’s Who.

While there are many legitimate Who’s Who biographical directories, some unscrupulous individuals have created Who’s Who scams that involve the selling of “memberships” in Who’s Who directories that are created online and through instant publishing services. These are essentially thinly veiled scams designed to get individuals to part with their money and not some exclusive directory like the legitimate Who’s Who published by professional directories like Madison Who’s Who, which have an elaborate selection process.

Often the companies that “own” these registries are recently incorporated and the few individuals listed in them (who often post that on their web sites) are people who are being listed in the directory as a marketing tactic.  Therefore, the publication of their names in these directories is just a form of vanity publishing, and doesn’t really accomplish the professional networking that these directories were intended for.

Often blogs or forum posts that discuss these scams have entries by someone who is stating that they used the directory to make valuable business contacts, but these posts cannot be verified and are like other online reviews that provide no verification of the consumer or user’s identity.  If you want to benefit from all of the opportunities provided by professional directories, it’s important to choose a directory that is reputable, such as Madison Who’s Who.

Madison Who’s Who has professional listings for some of the world’s most prominent professionals, including attorneys.   It appears that finding a top rated attorney isn’t as easy as it once was.  As such, there are many new professional rating services out there that actually let users rate professionals.  The ratings are then made available to the public.  Think of it as the consumer reports of professionals.  One such professional rating website is lawyerratingz.com.  The site allows people compare ratings and read reviews on attorneys in their area as well as across the U.S. 

While this seems like a good concept at face value, I have my reservations.  Just as any surgeon might have reservations about operating on an attorney (for fear of a law suit), should users posting negative reviews of attorneys also be concerned that they are putting themselves at risk of a law suit?  I would personally think twice before posing negative comments online about an attorney.  Is what I have to say about a particular attorney worth opening myself up for a libel, or slander law suit?  In my opinion – it’s not.  But then again, I’ll just stick to Madison Who’s Who professional directory where I can find high quality professionals without the risk of losing the shirt off my back. 

If you ask ten different people what the definition of “who’s who” is it’s likely that you’d get ten different answers.  The term “who’s who” is used in so many different ways that it is is amusing to find how many times we incorporate it into everyday conversations.  We say things such as “the guest list read like a who’s who of corporate America.”  Do a Google Search and you’ll find ‘who’s who’ used in every fashion and manner, including the original incarnation of who’s who which came about in 1849.

According to Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, Who’s Who can also have the connotation of an “upper class group” or the “elite, gentry, and glitterati” of society.  Who’s who is also used loosely to represent an almanac or a social register, list or line up.

The last interpretation is how the Madison Who’s Who blog most often utilizes the phrase when we present books, websites and other compilations of outstanding people as well as outstanding events or items.  We also favor the biographical component to who’s who by bringing to the forefront various tributes or new biographies of the achievers and pivotal personalities through the corridors of time.

Almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who.  There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers and a Who’s Who’ of athletes.  Every company has its own roster’s of who’s who and every profession looks within its own ranks to spotlight their most brilliant with a who’s who designation.

Some of today’s “Who’s Who” directories are among the fastest-growing executive, professional and entrepreneur biographies in the world today. These who’s who directories contain accomplished members and extensive online database of people who are professionals in their field.  This makes who’s who directories such as Madison Who’s Who a premier resource for networking.

Most of these directories have a mission to deliver its members the recognition and competitive edge needed to network and do business effectively. Inclusion in these registries is usually an honor limited to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and achievement in their industry and occupation. The registries are distributed exclusively to members of the directory around the world, making it the ideal vehicle for you to use to position yourself and your company.

From healthcare to law, engineering to finance, manufacturing to education, every major profession is represented by in most who’s who directories. 

When it comes to America’s top doctors, Dr. Alan M. Rapoport is definitely on the Who’s Who in that category. Rapoport is Director and Co-founder of The New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut, and Medical Director of the Headache Inpatient Unit at Greenwich Hospital. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven. He is also former director of Neurology at Greenwich Hospital. Rapoport gained “who’s who” status when he was cited in the textbook “The Best Doctors in America.” Dr. Rapoport graduated from Dartmouth College and received his MD degree from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. He completed his internship at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City and did a 3 year Neurology Residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He was Chief Resident in Neurology from 1969-1970. In addition, he spent 2 years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD doing research for the U.S. Government in the Public Health Service.

Dr. Rapoport has coauthored six books on the subject of headache with Dr. Fred Sheftell and contributed to numerous others. He has authored over 100 scientific articles about headache diagnosis and treatment and lectured to doctors, patients, business leaders and universities across the US and around the world, concentrating on Finland, Europe and Brazil. He is on the Board of Directors of the American Association for the study of Headache, is on the Editorial Board of Cephalalgia, an international headache journal, and is editor of Seminars in Headache Management. He has been featured on numerous national broadcasts, including “Dateline NBC,” “The Today Show,” “20/20,” “Good Morning, America,” “CBS This Morning,” and both CNN News and the Fox News Network. He serves as a consultant to several pharmaceutical companies and health-related corporations. If you’re following the Who’s Who of American Doctors, Rapoport definitely tops the list.

Depending upon who you ask, the definition of “who’s who” will vary immensely.  If you ask ten different people, you’ll probably get ten different answers.  The term “who’s who” is used in so many different ways that it is is amusing to find how many times we incorporate it into everyday conversations.  We say things such as “the guest list read like a who’s who of corporate America.”  Do a Google Search and you’ll find ‘who’s who’ used in every fashion and manner, including the original incarnation of who’s who which came about in 1849.

According to Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, Who’s Who can also have the connotation of an “upper class group” or the “elite, gentry, and glitterati” of society.  Who’s who is also used loosely to represent an almanac or a social register, list or line up.

The last interpretation is how the Madison Who’s Who most often utilizes the phrase when we present books, websites and other compilations of outstanding people as well as outstanding events or items.  We also favor the biographical component to who’s who by bringing to the forefront various tributes or new biographies of the achievers and pivotal personalities through the corridors of time.

Almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who.  There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers.

The first Who’s Who was published as a 250 page volume in 1849 and had no biographical content but only thirty-nine lists of ranks and appointments and the names of those holding them. These included the Royal Household, members of the House of Peers and House of Commons, judges, archbishops and British envoys abroad.

In 1897 a change of ownership brought about the biographical style that we have today.  Bernard Shaw was the first Who’s Who nominee to answer the question “What is your favorite recreation?”  It is so highly revered that Winston Churchill intervened during WW II to assure that Who’s Who’s made it to press.

Who’s Who directories have come a long way since those times.  In fact, almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who.  There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers and a Who’s Who’ of athletes.  Every company has its own roster’s of who’s who and every profession looks within it’s own ranks to spotlight their most brilliant with a who’s who designation.

Recently members of the British Broadcasting Corporation have come under pressure as they meet at Broadcasting House in central London to approve further widespread job cuts across the corporation.The meeting will be the most important since the trust officially replaced the board of governors as the BBC’s regulatory body at the beginning of this year. Each of the trustees is appointed by the Queen on advice from ministers following an open appointments process and serves for up to five years. So, with all this pressure, and job cuts pending, we were curious as to who’s who in the BBC.  Here are some interesting facts about a few members of the BBC. They are paid £35,230 a year for two days’ work a week, with members for the nations - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - receiving £40,265. The vice-chairwoman is paid £75,495 for two-and-a-half days’ work, while the chairman receives £140,000 for four days a week. So, who’s who among the BBC board?

Sir Michael Lyons, chairman.
Sir Michael was appointed in April and officially took up the role in May after the BBC Trust chairman designate, Michael Grade, resigned to become ITV executive chairman in November.

A former deputy chairman of the Audit Commission, Sir Michael was knighted in 2000 for services to local government after serving as the chief executive of the Birmingham, Nottinghamshire and Wolverhampton local authorities.  He is also the chairman of the English Cities Fund and recently completed the Lyons inquiry into the functions and funding of local government. A former member of the Labour party, Sir Michael - a friend of prime minister Gordon Brown - resigned before taking up his BBC position.

Chitra Bharucha, deputy chairwoman.
Ms Bharucha, who was born in Madurai, India, and moved to the UK in 1972, led the trust for four months earlier this year following the resignation of Mr Grade. After a career in medicine, she rose to become deputy director of the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service and consultant clinical haematologist at Belfast City Hospital.

Alison Hastings, trustee for England
A former local newspaper journalist and editor of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Ms Hastings is now a media consultant whose clients include Camelot, Liverpool City Council and the Press Complaints Commission.