Every year, we here at MSN Lifestyle assemble our list of influential people, and every year we end up asking ourselves the same question: What does "influential" really mean? Does it apply to someone living in the spotlight? Or is it meant for someone less well-known, working behind the scenes but motivating and inspiring just the same?
While it’s never easy to define "influence," there are some things we can say for certain. This year’s election felt so omnipresent and rife with historic implications we had to resist the urge to fill these lists with politicians and pundits. But even though politics took over our TVs, magazine covers and Web pages for many months, it wasn’t the only game in town. The Olympics featured performances that shocked us with raw athletic brilliance. Advances were made in finding solutions for climate change. And celebrities continued to earn our attention.

Here are the men that made 2008 so memorable.

Brad Pitt
There’s more to Brad Pitt than just a pretty face. He’s practically rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward singlehandedly with his Make It Right Foundation New Orleans. Upon visiting the neighborhood during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he listened to the stories of residents whose lives were ruined by the tragic hurricane and vowed to help the community rebuild its neighborhood. He’s currently working with a team of architects and not-for-profits to design and build 150 high-quality, affordable, sustainable homes. To date, Make It Right has raised enough money to build 86 homes. Six units have already been built, giving some gracious families a home in which to ring in the New Year.

Barack Obama
After stirring up whispers as a rising politico during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the junior Senator from Illinois was poised to become a potential presidential candidate. Four years later, Obama would add a notch to America’s history belt by becoming the first African-American to win the presidency. But his work is cut out for him in a jaded nation where hope hangs by a string: a failing economy, the largest job losses in American history, and a much-needed overhaul of the health care system all loom. The entire world will watch this wild card, hoping for positive change in America and a bridge to world peace.

John McCain
During the course of a fickle campaign, we waited for the real John McCain to please stand up. He may have lost steam along the path in his vie for the presidency, but as the election drew near, we finally saw the humble, gregarious and compassionate McCain come forward—the gentleman known for doing the right thing. He may have lost the race for the White House, but in the end, he helped bring the country together. The American hero’s sense of self emerged during a concession speech that attempted to mend the broken hearts of the Republican Party and encourage bipartisanship. He passionately stated, "I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here." As the curtain was drawn and the house lights flickered, McCain took a giant bow, stood tall and exited stage left with class.

Dr. Mehmet Oz
While he’s published more than 400 articles, books and medical papers, you’ll most likely recall Dr. Oz as the writer of the "YOU" books. Together with Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Oz has penned "YOU: On a Diet," "YOU: The Owner’s Manual", "YOU: Being Beautiful" and "YOU: Staying Young". The cardiac surgeon became a household name after being hailed by Oprah as "America’s doctor." He’s been broadcasted into millions of households during appearances as the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" health expert and has hosted numerous shows for Discovery Communications. His outreach has influenced the masses to overhaul their diet and overall outlook on life, and in turn, embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Olympians Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps
Together these two speed racers hold 11 medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Phelps earned eight for swimming 17 events over the course of nine days, and Bolt won three golds. That’s a lot of heavy metal. Both have an advantage of unique physiques that help them excel at sports—Phelps with a height of 6 foot 4 inches, amazingly long torso and web-like hands and feet that propel him through the water, and Bolt with his unusual height for a sprinter, standing at 6′5 with lean long legs that push him to the finish line. Hailed as "the world’s fastest swimmer" and "the world’s fastest man," respectively, these towering young athletes (both are in their early 20s) are likely to continue to make history in future Olympic games.

T. Boone Pickens
Time magazine compared him to the fictional shrewd businessman J. R. Ewing on a cover story more than 20 years ago. While the sands of time may change everything, it hasn’t changed the controversy that T. Boone Pickens whirls up in the business world by challenging Big Oil. Sure, the tycoon made millions in the oil industry, but he also foresaw opportunities in other fuel sources that could help reduce our dependency on foreign oil, like wind power and natural gas. We caught a glimpse of Pickens this year when he appeared in a series of self-funded commercials. Using 60-second spots, Pickens planted the seeds of his alternative-energy plan to the general public, stating, "America is in a hole and it’s getting deeper every day. We import 70 percent of our oil at a cost of several hundred billion [dollars] a year. I’ve been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of." We hope Pickens has a practical plan to help get us out of the hole.

Tech whizzes Rob Kay, Mark Zuckerberg and Will Wright
One wants to be a big rock star. One wants you to SuperPoke him. And another one just wants to build a world in cyberspace. Kay, the lead designer of "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero", has enjoyed watching his musical programming sell over a billion dollars’ worth of player-centric gaming. Zuckerberg’s social-networking utility Facebook has changed the way people communicate, and also made him one of the youngest billionaires in history. Wright’s "Sim City" game series is so popular that it was the most illegally downloaded video game of 2008. It also won the first ever Gamer God award at this year’s Spike Video Game Awards. Collectively, this group’s products shaped pop culture, establishing techno-geek as the new cool.

The bailout guys: Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson Jr.
When sub-prime mortgages with adjustable rates got consumers and financial institutions into trouble, Bernanke and Paulson jumped in with a plan. Hoping to clean up the failing economy and save the U.S. from recession, these two financial gurus proposed a 0 billion package to buy distressed mortgages and fix the mess in the housing market. But did the plan springboard into an excuse for all failing business to vie for a piece of the bailout pie? Time will tell if the plan will work. But as for now, consumers and business are still weathering the storm, hoping to see a pot of gold at the end of the proposed rainbow.

Jon Favreau
Most singers attribute their words to an amazing songwriter. Politicians are no exception. Jon Favreau made his mark this year as the 27-year-old speechwriter who penned Barack Obama’s crowd-rousing words, helping create the voice of our next Commander in Chief. And as Obama spoke Favreau’s poetic prose with captivating delivery, he gave hope to an entire country and, arguably, the world. Although the election’s over, we haven’t heard the last of Favreau. He was recently named Obama’s director of speechwriting, so we’ll be hearing plenty more from this young man with a special way with words.

Rafael Nadal
After spending the first half of the year ranked as the number-two professional tennis player in the world, Rafael Nadal’s saw his hard work paid off in 2008. He won his fourth consecutive French Open, first Wimbledon, the London’s Queen Club Championship and an Olympic gold medal. The Spaniard raises eyebrows when he’s on the court with his quirky bandanna headwear, sleeveless tops, and cuffed capris. He’s also used his influence to springboard Fundación Rafa Nadal, a sports-oriented charity that helps disabled and underprivileged people become athletes. Although he’s experienced a temporary setback with knee tendonitis, he’s currently training for the 2009 season. We’re eagerly anticipating springtime, when we can watch Nadal defend his titles.

Newsworthy newsmen: Anderson Cooper, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann
If there is one thing that denotes success, it’s having a news show with your name emblazoned above the scroll banner. Anderson Cooper, writer and anchor of CNN’s news show, "Anderson Cooper 360," moderated debates between both Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates. Chris Matthews, the MSNBC anchor of "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "The Chris Matthews Show," sparred with guests about all things political. And Keith Olbermann, a former sports anchor, hosts "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on MSNBC, delivering the news in the classic style of Edward R. Murrow. These award-winning media personalities delivered news and commentary throughout a tremendous year of events, paving the way as America’s newest news pioneers.

The Jonas Brothers: Kevin, Joe and Nick
Hot boy band. Check. Screaming legions of fans? Check. Using their celebrity to draw awareness to a cause. Triple check. This brother band drew attention to diabetes after Nick, 16, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during their 2005 tour. Nick rocked awareness to the disease when he designed a set of limited-edition dog tags, similar to medical alert bracelets, for people with the disease. (The tags feature the band’s lyrics on the front: "A little bit longer and I’ll be fine." An area on the back displays personal information in case of emergency.) The Jonas Brothers also founded the Change for the Children Foundation, which raises money for five children’s charities.
Okay.

SOURCE

Eer.. okay.

Source

Related posts:

1. Dave Matthews Band Concert To Be Streamed On Hulu Dave Matthews Band concert on Monday to be first-ever...
2. James McAvoy Wary of Celeb Lifestyle James McAvoy has claimed that his movie career would...
3. Zac Efron Named Most Influential This isn’t such a surprise to those of us...
4. Zac Efron Named Most Influential This isn’t such a surprise to those of us...
5. The Beatles: Rock Band The world’s leading music game meets the greatest band...