Welcome to the fifth annual EContent 100—our list of companies that matter most in the digital content industry.

In compiling this year’s EContent 100 list, we found ourselves reinvigorated about the progress, growth, and potential of the econtent industry. While recent years saw astounding M&A activity and attrition, this year witnessed a number of promising newcomers joining the fray (and the list) as well as significant signs of maturity in leveraging XML, RSS, Open Source, and mobility—to name but a few. Blogs are growing up out of their origins as digital diaries to serve as full-fledged media outlets, whether written by “everyman,” media professionals, or CEOs. Wikis made inroads into the enterprise this year as well, and we used a Socialtext wiki for this year’s judging workspace, which fostered the kind of open, collaborative method we strive for in our EC100 selection.

As always, the selection process for the EC100 is not a scientific one. This year, our group of judges—EContent contributing editors Bob Boeri, Tony Byrne, Walt Crawford, Bob Doyle, Ron Miller, David Scott, Steve Smith, Martin White, and Marydee Ojala (who is, of course, also editor of Online Magazine) along with other Information Today, Inc. editors Barbara Brynko, editor of Information Today, and Paula Hane, ITI’s news bureau chief—were particularly tough on the information industry mainstays. Our goal was to be sure that those who make the list again and again don’t do so out of habit or mindshare, but rather because they continue to innovate and deliver products and services that further the evolution of digital content. This also served to free up more spots than usual for newcomers to the list—companies we feel offer exciting insight into what can happen when digital content is pushed forward. In all, this list offers a look at 100 companies in the digital content industry that show how far econtent reaches into our work and our lives and how the tools to make the most of it matter more than ever.