It’s time for reader nominations for the SD Times 100, when we recognize the companies, organizations and open-source projects that truly make a difference in our industry. Reader nominations are open through March 30, 2013. You can fill in the nomination form here.

Who are the leaders and innovators? Leaders lead, and the industry follows. Leaders create new technologies. Leaders solve problems in interesting and novel ways. Leaders start movements. Leaders destroy paradigms. Leaders write great software, they develop methodologies, they create platforms, they release tools, they start projects.

Leaders and innovators matter. People talk about them. People want to try their tools, technologies and services. People try to emulate them. People want to partner with them or become compatible with them. People worry about competing against them.

If the only people using an open-source project are its sponsors or the contributors to that project, it’s not a leader. If the only people talking about a company are its employees and a PR agency, no, it’s not a leader. If nobody is following the organization’s work, sorry, it’s not a leader.

The SD Times 100 are decided by the editors of SD Times, but we want to hear from you, our readers. Tell us whom you follow. Which projects you believe in. Where you see innovation. Where you see the boundaries being pushed. Where you see thinking that’s so far of the box that you can’t even see the box. Where you see the best of what software development can be.

Alan Zeichick is editorial director of SD Times. Read his blog at ztrek.blogspot.com.