In the realm of tech media, there is one undisputed king maker: The Wall Street Journal’s Walter S. Mossberg. For the past 16 years, his endorsement of a product or service has established the very landscape of technology with which we are all so familiar. Key Mossberg columns, for example, set AOL apart from the early ISP pack, and helped the Palm Pilot hit the tipping point.

Along with straightforward assessment of performance, Mossberg brings the practical perspective of a 60-year-old who will not be distracted by flash. Functionality is paramount. As he says in this recent New Yorker profile:

…“I write my column for the average person.” He adds, “That’s one of the reasons I write about it as a class war”—techies vs. consumers.

At a time when the techies are throwing innovation at us consumers at a dizzying rate, Mossberg’s remains a voice of common sense—something any tech player would do well to tune in to.