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We here at foyble HQ really like Twitter.  At first we really didn’t know what to make of it.  Once we found some people to follow who really get it though, it clicked for us.  Twitter can be a fantastic tool for finding articles and news on subjects and topics that interest you.  It’s also great for finding content you don’t normally gravitate to in the other media formats you typically consume.  Foyble uses Twitter to tell all of our friends about great new foybles that our users have posted, to alert followers on new blog posts, and to find out what is going on with our favorite charities, users, and social media personalities.

Since we spend a lot of time looking for people to follow on Twitter, we thought we share with you a few of our favorite ‘Tweeps’.  We’ll do a post like this from time to time to give you some ideas on more folks we find interesting.  Got a suggestion?  Leave it in the comments!

1) Mashable (Pete Cashmore): Mashable (twitter.com/mashable) is a social media news site that gives tips on the most popular social media tools and sites.  Mashable also provides lots of content on how to use social media.  There is an incredible amount of useful content on the site.  Anyone charged with creating a social media strategy for their organization needs to be checking mashable.com out.  Same goes for their Twitter feed.  Get the latest on breaking social-media and tech related news.  Also get links to the most popular and useful content on their site.  Mashable has plenty of content aimed for those of you needing advice on your non-profit or charity.

2) Deepak Chopra (twitter.com/deepak_chopra): If you fill your Twitter feed with nothing but social media aggregators and news services, you’ll quickly become inundated with tweets that have content that you’ll never be able to get through.  So you need to throw some personalities in their for good measure.  Folks who don’t tweet too much, but enough to be useful, and tweet the types of things that you can consume right there in the moment without having to click a link.  Dr. Chopra is a physician, an extremely prolific author (over 50 books), professor, scientist, and as far as we can tell, a big thinker.  He uses his Twitter feed to tell fans where he is, to pitch his latest titles (rarely, and respecfully), and to tell us profound things through quotes of his and others.  You get the sense that the man in constantly in motion but that he is at ease with this lifestyle.  Definitely inspirational and worthy of a follow from you.

3) Charity navigator (twitter.com/charitynav): Charitynavigator.com is a useful website that provides visitors a ‘guide to intelligent giving’.  Charity navigator empowers users with information on charities so they can make informed decisions on where to donate their money.  The site claims to evaluate the financial health of the largest 5400 charities in the country.  Their twitter feed is an extension of this service.  They typically post interesting articles they have found or written on their blog, link to some of their top ten lists, or post clever advice for those interested in finding a charity to donate to.  A useful service for potential donators, those with organizations that need donations, or those that are just learning how to use Twitter!

4) Tim Feriss (twitter.com/tferriss): This is a personal favorite of mine.  I have read Tim’s book “the four hour work week” and swear by it.  It is an excellent book for anyone who must spend time doing anything they wouldn’t normally do if they didn’t need to do it.  If you work in a corporation it’s a must read.  If you are trying to run a business or a non-profit or charity, the time management tips he offers are invaluable.  Tim is fun to follow on Twitter too.  He isn’t too obtrusive, meaning he doesn’t over-tweet.  He is an interesting person so his tweets will often be about his travels or his experiences learning new languages, or the things he is reading online or in print.  This can be useful because he can challenge you to think a little differently or expose you to things you wouldn’t normally get exposed to.  Read Tim’s book and follow him on Twitter.  You won’t be sorry!

5) Michael Hyatt (twitter.com/michaelhyatt): Michael is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I have to admit, I didn’t find Michael.  I poked around on my friend Dan’s Twitter profile (@dstummer) because I knew he’d be following people foyble would like too, and found him.  As far as I can tell, Mr. Hyatt doesn’t have any obvious connection to charities or starting the give.  He definitely goes to an insane amount of conferences.  He seems like a really interesting and good man.  He does tweet from time to time about being stuck in traffic or what he is having for breakfast, but he balances that inanity out with solid posts on the conferences he is at and the blog posts he writes- both useful bits of information for anyone trying to develop a presence for themselves or their organization online.

So there you go.  Five folks we like on Twitter.  We think these people are using Twitter in a good way, that their updates are meaningful and/or useful.  We like their updates and the services these folks provide outside of Twitter.  If you are working with an organization that has a strategy for social media we think these are some pretty good examples of ways that using Twitter is functional and entertaining.  Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Happy Tweeting!

Posted by Brian

@name, full name, who they are, why we like following them.