[Closed] Who do you follow on Twitter?

Lingscars - is, err, lings cars

GreatDismal - William Gibson - curator of the internet.

JackofKent - pointing out the absurdities of English Law

CrankPappy - odd, but in a nice way.

are all good in different ways.

Alan Hinkes
John prescott
various Sale sharks
Peta Todd (she is very funny)
Paul lewis
Daily Mash
Alpkit, BMC, Invo8,

Depressed Darth (He's looking for love in Alderan places), Alexis Conran and Al Murray are quite funny a lot of the time too.

Apart from that, a load of infosec people, some other random feeds and Bruce Schneier.

Oh, and Rev. Run.

Lord God Almighty (godstweets).
A few off here.

He's looking for love in Alderan places

hahaha!

Cav's tweets are pretty good, and Chris Hoy's when there's a track event on - it gives you a feeling of being close to the competitors which I like.
Charlie Brooker can be v. funny and links to other funny stuff.
I often follow comedians for a bit and then switch them off as they can be funny for a while but then get a bit repetitive.

One or two from here.
One or two from the world of cycling.
Madrid Police. 😕

As well as others a few local roadies and some of the keener racers off here, keeps me motivated if I've seen someone's been out and it's lashing it down.

+ MTFU training tips obv.

Some bicycle riders, some bicycle riders that also like running and swimming.

The Special Guys leader.

He's looking for love in Alderan places

Brilliant.

Peta Todd ( V V Funny + keeps you up to date when Cav is racing )

Lola Alabama

Curiosity Rover ( on it's way to Mars )

Chopper Cyclist

+ asstd other cyclists and poker players

but the best of all is

Elizabeth Windsor ( @Queen_UK )

and on that note it's Gin O'clock

Not sure why anyone would want to flow Piers Morgan... But I'm glad this guy did..... NOT WORK SAFE....

.......10 mins later, just got the Vader joke...

Aside from all the obviousy cycling ones I like

TwopTwips
CatBinLady
PhilGibson01

The last is just a writer friend of mine, but he manages to be significantly funnier than the vast majority of the 'comedians' on there, I recommend him!

Jeremy Clarkson ? @jcrclarksonesq
Riley Steele ? @rileysteele
BiBi Jones ? @xxxBiBiJones
Kayden Kross ? @Kayden_Kross
Joe Rogan ? @joerogan
Michael Bisping ? @bisping
Forrest Griffin ? @ForrestGriffin
Dana White ? @danawhite
Hope Technology ? @Hopetech
Tony Doyle ( jedi ) ? @ukbikeskills
1 South West ? @1SouthWest
Gee Atherton ? @gee_atherton
Steve Peat ? @StevePeat
Eddie Izzard ? @eddieizzard
Jonathan Ross ? @wossy
Jenson Button ? @JensonButton

I know I'm massively behind the curve but how exactly does this work? Does your twitter inbox get pinged everytime someone you follow tweets or does it appear on your homepage thing for you to read when you next check?

Or does it do something entirely different?

Do you use Facebook? It's just like the homepage of that, but just with status updates. So whenever you log in you get a list of tweets in chronological order. If someone tweets 'at' you or similar you get a message, if you're using a smart phone these can be pushed to you.

lauged my ass off at that Piers Morgan one!

[url= https://twitter.com/#!/miketually/following ]These people[/url]

njee20 - nope no Facebook either but thanks for the explanation, cleared it up.

I only 'follow' people IRL.

I only 'follow' people IRL.

You're so awesome!

*follows schrickvr6*

BIGRINGRIDING
GusTheFox
OctoberJones

Along with various other cycling people at friends.

Awesome is my middle name.

*peeks through Jamies letterbox*

Genuinely don't get Twitter. I mean, I completely understand the purpose, but I'm not interested in anyone enough to want to hang on their every word and be updated on each pronouncement they make.

Luddite? Probably. But I just can't be bothered to invest any time at all in the world of celebs.

Genuinely don't get Twitter. I mean, I completely understand the purpose, but I'm not interested in anyone enough to want to hang on their every word and be updated on each pronouncement they make.

Luddite? Probably. But I just can't be bothered to invest any time at all in the world of celebs.

You say you understand it, but seem to think it's a method of being drip fed celeb info. Which, like any other medium it can be, this isn't the case for many.

For myself, it allows me to keep up to date with family and friends around the world, be able to get instant reaction to events, whether sports/news, find out info quicker etc etc

...for the record I am not on Facebook.

Genuinely don't get Twitter. I mean, I completely understand the purpose, but I'm not interested in anyone enough to want to hang on their every word and be updated on each pronouncement they make.

Luddite? Probably. But I just can't be bothered to invest any time at all in the world of celebs.

Thats what put me off but it isnt what it is all about honestly. I quite like following politics for example, so I follow all the Fleet St hacks and some of the bloggers like Guido, Conservative Home, Liberal Conspiracy and so on. They all post their own blog updates, retweet interesting stuff, it eventually starts to feel like a general "narrative" (straight to Pseuds Corner) that you dip in and out of. If you are say into science, or the arts you will build up a critical mass of the most interesting people to follow. Its good.

it has various purposes, it's not just celebrity stalking.

it's not just celebrity stalking.

I have a quick look every few days, to be honest it makes me laugh, and that's about it! I find the cycling insights good too, find out more about races and what not from the actual riders.

For myself, it allows me to keep up to date with family and friends around the world, be able to get instant reaction to events, whether sports/news, find out info quicker etc etc

That's my point though - I don't want or need to know those instant updates from sports people or news events, and if I do, I have a radio, TV, the BBC website.....things that I opt to use, and update myself on.

As for instant updates from friends and family, words fail me. Do I really need to know that my brother's just fitted a shower? Do I really think that he'd tweet about it?

As a follower of F1, I want to see a balanced summary of a test session, rather than Lee Mackenzie tweeting "Lee McKenzie ? @LeeMcKenzieF1 Close
I work closely with @HorseCharity World Horse Welfare. Always very sad to hear horses dying in any equestrian genre."

Brilliant. Thanks Lee. You like horses, but why the f*** do you feel the need to comment pointlessly on something that you have no professional interest in, nor can in any way impact. At least you managed to take up a few seconds of time to make yourself feel better though, and that's the main thing, isn't it? Just next time, keep it to yourself.

Does your twitter inbox get pinged everytime someone you follow tweets

You can set out columns in apps like Tweetdeck; I've got mine so that people I actually know are split out. I try to read all my friends' output, but the rest just get skimmed.

I just can't be bothered to invest any time at all in the world of celebs.

Real people use it too. It's not really Heat Magazine for people with ADD, you know. It's a nice way of keeping up with mates and sharing stuff on the web that you find interesting.

The "celebs" (for want of a better term) I follow are people who I find genuinely interesting to read or who I want to keep abreast on what they're doing. Eg, one of the first celebs I followed was Robert Llewellyn, because that was where news about the new in-production Red Dwarf was first being announced. I also follow a handful of joke lists and suchlike; Viz are often entertaining, for instance. Following celebs isn't a case of knowing when Justin Beiber last went for a poo, despite what you might think.

@Brooke secrets. plastic fantastic

That's my point though - I don't want or need to know those instant updates from sports people or news events, and if I do, I have a radio, TV, the BBC website.....things that I opt to use, and update myself on.

Don't use it then. It's not mandatory. You don't like it, or don't get it, fine.

Why are you reading this thread? That's what I don't get. If someone started a discussion thread about football(*) then I'd just ignore it. I wouldn't jump on there going "I don't get football, bunch of blokes kicking a ball around for 90 minutes, big whoop." It's not constructive, and it's a waste of my time. Oddly, I'd rather talk about things I'm actually interested in.

(* - providing I can tell from the subject line what it's about, anyway. That's often not the case as some people just assume everyone else knows what they're referring to from vague titles like "so, what about Manchester then".)

As for instant updates from friends and family, words fail me. Do I really need to know that my brother's just fitted a shower? Do I really think that he'd tweet about it?

I never said that. I said:

it allows me to keep up to date with family and friends around the world,

Jon pigeon.

Paul McCloskey
Manny Pacquiao
Jason Miller
Ring Magazine
Freddie Roach
Dana White
Miguel Cotto
Adam Booth
Kevin Bridges
Tensnake
The Revenge
Optim
Craig Brown
Creed Bratton
Rosie Jones
No Fuss
7 Stanes
Aaron Gwin
Andy McKenna
Chris Ball
Glencoe Mountain
Trail Scotland
Soma Records
Joey Barton
Greg Minaar
Brian Cox
NASA
Stephen Fry
Ed Norton
Jon Favreau
Simon Pegg
Jamie Oliver
Shaun Palmer
Vital MTB
MTB Cut
Singletrack
Gee Atherton
Ian Poulter
Alan Partridge
Rockshox
Anthill Films
Glenn Howerton
Kaitlin Olson
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Josh Bryceland
Barack Obama
Rob Warner
Danny Hart
Brendan Fairclough
Seth MacFarlane
Freeflow Bikes
Rory McIlroy
Rainn Wilson
Solardisco Records
Kell Brook
Ingle Gym
Adnan Amar
Adam Etches
Carl Froch
Ricky Hatton
Johnny Nelson
Steve Carell
Hannah Barnes
Rachel Atherton
David Price
Steve Peat
Tiger Woods
Not Big Sam Allardyce (best thing on Twitter by far)
MMA Gym Banter
Ted
Riddick Bowe
Lennox Lewis

Try The Big Sam if you like footy.

Why are you reading this thread? That's what I don't get. If someone started a discussion thread about football(*) then I'd just ignore it. I wouldn't jump on there going "I don't get football, bunch of blokes kicking a ball around for 90 minutes, big whoop." It's not constructive, and it's a waste of my time. Oddly, I'd rather talk about things I'm actually interested in.

Perhaps I'd like to be convinced? After all, Twitter's supposed to be a two-way thing, much as this forum is. As an outsider, I'm surprised at the huge number of re-tweets which seem to emanate from institutional sources, and which, at least to me seem to add little other than text.

Obviously I've taken things slightly off-topic. That happens on this forum. You clearly think I'm wrong to question the orthodoxy that Twitter's a good thing, but I remain of the opinion that Boris Johnson tweeting "Good luck to all the Home Nations playing today!", or Jeremy Clarkson tweeting "Four amazing goals from Chelsea. One was especially amazing" just doesn't add to the sum of human knowledge. Alan Sugar's pronouncement of "Have to sympathise with people who lost family or friends at hand of murderer Breivik to sit through court case and listen to his rubbish" is no more profound for having come from a businessman than it would be from a cabby, or my sister.

So I ask again, what is it about these pronouncements that makes them so worthwhile? Or are the Big Hitters to be avoided on the basis that they're a waste of time?

Not Big Sam Allardyce (best thing on Twitter by far)

Try The Big Sam if you like footy.

This. Consistently makes me laugh.

Elizabeth Windsor ( @Queen_UK )

and on that note it's Gin O'clock

If you are looking for some inspiration cycling wise follow @yearrecord this is a twitter account I set up in tribute to Tommy Godwin who rode 75,065 miles in a single year. Each day at 10am it tweets his daily and cumulative mileage for that date in 1939 when he broke the record. The only day I've beaten him is October 28th and you'll have to follow to find out why.

FoD City Cycles

[i]are the Big Hitters to be avoided on the basis that they're a waste of time[/i]

like this place, 'sometimes' is probably a good answer.

I tend to avoid people with lots of followers but not always.

I won a 4ftx2ft Giro D'Italia poster the other week 'cos I follow the official feed. Which was nice.

Dear God BoardinBob, that's a list and a half. I follow 1/8th as many as you and I get bored to death by the continuous drivel spouted.

One thing I found really annoying is that who people are and what they do has very little bearing on whether their tweets will be worth listening to. I befriended a bunch of people I thought were smart and interesting (the likes of Brian Cox) and all I got was bloody self-publicity "Tickets still for sale here!" and re-tweets of other people on the list. Bit annoying.

I did get a tweet from a girl nearby agreeing that it was rather windy, but that's about the most personal contact I've had on twitter.

What snakebite said

DavidB - Member
If you are looking for some inspiration cycling wise follow @yearrecord this is a twitter account I set up in tribute to Tommy Godwin who rode 75,065 miles in a single year. Each day at 10am it tweets his daily and cumulative mileage for that date in 1939 when he broke the record. The only day I've beaten him is October 28th and you'll have to follow to find out why.

That's cool! I'll follow you 🙂

no more profound for having come from a businessman than it would be from a cabby, or my sister.

I'm not sure that it's meant to be..
If you are searching only for profundity on twitter, perhaps you have not only misunderstood twitter, but maybe also the internet.. and perhaps even life..?

(not a twit personally myself FWIW)

Gus the Fox is currently the funniest thing on twitter by a country mile.

Perhaps I'd like to be convinced?

You clearly think I'm wrong to question the orthodoxy that Twitter's a good thing

That's fair enough. I don't think you're wrong to question why people like it, but I do think you're wrong to just wade in off-topic on someone else's thread sounding off why you don't as though the rest of us are all sad celeb-stalking idiots.

Your comments didn't read to me like you were asking why people like it, they appeared wholly negative. I'm genuinely sorry if I misjudged / misunderstood you, and TBF it's a common gripe of mine and not solely related to this thread so I'm a little over-sensitive about it perhaps. "Wah wah something you like is shit" - don't read it / watch it / use it then. Why do some people have this driving desire to belittle or spoil things for everyone else? Does my gourd in.

Anyway, in answer to the question then. I think perhaps what you get out of Twitter is a sum of a) what you put in and b) who you follow.

For the latter, you've got to remember that these are all just people. The fact that some people [i]just aren't interesting [/i]isn't a failing of the media; you just need to exercise some quality control. For instance, I used to follow Kevin Smith, I like his films and thought he'd be a laugh. The bulk of his output turned out to consist mostly of "I'm about to have a joint" or "I'm about to knock the back out of the wife" so I simply unfollowed him. There's no social stigma in doing this, it's not Facebook.

I follow friends. Sure, you don't "need" to know your brother's just fitted a shower, but is it not the sort of small talk you'd have? "Fitted a shower, tell you what, drilling tiles is a right PITA, but it all works and I'm dead chuffed." If he said that to you over a pint in a pub, would you say "I don't need to know that, what else have you got"? Maybe it's just me, but I like seeing tweets from mates saying what they're up to. It's a good talking point next time I see them; "hey, how was that movie / art gallery / strip joint / Peru then?" At an age where many of my friends aren't on the doorstep any more, it's a nice way of keeping in touch. Years ago, people had pen pals. They'd nothing important to say to each other then either.

As for my own output, I try to be interesting but I don't feel obligated to. Idle thoughts and jokes go out there along with personal stuff, snapshots when I'm out and about, and cool things I trip over on the web which historically I might've emailed to friends instead. Ultimately though, I don't really tweet for an audience's benefit; if people like it they can read it, and if not they don't have to.

Fair enough Cougar - I agree that I am a bit negative about it, but mainly because what I've seen (and admittedly, I've not spent a massive amount of time digging in) has been trivial at best.

The quotes I put up earlier were all from 2 minutes of Twitter-browsing, and, as you say, these are all just people, whose daily lives may well be just as humdrum as my own. It bemuses me that people whose output is admired (Stephen Fry is a good example) are followed on Twitter and almost deified when they post. But 5 posts today on the fact that he's flying to the UK from NZ to Edinburgh? Not what floats my boat, but he's got 4m+ followers. Astonishing, genuinely astonishing.

Tell you what, I'll ignore the 'celeb' Twitterers and see if I can find things of value. I'll pop back in a bit.

Tell you what, I'll ignore the 'celeb' Twitterers and see if I can find things of value. I'll pop back in a bit.

Why not start a thread asking for recommendations? 😀

Gary Neville surprisingly funny whilst Rio just advertises things.

The power of Twitter, 50Cent made over a million dollars telling his followers to buy some shares.. As if he needs the money.

I used it once to find out what all that black smoke was I could see out the window. Proper news reports weren't online yet but several people had tweeted about it and some even took pics of the building while it was on fire.

Kinda neat.

Jamie, looking at the list of recommendations makes me feel a bit ill. Barack Obama? Arnold Schwartzenegger? Not for me, thank you.

Though the Viz one may be of interest.....

Loving your work Jamie, loving your work.

Nick, I guess the important question is what are you into?

Well, not Twitter, we've ascertained that much. (-:

If you like stupid a la Viz, have a look at [s]me[/s] @GeneHunt

Milkie, all my tweets are coaching,coffee,riding,beer and curry. 😀

Just bimbled onto twitter for the fun of it, following Jedi (natch!) 😀 I'm @lifeofmyride 🙂

Edit: @GeneHunt is properly good 😆