favourite tweeters

I love twitter. Not everybody does, mostly people who don't use it or understand it. They tend to be people like my parents, who can't comprehend social networking at all, or Facebook afficionados, who think twitter is "lame". I'm not sure how you can get much lamer than Facebook, but that is debatable.

I love twitter for several reasons:

1. It keeps me up-to-date. I check twitter and immediately I know what people are talking about - politics, music, fashion, feminism, celebrity scandals, tv shows, my friends' love lives. Granted, not all of these are relevant nor essential to my life. But I like being instantaneously in-the-know.

2. It's a form of sharing thoughts and ideas. I like it. It makes me think. Some of those thoughts are trivial, others are inspiring. It's fun, and makes me feel connected to the world-at-large. A world of my own creation. Which brings me to my next point...

3. It's not Facebook. I estranged myself from Facebook for a couple of years, and I recently returned - my only motivation being to avoid missing this year's multitude of 21st birthday parties (nobody calls or sends invitations in the mail anymore)! So unless I check Facebook, I miss important things. But I don't like it. It's shallow and narcissistic. It is bad enough running into people I went to school with at the local supermarket, let alone having to read about their lives and see their drunken pictures everyday on my "newsfeed". There is an innate pressure to accept friend requests from everybody you know, from classmates in pre-school to someone you met at the pub last weekend, because you don't want to be so rude as to outright reject somebody's "friendship". But twitter is different. It's not about amassing friends and "likes" under your status updates. Well, not for me, anyway. I follow some friends, some comedians, some journalists, some celebrities. If they are uninteresting, nasty or vain, I unfollow them. It's not brutal, like "blocking" on Facebook. It's passive. Similarly with following. I follow people, some people follow me. It's not mutual. There is no pressure to reciprocate, or to continue following each other forever. You can keep your twitter circle as small as you like, and nobody judges you or feels betrayed (unless, maybe, you unfollow your whiny best friend!)

Anyway, that is why I adore twitter. And here are a few of my favourite tweeters. I highly recommend that you follow them - if it suits you.

Alain de Botton @alaindebotton

Alain de Botton is a writer who imparts pearls of wisdom via twitter everyday.

The news so powerfully suggests 'what matters', it takes a while to realise 'but this drama is not my life' and switch off.

It would surely be almost impossible not to be very nice to everyone if one were mysteriously absolved of any interest in status or sex.

Chas Licciardello @ChasLicc

Chas (of The Chaser fame) is probably my single favourite tweeter because he has the best repertiore of links - always funny, informative and interesting.

How the world narrowly avoided environmental disaster 60 years ago through dumb luck http://bit.ly/9MyIsN

Funniest thing you'll read today -> Failed Attempts at Sexy Album Covers http://bit.ly/dCTtJb (via @scrivenersfancy)

Leigh Sales @leighsales

Leigh is the anchor for Lateline on ABC. She keeps me up-to-date with quality political analysis, plus she has a great sense of humour.

End your Friday night with a bit of Alec Baldwin/Jack Donaghy brilliance from 30 Rock http://bit.ly/dWp0

Jack the Insider's blog is my pick of the political analysis today - interesting take & well written http://bit.ly/d5tMVk

Josh Thomas @joshthomas87

Josh is my favourite comedian, next to Tim Minchin. I have been to quite a few comedy shows (Josh, Tim, Arj Barker, Carl Baron, Wil Anderson, etc) and his time:laugh ratio was the highest - and that was just his first show. Definitely one to watch!

After my spot tonight someone yelled 'fuck I hate faggots.' I'm pretty sure he is allowed to vote. #democracyhasitsflaws

a few people have commented on my large hips tonight. I have a pear shaped body. That is not really normal (or OK) for a man.

Tom and Lorenzo @tomandlorenzo

You will love "TLo" if you love Glee, Project Runway, Mad Men and scrutinising red carpet outfits. They are hilarious and, more importantly, thoughtful and intelligent.

Our #glee post is up! "Last week I joined a black church." http://tinyurl.com/27r8vfm

Launching "Mad Style," a look at the fashions of #madmen. First up: Bobbie Barrett. http://tinyurl.com/232vquz

Sarah Wilson @_sarahwilson_

Sarah is my favourite blogger. Everything she writes is fresh and insightful.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” http://bit.ly/dkQAxf

my challenging cup of tea with Edward do Bono (!) http://bit.ly/bA9i5b

Frankie Magazine @frankieMagazine

The twitter account of my all-time favourite magazine. Their lovely tweets often involve cupcakes and tea.

So that's that. Enjoy!