Discussion on:

Directory: 140 tech experts on Twitter (updated for 2010)

Original post:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=3866

A very impressive list of people to follow on Twitter.

However, there was one notable omission, and it would be that of Michael Geist. This guy is the best when it comes to our rights concerning the Internet. Everyone must read his blog (and his tweets). They are always very informative.

http://twitter.com/michaelgeist

@anthonyoren - IT Professional (Systems, Network, Hacking news)

Add Michelle Lentz @writetech to the list

Thanks so much - I do appreciate that! Alot! However, my Twitter ID is actually @writetechnology. So if I do get added to the list, might as well do it right!

I've never twittered, facebooked or myspaced. If I want to follow some of these tweets, how do I do it solely from Outlook 2007? Or is this an RSS issue?

It's free, and you don't have to post anything yourself in order to follow others. Go to

http://www.twitter.com

If you're concerned about security, create a disposable e-mail account with G-mail, MSN, etc. first and use that address. (Heck, use mine; somebody should.)

You may not want to follow ALL these people initially; you may get a severe case of information overload. Pick a dozen you've heard of or seem interesting to get a feel for the service.

Or you can bookmark each person's Twitter site and beat the F5 key to death

Once you have a Twitter account as Palmetto suggested, you can use plugins for Outlook to tweet from right within Outlook. Here are a couple:
Xobni: http://www.twi5.com/xobni-outlook-plugin-with-twitter-integration/7298/
TwInbox: http://www.aboutonlinetips.com/twitter-add-in-for-microsoft-outlook/

That'll get me started. Sometimes I think I'm getting too old for all this, though I do pretty good on the pure networking issues.

If I twiter Bill Gates, do you think he will answer back?

There are probably 8 bazigillion people following Bill. I doubt you'll give him any reason to separate you from the rest.

That figures...

...didn't make it; http://blogs.zdnet.com/Howlett

I'm pretty sure Al Gore said he invented the internet.

You listed Ed Bott twice (11 & 13).

hey jason, thanx for the shout out. always an honor to be sandwiched between gina and lance.

one thing, though: does this mean I'll have to start writing about Macs now?

As interesting as this is 140 new people to follow will overwhelm my twitter page. One thing about social networking is the more personal contact. Even if I id a few of them some are just so chatty that I'd end up turning them off. Jeff Pulver of VoIP fame sends every hour, I had to turn him off. Maybe that would be ok if he was at an important show.

The extreme data dump is an Internet problem. How could that be managed? Search engines?

...the founder of HARO. He's very tech-world connected, always talking about the newest gadgetry.
Also Ethan Zukerman, founder of Geek Corps, Harvard Law Fellow, very informed on where the tech world is going.
As for those who tweet too much, Tim O'Riley is guilty of that, sometimes sending 5 or 6 an hour. Heavy info, but had to shush him.

140 experts! Maybe there's some wheat in all that chaff, but I've got better things to do than spend time winnowing the good stuff out. If I need answers to questions, Google and Dogpile are my weapons of choice. I spend more than enough time on line as it is, thank you

How about...the so-called expert tech journalists (from this blog) subscribe to all 140 twits, and then boil it down and present the information in informative articles?
How about that?
Poisonally (reference to the three stooges) I don't subscribe to any twitters.

Soitainly!

Man, what a watered down list.

Very few there who I would consider an "expert".

Cull out the pundits, bloggers, those in the industry of writing *about* technology (as opposed to actually *doing* anything interesting) and you've got a decent (albiet 90% shorter) list.

Thanks for the laugh though!

thanks for the list! Great folks to follow.

Consider adding at least: @BurgessCT @LindaCriddle @Intel_Chris which focus on key tech issues, but also specialize in online safety.

There are several more focused on online safety.

Kind regards,
Theresa.
Twitter: @FortaliceLLC

Since he's a fan, follows you on twitter, and tweets about tech daily!

as I've demonstrated here frequently. However, I do recall that just because Person A follows Person B, that doesn't obligate Person B to return the favor, or even acknowledge Person A's existence.

"...that doesn't obligate Person B to return the favor..."

And that's mean.

If I choose to follow someone on a technology subject, that doesn't mean they're required to be interested in what I have to say about gardening or stock car racing.

One of my big complaints with Twitter is the mixing of personal and professional information. I may be interested in what someone has to say about a technology issue, but I'm not willing to wade through their political opinions, movie reviews, child's grades, or dining choices to get to it. I read an expert to get information on his or her field of expertise. His opinion of a great television show or new book is no better, worse, or interesting than mine. That's why I prefer to read web logs. The authors are more likely to stick to the subject at hand than to tell me about their home improvement project. Unless you're Bob Villa, who cares?

Let's assume that Twitter mirrors real life (maybe a strech).
So here is a real life situation. You walk up to a real person and say "I admire you. Please tell me something."
The person says "screw you, get out of here, I don't want anything to do with you."
That's what I call "mean".
So, in essence, Twitter is mean.

A bunch of people walk up to a person and say, "Please tell us something."

The person says something useful. Each of those people then expect the first one to listen to them. Some want to talk about the same subject. Others want to talk about things important to them but of no interest to the first person. He chooses to listen some and ignore others; there are just too many to listen to them all.

You're finding insult where none is intended. You weren't told 'screw you'; you were told what you asked for: something useful. That doesn't obligate the first person to ask you for something, or to read what you post. You don't really think Oprah follows the tens of thousands that actively follow her, do you? (For that matter, you don't really think Oprah posts her own tweets, do you?)

Twitter DOESN'T mirror real life. That anyone could even venture that assumption gives me more concern for the negative impact of 'social networking' on 21st century society and human interaction than I thought possible.

To get value out of Twitter you have to carefully and regularly cull the list of the people you follow.

In fact, I've had people that I've followed, unfollowed, and refollowed a couple times in the past three years. It's all based on whether the person posts useful stuff or too much fluff.

What about @jaywitter

Copy Paste into find people

thanks Jason, this is a great resource and I will be sharing it with my network.

You might want to consider @knieriemen (Greg Knierimen) and @3parfarley (Marc Farley), hosts of the Infosmack podcast, the leading (and maybe the only) enterprise tech podcast: http://bit.ly/bwZXhS

Add Ericc Henir - an obscure and opinionated "know-it-all" editor at Tech Republic. Ha, ha, ha! (Keep up your good work!)

Thanks for the list. Please also consider adding:

Dancho Danchev: http://twitter.com/danchodanchev

Tom's Hardware: http://twitter.com/tomsguide

Kim Komando: http://twitter.com/kimkomando

Shawn Riley - Health Info Technology expert and 25,000 some followers too @rilescat

I'm old and have a low tolerance/attention span for 'unordered lists'. At least put them together by expertise category and give your list an easily recognizable worth. I recognize about a dozen names and their descriptions don't give a clue as to why I would want to read their twitters. Without trying to be too offensive or mean-spirited... your list is worthless to me. Sorry.

Instead of listing alphabetically, how about categorizing them by focus areas:

Consumer Tech
Enterprise/B2B Tech
Apple
Google

?

Excellent list. Thanks a lot mate.

Nice. Where's Phil McKinney?

Thnx for the list.

very cool

A tech expert Twitter list without Shel Israel (@shelisrael), author of "Twitterville"? Doesn't seem right.