10 Accounts you should be following on Twitter
Since Twitter began in 2006, the idiosyncratic social media service has taken the world by storm. Beloved by journalists in search of an easy story, Twitter has also transformed the fortunes of many – from established stars who’ve grown bigger with Twitter, to those who’ve achieved celebrity purely through 140 character messages.
So let’s take a look at some of the world’s most influential Twitter accounts. While prior fame might certainly help you get up there, you can still hold out hope to find yourself amongst them – if your short missives attract enough attention!
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has a strong claim to being the world’s most talented footballer – one which the 29 year old has not been afraid to make himself. His Twitter account offers a candid view into the life of a global megastar – as well as regular plugs for the star’s very own clothing line, CR7.
Zoella
Zoella, or Zoe Sugg to giver her full name, was an apprentice at an interior design company until she started fashion blog “Zoella” in 2009, the rest being internet history. Though getting by with a mere 2.7 million followers; snappy vlogs and tweets have caused a sensation amongst her (mainly teenaged) audience. Zoella is a great example of how Twitter celebrity can reap real-world benefits as her debut novel, Girl Online, smashed UK sales records on release.
Barack Obama
Admittedly it may be unfair to confuse the most influential person using Twitter for its most influential user, but Barack Obama has a reasonable claim to being both. The President of the United States has been using Twitter since 2007 – and although most messages are written by staff, Obama is known to tweet personally, and uses the service to field public questions.
Though we’ve seen some horrible results from the mixture of politics and Twitter, Obama’s account is one that does it right – at times a fascinating look into the workings of government.
Lady Gaga
The enigmatic Lady Gaga is known to have an incredibly strong relationship with fans, whom she dubs her “Little Monsters”. She has been repaid in turn with incredible loyalty, almost god like status and over 40 million followers.
Wayne Rooney
Captain of Manchester United and England, Wayne Rooney has been in the public spotlight since the age of 16, when he made his debut for Everton. Despite a youthful tendency towards rash behaviour, Rooney has handled the unique spotlight of 10.3m Twitter followers with remarkably few gaffes, his fans warming to the bluntly honest approach he takes towards social media.
Katy Perry
Pop megastar Katy Perry was an early Twitter adopter – and curates its most followed account with no fewer than 60 million people tuned in to her updates. Perry, who was briefly married to comedian Russell Brand, uses her Twitter handle as an extension of her vibrant pop persona – colourful, bubbly and fun.
Tim Lovejoy
Former Soccer AM pundit and current “man on the telly” Tim Lovejoy recently topped a list of the most influential Twitter accounts in English football, and its easy to see why. A paltry following of 671,000 might seem puny compared to some on this list, but Lovejoy’s mixture of humour, pithy analysis and timely trivia has seen his tweets dispersed much more widely than that. In fact Lovejoy recently topped a list of most influential Twitter users in football, partly because he is so heavily re-tweeted.
No word yet on what proportion of Tim’s followers were instead trying to follow the 1980s TV antiques dealer.
Lebron James
This 6ft8in man is a giant both literally and figuratively. If anything 17.2 million followers is too few for the greatest gift basketball ever received. Currently playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron has won two Olympic Gold Medals and has been voted to the NBA all star team no fewer than 8 times during his career.
Justin Bieber
The bratty Canadian pop star has been involved in several recent incidents which might tarnish his reputation – but that hasn’t dented his number of Twitter followers, currently standing at 58.1 million.
Caitlin Moran
The least followed account on this list, the Twitter fame of comedian and columnist Caitlin Moran is perhaps difficult to explain. Moran represents a new breed of celebrity whose fame is built in almost equal parts from newspaper punditry and use of social media.
Often delving into the political, Moran’s Twitter updates can range from “burst out laughing” to “chillingly serious” and she hasn’t been afraid to stand up against misogyny and other discrimination online.
Like Twitter itself, Caitlin Moran’s tweets are an acquired taste, but following her account is worthwhile just to see the shocked reaction to some of the fierier tweets.
Category: Entertainment
