If you are a Tweeter than you are very familiar with the common and often overused #FF. If you are not sure what the #FF means let me clear it up for you quickly: it stands for Follow Friday. It was an idea that was started so that every Friday you would list a group of followers whose Tweets you enjoy and you denote these your #FF suggestions. The idea was a good one in theory, to help fellow Tweeters build up their following— however the idea has become so overdone that rarely is it done effectively anymore.
The main reason that I think the #FF has lost it’s impact is there is little personal explanation as to why this person is a good one to follow. By only listing out a string of names with no points of reference, we are essentially taking the “social” out of Social Media. Think about it… if I brought a guest to a networking event I would never just line up a long string of people and say to her, “You need to make sure to connect with: Jim, John, Jane, Justin, and Julie.” Then walk off and leave them to find a common point to start their discussion. No, I would introduce my friend to each one personally and explain why I felt they needed to connect.
Hence the reason that about a month ago I had a social media lightbulb moment when I started doing #FavFollows. Whenever I feel the need to I will highlight one of my favorite people that I follow on Twitter with a Tweet that introduces them to my followers and explains why I think they are a great person to follow online. These tweets are all labeled with the #FavFollows tag then so that they can reference them easily.
I thought it would be fun today to introduce you to 15 of my #FavFollows in 140 characters or less and explain why I believe that each of them are a great person to follow on Twitter and Beyond:
- I highly recommend that you follow @WisdomHunters if you are not already. Wonderful biblical insight and devotionals!
- Looking for a great new Tweep to follow? I encourage u to connect w/ @meredithdunn a woman w/ passion to impact this generation
- I highly recommend you follow my friend @jennifermaggio she is leading a movement in the church to reach out to single moms
- I always enjoy the inspirational thoughts by @BridgetHaymond, they often challenge me to think or act in a different way.
- The always authentic @carol1069 is always a blessing in my Twitter stream. She shares her heart with honesty and humor!
- Looking to add great advice & wisdom to your stream? Than Follow Zig Zigular’s son @TomZiglar who tweets his dad wise words.
- I love quotes about Leadership! I have found so many great gems to add to my collection from following @FocusLeadership
- I enjoy watching the life changing work and ministry of one of my favorite Christian Outreach organizations @ConvoyofHope
- I follow one of my favorite blogs on Leadership through Twitter by following it’s author @MichaelHyatt- always great tweets.
- I keep up with the latest trends in technology and social media by following @mashsocialmedia – trusted advice and insight!
- A great combination of tweets on leadership, social media, faith, and daily insight come from @DanielDecker on a regular basis
- An amazing collection of quotes, bible verses, and challenging thoughts come from @LifeVerse’s Tweets! A can’t miss follow!
- Almost every tweet from @jamesmacdonald is RT-worthy with great quotes & deep insight to challenge my faith & leadership daily!
- He won’t follow you back but @RevRunWisdom his words of wisdom are still worth a follow… always so good!
- I enjoy his books and his tweets on leadership a great deal! I recommend that you connect with author & speaker @Mark_Sanborn
