Sunday, December 30, 2012

12 celebs to follow on Twitter in 2013



As you start off the New Year, why not do it with some humor and entertainment sent straight to your Twitter feed?

I’m not one of those who has Twitter updates sent to my phone, so unless I’m at work, at my desk (yep, I use Twitter for work purposes all the time), I’m not inundated with updates.

I work in news media, so I get all the updates from the Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, and the local police. There’s some light-hearted tweets as well, but a lot of what I see is about vehicle accidents, fatalities and criminal investigations.

When I am on Twitter, I like a little variety. A little bit of entertainment to be sprinkled in with the death and destruction.

Here are 12 celebrities I follow that usually provide me with a laugh, if not a break from the hard news:

12. Barbara Eden (@Barbara_Eden)
Jeannie is on Twitter. Doesn’t get much better. Watching Barbara Eden in her revealing pink outfit on “I Dream of Jeannie” re-runs was something I did a lot of. Now, you’re not going to get much controversy by following Barbara Eden. She’s no Lindsay Lohan. Instead, Barbara posts every so often, usually hoping that everyone has a safe holiday, or offering her condolences on some of the tragedies, like Hurricane Sandy or the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Joyfulness and warm thoughts is what you’ll get from Jeannie. It’s like a nice little slice of warm Apple Pie. Maybe that wasn’t the best example after admitting that I used to watch her on TV when I was younger.

11. Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman)
He’s nowhere near as exciting as Wolverine, but Hugh Jackman does sometimes tweet about Wolverine. If you’re wanting to get the latest updates on The Wolverine, set to be released in July, then his Twitter account is one to follow. Lately he's been posting a lot of pics from his press tour for Les Miserables. While promoting the film, he ran into the Gangnam Style dude. That alone is worth a follow. You never know who he'll run into.


10. Betty White (@BettyWhite)
Her tweets aren’t the most exciting. I’ll say that up front. Her account mostly consists of ‘thank you’s’ for her fans and a way to find out about public or televised appearances. That being said, it’s Betty White. She’s on Twitter at 90 years old. Gotta’ show her some love by following. I think it's just cool that someone her age is with the times and willing to get the hang of Twitter.


9. Pitbull (@Pitbull)
You can follow Mr. Worldwide on all his adventures. While he, like most of the celebrities on this list, does his fair share of promoting (his music, TV appearances, etc.), but he also posts photos, giving you a glimpse of the backstage environment at the events he performs at. That's the most interesting part in my opinion. Chances are I'm never actually going to be backstage at the Grammy Awards or the VMA's, so Pitbull's Twitter account is the next best thing.


8. The Rock (@TheRock)
Tweets you see from The Rock could probably be found in a ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul: For Guys’ book. He’s all about positive energy, often tweeting about putting in the hard work to achieve your dreams. If he’s not talking about seizing opportunities or opening closed doors, he’s tweeting about fitness, WWE, or his latest movie.


7. Natalya Neidhart (@NatbyNature)
She’s the daughter of the famous wrestler, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. She happens to also be a wrestler herself. When her tweets don't consist of fashion, she's posting photos of her grouchy looking cat, Gismo, making comments about the various cities she’s currently traveling in or to, and sharing backstage photos and retweets from her fans. Her tweets are a little off-beat, which makes her all the more fun to follow.

6. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe)
His tweets aren’t the most exciting, but following Joseph Gordon-Levitt it is a nice way to keep up with all his latest projects. There’s a lot of promotion and retweets, but most of it his for his hitRECord project, which is an online collaborative production company founded and owned by Levitt. As a result, you get to see some cool videos, photos and other artistic work that you probably would otherwise never have been exposed to.

5. Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien)
Rather than giving you reasons to follow Conan, can someone give me a reason not to follow him? Obviously he’s not for everyone. Some people have told me they think he’s lame. I, however, always get a kick out of him – even when his jokes aren’t up to par. On his show, he’s usually having such a good time laughing at his jokes that it doesn’t even matter if anyone laughs along with him. It’s that kind of mood that is contagious, whether you’re watching Conan on TV or reading his tweets.

4. Jessie Kresa a.k.a. ODB (@TheODBBAM)
This one is a character. For those of you who aren’t familiar with her, Jessie Kresa is better known as O.D.B., an outrageous, over-the-top, wild and crazy female wrestler. She’s just as fun on Twitter, often posting about backyard barbecues and working at her bar in Minnesota. Other times you get a fun 140 character or less story about an airplane adventure with an annoying passenger who happened to sit beside her.


3. P!nk (@Pink)
She usually includes a great mix of humor and very real personal opinion on her albums and her Twitter account isn't any different. She'll post photos of the beach at sunset, which makes you jealous. She'll post inspirational quotes that make you half-nauseated, yet still put you into a peaceful frame of mind. She’ll tweet her Instagrams, which range from food to the oddities of everyday life to her travels while on tour. Her 1-year-old little girl, Willow, isn’t left out either.


2. Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow)
If you enjoy her television show, you should enjoy her Twitter feed. Ellen, of course, promotes her show and her show’s guests, but it’s not just promotion, promotion, promotion. There are fun photos, comments on various happenings in the entertainment world, and corny jokes. The serious issues are left off this Twitter feed, so it’s a nice change of pace from the sometimes depressing tweets sent out by @CNN and @FoxNews.

1. Pee Wee Herman (@peeweeherman)
He’s my favorite to follow. Most of his tweets are about random things. Maybe it’s a fun photo. Or maybe it’s a tweet about cookie dough-flavored pancake batter. Mr. Herman always finds and retweets things that lighten the day.


Those are 12 of the celebs who keep the day fresh and fun in the Twitterverse.