by Brittany Kaelber

Created on: June 18, 2009

Twitter, in its simplest form, is the equivalent of a mini-blog or a running Facebook status. As Twitter describes it on their home page, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" Many use it to stay connected to friends; however, it has also become a way of more personally following your favorite celebrities. People pay upwards of $3 to purchase a gossip magazine that will keep them updated on the latest celebrity happenings. So, why not read a first-hand account of what your favorite celebrities are up to for free? All you have to do is

sign up, search out your favorite celebrities, and click "Follow." You will then get updates every time a person you are following updates their "status."

However, it is difficult with celebrities to know if you are following the real thing or following a fan pretending to be a celebrity. To help you out, I have included a list of some of the more popular celebrities on Twitter that have official accounts.

Twilight's Peter Facinelli

Star Trek's Zachary Quinto

Hannah Montana's Billy Ray Cyrus

Rapper 50Cent

Talk show host Jimmy Fallon

Actress Tori Spelling

Disney star's Aly and AJ

Actress Kirstie Alley

Singer Reba McEntire

Smallville's Allison Mack

Singer Pink

Talk show host Oprah

Singer Ashlee Simpson

Disney star Ashley Tisdale

Disney star Miley Cyrus

Reality star Kim Kardashian

Singer/Actress Mandy Moore

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres

Actor Ashton Kutcher

These have all been verified through Valebrity.com and you can go to this website to search out more of your favorite celebrities. However, to be 100% sure that you are following the "real thing," look for Twitters "Verified Account" check-mark of approval on each celebrity's home Twitter page.

If you would like to follow celebrity gossip instead of each specific celebrity, you can follow some of these popular celebrity gossip aficionados on Twitter.

Celebrity talk show Chelsea Lately

Celebrity news with E! Online

E!'s Marc Malkin

Celebrity Gossip Ok! Magazine

Celebrity gossip with Just Jared

Celebrity news in People Magazine

E!'s The Soup Blog or The Soup's Joel McHale

The Awful Truth with Ted Casablanca

Breaking new from Hollywood with Ryan Seacrest

Follow these and many others to keep up with your favorite celebrities on Twitter!

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