by Cheryl Rickey

Created on: August 03, 2009

If you have recently joined Twitter, you might be wondering how to find and follow Twitter users. It is important to follow users who will enhance your Twitter experience. Just following random tweeters in hopes that they will build your follower list is not a good idea. If you want to be successful at social networking, you need to choose your "crowd" wisely.

If you don't have a Twitter account yet, you can set one up . Need some help with that? Twitter 101: How to set up a Twitter account

The first place to look for followers is to import your contact lists from your Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, or MSN email account. This is a great place to start because the people on your email list are likely to be people you enjoying connecting with.

Sign into your Twitter account and click on the Find People link in the upper-right corner of the screen. Then, select the Find On Other Networks tab.

You will see a list of all of the people who are on Twitter who are also on your email list. Click on the people you want to follow or click 'all' if you want to choose everyone.

You also have the option to use the invite by email tab after clicking on Find People. This allows you to send an email to people on your email list who do not yet have Twitter accounts.

Another way to find people, is to go to http://search.twitter.com. When you use this search tool you will be searching by a subject you are interested in.

For example, if you're interested in finding people who tweet about baking brownies, you might search "chocolate" or "baking" or simply "baking brownies".

You will now see tweeters who have used those words recently in their Tweets. Once you have found people you want to Follow, simply click on their photo or user name. Then, click the Follow button under their photo. Take a moment to read their bio and make sure they are truly someone you want to follow.

Another place to look for people to follow is on the "Suggested Users" tab. This is located under the "Find People" tab in the upper right hand corner of the Twitter screen.

When you open the 'Suggested Users' tab, there will be a list of people to follow. You can choose one or all of them - or none! Remember, you can always un-follow someone later if you are no longer interested in their tweets.

Once you have successfully followed someone, you see them listed on your Home and Profile page. You will also receive their Tweets on your Home page. Additionally, when you view that user's Twitter page or when you see them in a search result, you will see a Following icon.

Every person that you follow will not necessarily follow you back. You will choose to follow some Twitter accounts just to read the tweet stream (i.e. CNN, your local news or a company you are interested in learning more about).

Do not expect a follow back from everyone you follow. If you find that they add no value to your Twitter network, you can always delete them. Building a Twitter network takes time and you will learn to pick and choose the people you want to follow.

Learn more about this author, Cheryl Rickey.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.