10 best Twitterers to follow for your soul, not your career

I always see these “top Twitterer” lists of people with high follower counts touted by social climbing social media DBs. Those people bore me.

Instead I’m inspired by people with a unique perspective on the world around them, unique voice and style, who make me smile or think differently or challenge me to be a better person. Following them isn’t about some ulterior motive or networking agenda. Their words feed my soul.

I hope they’ll do the same for you.

@Texburgher

Geoff Barnes
Pittsburgh, PA
Humorous quips, familial reflections, artful turns of phrase

@Marshmallowgun

Susana Martins
Chicago, IL
Social criticism, witty banter with celebrities, unapologetic snark

@Alex_Godin

Alex Godin
Westchester, NY
High school ennui, teenage observations, young ambition

@Gregpalmer

Greg Palmer
Washington, DC
Activism, current events commentary, gay rights

@Swissmiss

Tina Roth Eisenberg
Brooklyn, NY
Visual inspiration, beauty in everything, geek motherhood

@Sashakane

Sasha Kane
Unknown
Fighting breast cancer, motivational insights, gratitude

@Stevefarber

Steve Farber
San Diego, CA
Leadership, personal empowerment, universal lessons

@Dalailama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Dharamsala, India
Proverbs, moral principles, spiritual growth

@Corybooker

Mayor Cory Booker
Newark, NJ
Civic duty, continuous improvement, local pride

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About Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess is a coach and writer helping product teams and senior leaders make better decisions through the principles of user experience. She believes empathy builds empires.

Follow @whitneyhess

Matt J.

Recommending following these people “for your soul” is like recommending throwing patchouli oil on your house while it is on fire. That is how toxic the ideologies of these people really are.

“Unapologetic snark”? Who NEEDS this? Nobody, that is who. Likewise, “young ambition” is something that needs to be outgrown, not encouraged.

Even “artful turns of phrase” are more often mere pretty baubles rather than nuggets of wisdom good for the soul.

if you REALLY want something good for the soul, this is the time of the year for reading through the whole Book of Proverbs. Do that while taming the unruliness of the body with mild fasting and hearing the Akathist and Great Canon in anticipation of the Feast of the Resurrection and you will find REAL benefit for your souls.

Then you too will look back on “youthful ambition” and “unapologetic snark” and wonder: “why did I ever think that that was what I wanted?”
Greg Palmer

Thanks for including me! I’m so flattered.
http://www.perfecttuna.com Samantha LeVan

Wow, Matt J., you talk about snark but you yourself are the snarky one. A bit rude of a comment, don’t you think? Whitney has done a lovely job reminding us of ways to learn about life through social media.
http://www.jasonhead.com/ Jason Head

Never thought I would see Geoff Barnes included on a list with the Dali Lama!
- http://blog.texburgher.com Geoff Barnes
  
  That makes two of us, Jason!
  
  (And I have to say, I’m honored. Thanks, Whitney!)
Joe Sokohl

Having not made the list, perhaps I need to up my DSQ (damnable snark quotient)

;)
Katherine Gray

Good list! I’d love to add one, if I may: Brene Brown. At least she’s been good for *my* soul lately, especially with this one quote she posted last week:

“She couldn’t go back and make the details pretty, she could only move forward and make the whole beautiful.” ~Terri St. Cloud

I did a bunch of fun and scary and unplanned things in the last few weeks and I’m starting in on the second-guessing. So I’ve been saying this quote in my head about 50 times a day. This seems like a quote you might appreciate, too. :)