Desirable People to Follow on Google+
If you are like me, getting started on Google + has been a little slow. I have people adding me to their circles all the time but don't know who I should add to my circles. I have found that hand picking your Google + stream can create a wonderful flow of content, creativity and inspiration. Unlike my “all following” stream on Twitter which flows quite quickly (yes I have made lots of smaller lists to track different groups), this is a curated list of celebrities and real people, following a wide variety of topics and interests that I hope will bring something new to your Google + experience.
Here are some recommendations for interesting, engaging folks on Google +:
1. Guy Kawasaki
“Guy Kawasakiย is the author ofย Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.ย He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an โonline magazine rackโ of popular topics on the web, and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki is the author of nine other books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.”
Listed on the Google + Web Celebrities List – Guy LOVES Google + and is engaging with people there all day long with a wide variety of topics and posts. I find him thoroughly Enchanting and you will too!
2. Natalie Villalobos
Natalie Villalobosย “Community Manager for the Google+ project (+mention me to posts!)”
Who better to circle than the Community Manager? Always a good person to get to know, right? Natalie has a great list of Google+ people to follow on her about page as well.
3. Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheatonย “Tagline: Don't be a dick!
“I'm Wil Wheaton. I'm an author (that's why I'm wilwheatonbooks), an actor, and a lifelong geek. ย I wrote Just A Geek, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, and Memories of the Future. I played Wesley on Star Trek, Gordie in Stand By Me, and Fawkes in The Guild. I occasionally play Dr. Parrish on Eureka, Evil Wil Wheaton on Big Bang Theory, and Cha0s on Leverage.”
I less than three him on Twitter and Google +.
4. Ree Drummond
Ree Drummondย “The Pioneer Woman –ย Desperate ranch wife. Mother of four. Lover of butter. Amen”
Adore her blog and she has a new show starting on The Food Network. She was lucky enough to have Bobby Flay come to her house for a Throwdown last year and did a live Twitterstreaming for the show when it aired. She gets Social Media and is hysterical.
5. Mitch Neff
Mitch Neffย “Father of three wicked cool kids | SoMe Architect atย BallywhoMediaย | Instigator |ย StartUpBusย Miami Alumni”
Engaging and intelligent, this Social Strategist is kicking butt and taking names. Just started working onย WebTrendsTvย – fabulous!
6. Mari Smith
Mari Smithย “Greetings!!ย I'm aย Social Media Keynote Speaker and Trainer.ย I call myself “a bubbly Scottish-Canadian loving living in San Diego.” (My accent is “Scandifornian!” Lol!)
FastCompany.com refer to me as a “veritable engine of personal branding and a relationship marketing whiz” and dubbed me “thePied Piper of Facebook.” Dun & Bradstreet Credibility named me one of the top tenย Most Influential Small Business People on Twitter. ClickZ.com named me as one of theย Top 25 Social Media Allstars. I have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Success Magazine and on American Express OPEN Forum.”
Mari (pronounced like Ferrari) is a joy and I love her blue theme.
7. Chris Pirillo
Chris Pirilloย Tagline: Geek for Hire
What can I say, I love a self proclaimed geek. Smart and funny, Chris is currently one of the most followed people on Google +.
8. JD Andrews
JD Andrewsย “Travelย is myย passion; creating inspiring and evocative videos and photographs is my profession.ย Social Mediaย is the way I connect with the world and share both of these things.ย I have a passport that's ready to get inked up and a camera itching to capture the worlds beauty, let's GO!”
Travel the world vicariously though JD and his amazing photography. I love following him on Twitter but Google + really makes his photos spectacular. And he is really nice as well. (always a bonus in my book)
9. Angel Oakley
Angel Oakleyย “CEO Unicatis. Mktg Strategist/Trainer/Speaker/
Chicago beauty inside and out. Smart, savvy and super fun.
10. Mack Collier
Mack Collierย “Online extrovert, offline introvert. It's complicated…”
The Daddy of #BlogChat where the seed for my first blog post was planted. Very well respected and well deserved. Smart, fun and funny!
11. ย Gini Dietrich
“Gini Dietrichย is the founder and chief executive officer ofย Arment Dietrich, Inc., a firm that uses non-traditional marketing in a digital world.ย The author ofย Spin Sucks, Gini has delivered numerous keynotes, panel discussions, coaching sessions, and workshops across North America on the subject of using online technology in communication, marketing, sales, and HR.ย One of the top rated communication professionals on the social networks, Gini was recently named the number one PR person, according toย Klout and TechCrunch, on the channels, and number one on Twitter, according toย TweetLevel.”
I am on watch and learn mode with this Social Media chica. Her blog is amazing and people flock to it daily to read and comment. Can't wait to meet her in person someday!
12. Sam Fiorella
Sam Fiorellaย “Chief Strategy Sensei | Sensei Marketing | Toronto – NYC”
Very smart, one of the absolute best Twitter chat hosts out there! Generous, helpful and a really great person to boot.
Who are you enjoying the most on Google+? Who is adding value to your stream? Please share with me so I can circle them too!
13. Lynda Giddens
I found Lynda's picture while writing this post and now she is a Google + friend. Interesting, fun and a great photographer!
Who do you like to follow on Google +? Please share….
This post originally posted on 12 Most.ย
Featured imageย ย Some rights reservedย byย Magnet 4 Marketing dot Netย via Creative Commons.
Article by Peg Fitzpatrick
Great Post Peggy. Have in my circle all of above plus incredible author of this blog, who always bring sparkles and positive energy in everyday life of us. X
Jure and Janet – you are both fabulous! xoxo
I follow Mack on the Twitter (and I think G+) he is good. I am friends with Gini. But who is Guy Kawasaki? I thought he was the twitter spammer for Alltop. Does he link anything but AllTop and Holy Kaw? It was the reason I stopped following him on Twitter in late 2009 (also the Business Week article outing him as a paid tweeter getting $800 a tweet from brands which is impressive but never knew what tweets were his or which were paid which to me is a no no). So curious what he is doing on G+ that is different.
That said I quit Facebook over the recent changes (last straw for that exploitative slimeball company) so I really want G+ to be something my friends (who are not in marketing/tech/media) will come over to hang out. So enjoying your share.
Guy is doing a much different thing on Google+ – curating and posting his own materials. I haven’t seen anything from AllTop or HolyKaw as of yet.
I would love to get $800 per tweet. Mine are free and fabulous!
Thanks so stopping by & commenting.
Peggy