Success Secrets Direct from Celebs

Bill Gates

Genius billionaire Bill Gates has already attracted 305,076 followers on his new Twitter page. His tweets so far range from the celebrity insider type (“Heading to Sundance for the 1st time to see Waiting for Superman, an important movie on education from Davis Guggenheim”) to more somber plugs for Haiti-related relief and his own foundation.

Follow Gates to catch a glimpse inside the life of a philanthropic billionaire; maybe you will make a similar transition from cutthroat techno-capitalist to global-minded benefactor.

Followers: 305,076

Following: 42

Total tweets so far: 13

Follow here: http://twitter.com/BillGates

Photo Credit: Twitter

Ryan Seacrest

Radio show host, E! anchor, and of course the only voice of reason on American Idol — Ryan Seacrest is a media machine. Follow him on Twitter for insider celebrity commentary that ranges from the trivial (“Just talked to the situation and snookie...kinda like em”) to the important and life-saving (“My friends in atl at Coca-Cola have given $1 million dollars to the Red Cross one of the 1st companies in Jan 13th! --text 90999 Haiti now.”)

He also welcomed Bill Gates to Twitter with a friendly welcome tweet. Gates follows him.

Follow The Seacrest to see how an entertainment business superstar juggles several different gigs at once. Could come in handy next time you have to multitask at the office.

Followers: 2,891,983

Following: 133

Total tweets so far: 222

Follow here: http://twitter.com/RyanSeacrest

Photo Credit: Twitter

Ben Stiller

Stiller is one of the 133 people that Ryan Seacrest follows. Some of his tweets are hilarious (“Welcome @billgates to the Twitter. Let me know if u would like any technical tips, how it all works, what makes a computer run, etc.”), although most of his energy appears to be directed toward the Haiti awareness effort at the moment.

Follow Stiller to brush up on your comedic one-liner abilities. It will make you a funnier Twitter user. Or just retweet his posts… much easier to leave it to the pros.

Followers: 960,416

Following: 65

Total tweets so far: 138

Follow here: http://twitter.com/RedHourBen

Photo Credit: Twitter

Sanjay Gupta

Speaking of Haiti, Ben Stiller follows Sanjay Gupta, who is CNN’s chief medical correspondent and a neurosurgeon. He recently performed surgery on a girl injured by the Haiti disaster. He’s there now, tweeting whenever he can, and saving lives.

He is taking Haiti seriously, putting his TV career somewhat on hold (“So sorry to not anchor my show today. I was still busy at the field hospital.”) and toughing it out (“5a update. we lost all generator power. sun will come up in about 30 minutes. now confident we will get all these patients through the night”).

Keep doing your thing. Follow Sanjay for medical wisdom—and a first-hand look at the ups and downs of field journalism in the 21st century.  He probably won’t be willing to diagnose that rash you have, though, so don’t even ask … that’s just gross.

Followers: 1,201,102

Following: 149

Total tweets so far: 713

Follow here: http://twitter.com/sanjayguptaCNN

Photo Credit: Twitter

Sarah Silverman

Comedian Sarah Silverman is one of the people Gupta follows. Her tweets range from the bland (“Gym. Tan. Laundry.”) to the predictably bizarre (“I would eat fish but I can't because I have a nose.”)

Follow Silverman to see how pushing the envelope with borderline offensive humor can actually pay off… assuming you want to become a professional comedian.

Followers: 402,723

Following: 151

Total tweets so far: 440

Follow here: http://twitter.com/SarahKSilverman

Photo Credit: Twitter

Rachel Maddow

Liberal MSNBC talk show host Rachel Maddow is followed by Sarah Silverman. Her tweets can be surprisingly diplomatic (“All best wishes to Mr. Limbaugh tonight, for a full and speedy recovery.”) and sometimes they even give the inside scoop on her TV show’s production (“This is supposed to be a slow news week, isn't it? We've got so much going on we're bumping segments to tomorrow's show.”)

Follow Maddow to see how it’s possible to remain opinionated at work, and yet cool-headed and persuasive.

Followers: 1,631,739

Following: 557

Total tweets so far: 141

Follow here: http://twitter.com/maddow

Photo Credit: Twitter

John McCain

Maddow follows Arizona Sen. John McCain. I, for one, think he goes overboard with the plugs for shows he appears on. His three most recent tweets: “Live on Fox News Business with Imus,” “If you are up watch my interview on CBS' Early Show at 7 am.,” and “Watch @hannityshow tonight at 9 pm!”

Uh, the Internet is not just designed to remind people to watch TV. It is its own medium, and a significant one. Why don’t you tweet a response to President Obama’s bank reform speech today? Do you agree? Disagree? Or do I have to wait and watch @hannityshow to see what you think? And not a single tweet about Haiti? Seriously?

Hire a new social media expert, Mr. McCain. I would send my resume in for consideration, but you would have to download it as an attachment. So nevermind.

Follow McCain to see how not to use your new Twitter account.

Followers: 1,751,248

Following: 69

Total tweets so far: 130

Follow here: http://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain

Photo Credit: Twitter

Shaquille O’Neal

McCain follows Shaquille O’Neal on Twitter. The NBA star is one of the social network’s true superstars, with close to 2.8 million active followers and an impressive 2,650 tweets so far.

Follow O’Neal to see how to make people love you. Everyone loves Shaq.

Followers: 2,797,191

Following: 559

Total tweets so far: 2,650

Follow here: http://twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ

Photo Credit: Twitter

Ashton Kutcher

Shaq, like seemingly everyone else on Twitter, follows Ashton Kutcher. He shares with his millions of fans personal tastes (“time for my weekly dose of Intervention. Love this show!”) and keen insights (“'after one look at this planet aliens would say I want to see the manager’ -william s. burroughs, courtesy of Jared Stern”) as well as the occasional celebrity insider moment (“FYI Ricky Gervais is pounding Fosters back stage. The show should only get funnier.”)

Follow Kutcher because everyone else does. Maybe you will figure out why he has become so successful—I still haven’t cracked that one. This is the dude from Punk’d. Why does he have greater Twitter influence than Bill Gates and Oprah? I do not know.

Followers: 4,415,979

Following: 303

Total tweets so far: 4,517

Follow here: http://twitter.com/aplusk

Photo Credit: Twitter

Katy Perry

Singer Katy Perry of “I Kissed A Girl” fame is followed by Ashton. She seems to be a weird girl (“Is it wrong to like the smell of asparagus pee?”) and also must travel a lot to promote her music (“Omg India your 12 hour time difference has turned me into a zombie. I'm gonna have to bring some scotch tape for my eyes tomorrow.”)

Follow Perry to see how you can balance your playful side with a more serious commercial image.

Followers: 1,654,146

Following: 51

Total tweets so far: 1,048

Follow here: http://twitter.com/katyperry

Photo Credit: Twitter

Ke$ha

Fellow young global singing sensation Ke$ha is followed by Katy Perry—frenemies, maybe? Bonus points for having a username that suggests Ke$ha sucks… something most music fans over the age of 19 already know. On her Twitter page, she shares some of her creative process (“France..u inspired a new song ‘2 french dudes, wearin sweet thongs, looking so fly, playin ping pong’ u like?”) and nutritional supplement usage (“Um just been warned that these B vitamins r gonna turn my pee green. Like neon?teenage mutant ninja turtle green?I'm DOWN.Party on”).

Follow Ke$ha because she has become very famous in a very short amount of time. If you want to achieve the same for yourself or your business, perhaps take a play from her outlandish marketing & personal branding tactics.

Followers: 130,650

Following: 62

Total tweets so far: 916

Follow here: http://twitter.com/keshasuxx

Photo Credit: Twitter

Barack Obama

President Obama is followed by Ke$ha, although she still probably has a slimmer chance of getting into a White House dinner party than the Salahis.

This Twitter page is not updated by Obama himself, but rather by Organizing For America, which is President Obama’s community organizing initiative. Although, according to Twitter, it is a “verified account”—meaning Obama endorses it as his.

Follow Obama because he is the most powerful person in the world. Seriously, we shouldn’t even need to explain this one.

Followers: 3,186,945

Following: 742,166

Total tweets so far: 139

Follow here: http://twitter.com/BarackObama

Photo Credit: Twitter

Harry Reid

Sen. Harry Reid is followed by President Obama’s Twitter page. His page is, regrettably, thoroughly boring — good luck getting those young voters energized in Nevada come re-election time, Senator!

Follow Reid because of his influence in the Senate, and his success as a politician. It goes to show that totally mundane blandness can lead to a big win … eventually. You don’t need to be like Ke$ha.

Followers: 5,658

Following: 22

Total tweets so far: 123

Follow here: http://twitter.com/SenatorReid

Photo Credit: Twitter

Other Twitter celebs worth following…

We found a few more intriguing people for you to follow. One of them happens to be arguably the most powerful woman on Earth.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is on Twitter, and unlike most of us, she received a personal step-by-step how-to from Twitter co-founder Evan Williams on an episode of her TV show. She always seems to get special attention! She tweets observations about her episodes, and recommends her favorite things: “GAGA! What a great girl. Love her message: BE YOURSELF Hope you saw the show today. And go see AVATAR.”

Follow Oprah because she’s the Queen of the media world. If you work as a writer or reporter, her Twitter feed might even give you a few ideas.

Followers: 3,053,302

Following: 18

Total tweets so far: 103

Follow here: http://twitter.com/Oprah

Photo Credit: Twitter

Queen Rania Al Abdullah

The Queen of Jordan is followed by Oprah. Her Twitter presence is used to promote her philanthropic and humanitarian efforts (“2 planes left 2 Haiti upon instructions from my husband..”).

Follow her because she shows how to balance power and wealth with humility and wit.

Followers: 1,240,414

Following: 56

Total tweets so far: 274

Follow here: http://twitter.com/QueenRania

Photo Credit: Twitter

Richard Branson

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson is followed by Queen Rania on Twitter. He promotes his charitable activities and his latest pet project, Virgin Galactic (“Watch the Governor Schwarzenegger Video at Virgin Galactic’s Unveiling of SpaceShipTwo on @virgindotcom”).

Follow Branson because he is always looking to the next big thing. Even if you aren’t a billionaire, it’s a good habit to look for new opportunities and stretch your imagination to the limits.

Followers: 219,009

Following: 6,467

Total tweets so far: 208

Follow here: http://twitter.com/richardbranson

Photo Credit: Twitter

Karl Lagerfeld

Visionary fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is followed by Katy Perry—guess she is a classy woman, when she isn’t enjoying the smell of asparagus-laced urine. His bio says simply “A terrible underachiever” (humble!) but the designer still shares his wisdom with his followers on Twitter, such as this gem: “If you want respect for your past, it means that you have a problem with your present and even more with your future.”

Follow him if you need a dash of thoughtful philosophy in your life.

Followers: 179,470

Following: 0

Total tweets so far: 48

Follow here: http://twitter.com/Karl_Lagerfeld

Photo Credit: Twitter

Who do you follow?

Follow any famous or noteworthy personalities on Twitter? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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