Ireland’s Sunday Independent journalist Vinnie O’Dowd has compiled the first ever list of must-follow tweeters who share opinions, news, and advice about Ireland’s most important business stories.
And with Ireland becoming progressively technologically advanced, people have become more likely to flock to Twitter as both producers and consumers of information.
Comscore has estimated that 449,000 Irish people over the age of 15 use Twitter, with about 100,000 people using it daily. Those figures account for a lot of potential customers for businesses struggling to survive the recession.
O’Dowd shortened down the list to our top 10 must-follow Tweeters belows. From young to old, new to longstanding, each of these Twitter accounts are headed by a pro in their field:
Who: Sean O'Sullivan
Why: Dragon's Den star and managing director of investment fund SOSventures International.
He made his fortune investing in Apple, Netflix and Guitar Hero. Now he's a backer of Irish companies and campaigner to make it easier for tech engineers to move to Ireland.
Twitter name @sosventures
Twitter followers 12,947
Who: Stephen McIntyre
Why: This tweeter is hot property. Adam Bain, Twitter's president of global revenue, said that "I couldn't be more excited" after poaching Mr McIntyre from Google earlier this year.
He wants to help turn Twitter into a big business -- and do a lot of it in Europe out of its headquarters in Dublin.
Twitter Name @stephenpmc
Twitter followers 584
Who: Orlaith Blaney
Why: The chief executive of McCann Erickson is a prolific tweeter with interests ranging from advertising industry trends to the Olympics. Always entertaining, Ms Blaney regularly posts links to interesting websites or articles relating to big brands or innovative uses of advertising.
Twitter name @orlaithb
Twitter followers 1,877
Who: Tullow Oil
Why: The €14.5bn explorer has become pretty active on Twitter.
Alongside posting regular updates on its drilling around the world, it also posts pictures of its executives signing new deals with various African leaders. It also uses the social network to update followers with quotes from its chief executive Aidan Heavey and interesting short videos showing work in progress.
Twitter name @tullowoilplc
Twitter followers 3,462
Who: Patrick Collison and his brother, John Collison
Why: Patrick, the older of the tech genius brothers, is just 23 and describes his interests as books, code, tools, and cities. His younger brother John, 21, is as likely to talk good coffee shops in San Francisco as he is start-ups. Their company, Stripe.com, which hopes to take onPayPal, is already worth $100m (€82m).
Twitter names @Patrickc and @collision
Twitter followers 4,318 & 2,172
Who: Bord Bia
Why: All things food-related in Ireland. Eclectic interests from covering big brands to the Grow It Yourself movement. Shows how a State body should use Twitter with lots of links and pictures.
Twitter name @BordBia
Twitter followers 8,486
Who: Bobby Kerr
Why: The Dragon's Den star is responsible for your local Insomnia cafe. His Twitter 'feed' is good for silly photographs as well as business tips. Mr Kerr is especially active when his radio show airs on Newstalk every Sunday, when he reveals his views on that day's newspapers as well his guests.
Twitter name @bobbykerr
Twitter followers 5,408
Who: James Whelton
Why: James is founder of coderdojo, an ever-expanding not-for-profit club to teach kids how to code. Expect tweets on everything to do with coding, developing websites and mobile apps to tips about games.
Twitter name @jwhelton
Twitter followers 5,108
Who: Constantin Gurdgiev
Why: The vocal economist is best-known for his appearances on Vincent Browne's late-nighttalk show on TV3. One of the most active users of Twitter, expect lots of discussion of the euro crisis, links to his personal blog and commentary on the economic news of the day.
Twitter name @GTCost
Twitter followers 15,594
Who: Liam Casey
Why: Dubbed 'Mr China' in the world of tech, Mr Casey got into business in China in 1996 to supply components to computer manufacturers. His company, PCH International, has a turnover of $400m (€329m) a year and followers can expect lots of stuff on China and global business trends.
Twitter name @liamcasey
Twitter followers 2,342
Who: Namawinelake
Why: Highly opinionated @Namawinelake keeps his or her identity a secret. Expect plenty of analysis on anything Nama or property-related. Never holds back, but open to debate.
Twitter name @namawinelake
Twitter followers 5,310
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