Twitter’s “suggested users” list is the Holy Grail for those who want attention for themselves or their causes.
According to Tim Leberecht on cnet, being added to this can net you somewhere around 500 new followers a minute. Needless to say a spot on the list is a valuable commodity; social media mogul Jason Calacanis tried to buy his way in to the tune of $250,000.
Twitter’s action last Friday, then — adding a cadre of popular nonprofit and social innovators to the list — was a major boon for social responsibility.
These people’s work, Twitter seemed to be saying, is just as important as that of the companies and celebrities that already grace the ranks of The List. Among those tapped for social networking good fortune are Social Edge, Skoll Foundation, Kiva, Acumen Fund, charity: water, GOOD Magazine and Room to Read.
As Leberecht stated: “Twitter’s move is huge, not only because it propels social entrepreneurs to enter mainstream but also because the microblogging service – THE trading floor for attention on the Web — has decided to give away some of the attention it attracts to promote good causes. Consider it the New Socialism: a redistribution of attention, not of material wealth.”
As if to prove Twitter’s move a wise one, Social Edge, one of those named to the list, immediately pointed all of its new followers to its top 100 list of Tweeps to follow in social entrepreneurship. Socialism, it seems, is alive and well, at least in the virtual universe.
Photo courtesy of respres, via Flickr