by Dorothy Snarker

When you tweet upon a star, sometimes they tweet back

You know, some celebrities are total twits. Wait, sorry, that came out wrong. Some celebrities are total Twitter users. There, good, now no one will threaten to sue me. As Twitter, the micro-blogging service, grows in popularity so do the number of stars signing on to tell the world the everyday minutiae of their lives 140-characters at a time.

As a recent Twitter convert (tweet at me at twitter.com/dorothysnarker), I totally understand the appeal. So simple in its concept, Twitter gives you an up-to-the second glimpse into anything from the mundane to sublime of a person's life. Which is why it can be so fun to follow the famous folks. On of the first big-name twits I added was, of course, Rachel Maddow. Hello, I think they take away your Totally Gay membership card if you don't follow her immediately.

Other queer artists are also represented from bisexual Dresden Dolls frontwoman Amanda Palmer to Amy Ray, half of the lesbian folk duo the Indigo Girls, and queer comedian Margaret Cho.

Want more musicians? You could try:

Lily Allen, Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson, Taylor Swift, and yes, even Britney Spears.

How about some actors? Check out these twits: ~~Papi~~ Janina Gavankar, Dr. Horrible muse Felicia Day, Fran Drescher, and — for whatever reason — the majority of the Moore/Kutcher/Willis clan (Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher Rumer Willis.)

Of course, there are also the fake twits. Accounts for Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Abe Vigoda and Darth Vader are decidedly unreal. God has tweeted a few times at MC Hammer, which I am sure is a sign of the apocalypse. Hammer, by the way, is the real Hammer. You can't touch that nuttiness.

Tina acknowledged the fakeness of her account, but also gave her ghost texter a thumbs up. She told New York magazine: “Also, whoever is writing my Twitter account is pretty funny, but it's not me.”

So, do you tweet? And if so, who are your favorite twits? Discuss, in 140-characters or less, of course.

p.s. Don’t forget our very over AfterEllen.com twitterati besides yours snarkily: @afterellen, @sarahwarn, @trishtype, @scribegrrrl, @thelinster, @gracethespot, @jensabella, @lizinhollywood, @mombian, @cherrybombtv, and @finalgrrl.

Dorothy Snarker's blog

Submitted by

Dorothy Snarker

on February 17, 2009 - 10:00am.

TAGS ::

new Twitterer

Submitted by

Di (122 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 11:20am.

I'm new to this and am always looking for more Twitters...thanks for the tips. Right now my favorites are, of course, the maddow, sarahwarn (also of course), finalgrrl (of Ghostella fame) and pamalaribon who is a constant (and hilarious) tweeter.

Twitter rules

Submitted by

k-star (15 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 11:42am.

I just started on Twitter, and I love it! I use it to stay in touch with my friends and also get news and other stuff from Rachel Maddow, Rainn Wilson, etc.

I love the format of only having a certain number of characters, because really, I love knowing what my friends are up to...but I don't need to read two pages about what they made for dinner tonight.

http://twitter.com/khennings

No, I don't twitter. I'm on

Submitted by

jennifer from p... (1434 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 11:56am.

No, I don't twitter. I'm on it sometimes and check out certain people (Tina Fey's fake account is funny), but I don't send out tweets. I don't know why. I think my inner dialog is often too conflicted to keep the message concise. I'll stick with that answer.

Fake Tina Fey

Submitted by

monica_ca (685 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 12:07pm.

Wow....the fake Tina Fey account is absolutely hilarious...I might need to start following that.

Twittery Tweet!

Submitted by

Aleasha (22 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 12:12pm.

I love Twitter. It's too addicting. Nice suggestions! I might have to add God, because that's too awesome. lol.

http://twitter.com/pnker

non twitterer

Submitted by

Cat (76 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 12:26pm.

While I don't tweek, or twit, whatever, I used to plurk, till some idiot boy child started chastising me for that one time I referred to myself in the first person. Cat was very sorry she did, and Cat felt rather stalked after this, as boy child then commented on everything she plurked.

Now I tumbl, on Tumblr, which is entirely different, more blog than micro. All in an effort to get away from Facebook.

Phew, net socialising is hard work...

Third Person?

Submitted by

VivIvonette (38 posts)

on February 18, 2009 - 12:53am.

Do you mean third person?

Hmm, I've never heard of Tumblr, I'll have to check it out.

*is ashamed to admit to being a facebook junkie*

thunk

Submitted by

Cat (76 posts)

on February 22, 2009 - 4:06pm.

Yeah, third person!! Brain dead. Some times I wonder how I get through life...

I've since joined up with twitter too, because I am an internet junkie. And all my mates have flocked there too @catdarcy

tina's fake account = genius.

Submitted by

jc (36 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 12:42pm.

even though tina's account is fake it's my favourite...whoever does it is hilarious. it always gives me and my friends a good laugh. i don't follow biggie smalls, but my friend does and his updates are funny. we all know that he died in '97...and so all of his posts are about that time period...it's like he is trapped there. it's interesting. i also like diablo cody's...random and funny.

http://twitter.com/carterapo (my tweets are pretty boring...epic fail)

you stay. i'll stay. we'll be alone.

amber benson and juliet landau

Submitted by

ebe312 (12 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 12:43pm.

for all of you buffy philes out there, amber benson and juliet landau are on twitter.

http://twitter.com/amber_benson

http://twitter.com/julietlandau

amber is a lot of fun to follow because she updates on everything and right now, she is writing the second book in the death's daughter trilogy.

Paging Dr. Maddow

Submitted by

pecola (1504 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:11pm.

Having Rachel Maddow retweet one of my messages remains one of the highlights of my life. That said, knowing that she (and her girlfriend, Susan) read her twitter stream makes me a tad bit uncomfortable about fawning over her publicly.

It's neat to follow Janina Gavankar because you get to know about what roles she's picked up. She tweeted about her hiring on Grey's long before the media picked it up and she'll occasionally offer info about upcoming guest appearances (like she's going to be on an episode of Dollhouse, apparently).

Weird thing, though? She uses the twitter track feature for occurrences of "L Word," so if you're using twitter to complain about the latest Ilene Chaiken machination and you reference "L Word" in your tweet, she might see it.

A few recommendations, though:

Someone put together a full list of artists/musicians/bands using Twitter which is worth checking out.

If you're into politics, there's an ongoing effort to get members of Congress on twitter. You can visit tweetcongress.org to see if your representative is on twitter. Even if they aren't, I recommend following Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) (@clairecmc)--her tweets offer a good glimpse into the legislative process and she tends to be pretty funny.

---

"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use — of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public." -- Robert F. Kennedy

Just as addictive as Facebook, but without the strings...

Submitted by

Gemini (83 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:16pm.

It's to the point, enjoyable, and yet you still can add all the fun stuff like links to websites, pictures, etc. Also, you don't have all the new creepy terms of service hanging over your head *cough cough FACEBOOK*. It's my new favorite thing.

http://twitter.com/BunnyHaze

Twitter is so much more than a facebook status

Submitted by

vashti (40 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:19pm.

I have a~~n unhealthy~~ slight obsession with twitter. I check it constantly [I blame twitterberry] and am always trying to get other people to use it. I don't follow *a lot* of celebs because they don't tweet that much [with the exception of Ashton and Demi. They're total twitter fiends!] but I'm lovin' the tweets from the random people I have somehow come to know through the interwebs.

http://twitter.com/hilaribombs

OO Follow me..

Submitted by

Janay (481 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:22pm.

won't be too exciting right now cause I have to go to work and can't get the sms thing to work....

btw can anyone help me with that? I can never send text to 5 digit numbers and thats what you have to do to set up the sms updates...

twitter.com/JanayS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I know how I was born and I know that I have no choice. I know it may not show on the color of my skin, but I know it’s in my heart and in my soul."-Sara Quin

:P

Submitted by

Marlow (126 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:27pm.

I just joined recently and can already sense a bit of an addiction coming on...

http://twitter.com/GypsyBall

Refused Facebook but not Twitter

Submitted by

FilmGrrl (105 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:42pm.

I couldn't bring myself to join Facebook but decided to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. I just recently signed up but so far I like this quick, abbreviated format (especially for news updates...and of course, Dr. Maddow!).

http://twitter.com/foodgeek14

Tweet-Tweet

Submitted by

lynnejamneck (17 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:45pm.

I am, therefore I Tweet.

http://twitter.com/lynnejamneck

AfterEllen - this writer's first port of call with morning coffee! More about me and my writing exploits at

http://lynnejamneckdiaries.blogspot.com/

Status whore-age.

Submitted by

Melissa Hsu (not verified)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:48pm.

Ashton Kutcher updates his, like, every 0.457555011 seconds. It's pretty amusing. I almost feel for the entertainment journalists who have to filter through those things -- almost. I nearly stopped following him because I was having to filter through bookoos of Ashton Tweets to find ones directed at me, but then I discovered that he was a fan of Jane's Addiction -- and all was forgiven.

Lavar Burton Tweets (Reading Rainbow Dude): http://twitter.com/levarburton

Also, a cool software type-thing that sends you an e-mail when someone quits following you, along with the offending Tweet: http://useqwitter.com/

Annnnd mine: http://twitter.com/roahr

Inkblots

Ah, Twitter

Submitted by

Ingrid Diaz (13 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 1:55pm.

I resisted it for so very long, but now I'm a convert. Love it! TweetDeck makes it even better. :)

Tweeting daily: http://www.twitter.com/dreams_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ingrid Díaz

Author of Alix & Valerie

www.midnightisland.com

I love Twitter!

Submitted by

Susan Gabriel (190 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 2:06pm.

I am a convert, too.

Follow me at: http://www.twitter.com/susangabriel

Brand new Twitter-er(?)

Submitted by

stolen balloons (13 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 2:28pm.

I'm brand new to the world of Twitter. I just signed up today. I'm not even sure I'm doing all of it right, but I don't think you can mess it up.

Brand new at: http://www.twitter.com/stolenballoon

Im a twit..erm..twitteree...a twittering..

Submitted by

pagan (12 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 2:46pm.

Been on Twitter for a wee while now. Initially took an interest in it to keep up with my nephews activities wilst he is out in NZ. I dont follow many people, though I have to say Stephen Fry is pretty amusing. Is funny to see some of his twitters ending up in the UK press the following day after he has posted.....guess we must get slow news days in the UK a lot..lol

http://twitter.com/Floss

TWITTER!

Submitted by

mallieable (125 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 3:56pm.

I am obsessed with Twitter! I first joined to follow the lovely @Maddow. Some other people that may be of interest: @lancearmstrong, @the_real_shaq, @dixiedykes, @thelesbianmafia, @theplanetcast, @scribegrrrl, @lizinhollywood, @muthafunka, @uhhuhhermusic, @ellismusic, @jillbennett14, @lesbiatopia, @gracethespot, @cherrybombtv, @eurOut, @onemorelesbian, and of course, ME! (@amf7) :) I like live-tweeting The Rachel Maddow Show every night!

http://twitter.com/amf7

ETA: some people that may be of interest to @Maddow fans: @anamariecox, @mikemadden, @oknox, @mattyglesias, @shuster1600, @davidgregory, @anncurry, @willatwork,

"I have accomplished what I always dreamed of and feared impossible." -Fay Fuller, first woman to summit Mount Rainier

New here..

Submitted by

sanDy* (38 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 3:26pm.

I signed up for the new season of TLW but never returned till today.

It's pretty unknow here, only one of my friends have it.. so..

http://twitter.com/phatsandy

another one

Submitted by

Di (122 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 3:47pm.

One more amusing Twitterer that I follow is paulapoundstone. I like when people update often, and she does several times a day.

Yep yep

Submitted by

FoundinH (56 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 6:10pm.

Got it and of course I also follow Stephen Fry I'm http://twitter.com/ziaword

I just got a Twitter account

Submitted by

lolcaz (47 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 6:35pm.

I just got a Twitter account the other day and I have hardly used it... I haven't found any particularly interesting uses for it yet. Maybe when (if) some of my friends get it, it will become more interesting.

@dorothysnarker and

Submitted by

lubitup (14 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 6:58pm.

@dorothysnarker and @scribegrrrl's updates are great

follow me: https://twitter.com/rigobello86

Twitter

Submitted by

Amazon (320 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 7:31pm.

Apparently Santa has a twitter account https://twitter.com/SantaClaus,

my account https://twitter.com/yarrachamp.

definitely have been on

Submitted by

Penny_Lane (182 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 8:58pm.

definitely have been on twitter for a year now.. I don't post all too often but I check my twitter app all the time on my iphone. I use mostly as a place to share cool websites or things I find, not so much with status updates.

Just created one...maybe it

Submitted by

Rae (63 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 9:57pm.

Just created one...maybe it will be fun...LiveJournal is more my thing...and well you know Facebook...

http://twitter.com/xraex21 (hey I like to keep things consistant :P)

Oh yeah

Submitted by

ScottyDk (6 posts)

on February 17, 2009 - 10:01pm.

I think I just found a new addiction!

http://twitter.com/Scottydk

yes - twitter

Submitted by

maxime68 (59 posts)

on February 18, 2009 - 12:24am.

I started this experience quite reluctantly, and only to follow some sites and politicians. It took some time but suddenly I was infected by this twitter-bug too and tweet daily now.

follow me: http://twitter.com/maxime68

among others mentionned in the article or in the comments, I also follow

http://twitter.com/onemorelesbian

http://twitter.com/wendyandlisa

me too

Submitted by

sundancer (425 posts)

on February 18, 2009 - 2:04am.

i twitter... but im not handing my account URL out. :p

i also have a tumblr account i never use. in fact, i probably have made at least 1 account at at least hundreds of social networks. its called... testing out social networks... by the person who used to work in social media. :p yeah, i used to get paid to watch youtube. now i dont. lol

when in rome

Submitted by

taylurk (11 posts)

on February 18, 2009 - 8:00am.

shameless? probably. http://twitter.com/taylurk

Tweets & Stuff

Submitted by

Ceridwyn2 (40 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 7:33am.

I joined twitter a month or two ago. Really enjoying it. Aside from some friends and AE twits I follow, there are a few Battlestar Galactica twitters I follow: @Natalie_6, @Laura_Roslin, @Ellen_Tigh, @saultigh, @capricasix, @KaraThrace, @billadama. These are hilarious.

Techish/Media stuff: @aleksk (Guardian Unlimited [GU] TechWeekly), @jemimakiss (GU TechWeekly), @guardiantw, @EmilyBell (GU MediaTalk), @bbctech, @geekbrief

Musicians: @imogenheap, @viennateng

Mine: http://twitter.com/JLynn_Stapleton

Kim:Just when you thought life couldn't get any worse you're a virgin with a sexually transmitted disease!

Woo twitter!

Submitted by

Sabriel (33 posts)

on February 18, 2009 - 9:02am.

I love twitter and having an app on the iphone makes it even easier to get addicted!

http://twitter.com/mooseius

Twitter

Submitted by

x.Lorna.x (92 posts)

on February 18, 2009 - 11:52am.

Is it me or did this escalate from nowhere? Looks like I'm going to have to check it out...

Tweet.

Submitted by

stolen balloons (13 posts)

on February 19, 2009 - 6:10pm.

I'm really getting into it now...

I love the fact that @god is on Twitter, cause God is HILARIOUS! You should see some of the stuff that "he"(?) posts. I laugh myself into tears.

I've been Twittering in mine a lot, again, mine is: @stolenballoon

twit-addict

Submitted by

kells. (3 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 10:12am.

I have to say I'm completely addicted to Twitter and have been for some time... I completely geeked out when I got a direct message from Amber Benson (@amber_benson) and a reply from Raimy Rosenduft (@muthafunka)...

http://twitter.com/itsonlymemories

I am hooked on Twitter. mine

Submitted by

reeceecup (34 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 1:07pm.

I am hooked on Twitter. mine is http://twitter.com/reeceecup

I'm a twit...ter

Submitted by

little_earth (7 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 5:16pm.

I guess I'm quite the lesbian. Rachel was my first celebrity added too! So no revokage of my card! I had also found Felicia Day on my own (big fan ever since seeing her on Buffy, then watching her project The Guild in all its nerdy gamer glory). I didn't like twitter at first but now I have people to follow I might follow it more often!

Also a new comer to twitter

Submitted by

Sheka (18 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 6:26pm.

... and loving it

follow me http://twitter.com/rosheka08

Just joined Twitter

Submitted by

EmilyM (28 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 7:35pm.

I think the Real Tina is funnier than fake Tina. I hope she does open a real account.

Check me out...

uhhhh

Submitted by

Nodame (926 posts)

on February 20, 2009 - 8:22pm.

I find that after facebook.... its too much for me to keep up on. Besides, I like being off the grid sometimes.

:D

Submitted by

Faithful Chosen (121 posts)

on February 22, 2009 - 5:36am.

I <3 Twitter!

Twitter me @faithfulchosen

Who you gonna be if you can't be yourself,
you can't get it from t.v., you can't force it on
anybody else.-- Ani Difranco

New to twitter

Submitted by

Chrissy (4 posts)

on February 24, 2009 - 1:03am.

You can find me @raisedinashes :D

So addicted to twitter.

Submitted by

summernerd (288 posts)

on March 1, 2009 - 2:00am.

www.twitter.com/teacherc

tegan and sara

Submitted by

Janay (481 posts)

on March 5, 2009 - 2:28am.

To all you tee and essers out there TnS are on Twitter...no they really are:

I posted it on .ca a couple weeks ago but ppl didn't think it was actually them...well of course fans are burned all the time this way when they get all stoked about these things and well...they are majorly lacking updates but lol they're on vaca so forgive! But if you are following Amanda Palmer, then you saw this Tweet same as I did:

"tegan just messaged me....look who's joined the dark side http://twitter.com/tegansara"

Correction:

Amanda sent a tweet saying that Tegan corrected her and that the one that i posted and that she posted was indeed a fansite this is Tegan's actual page:
http://twitter.com/teganrainquin :!:

Also if you like Jimmy Eat World and/or Coldplay you HAVE to follow these dudes..they update constantly!!! and its pretty funny most of the time...especially JEW (omg! totally didn't see "JEW" coming when I did that!)

http://twitter.com/jimmyeatworld

http://twitter.com/coldplay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I know how I was born and I know that I have no choice. I know it may not show on the color of my skin, but I know it’s in my heart and in my soul."-Sara Quin

Ah, Twitter.

Submitted by

Annie (93 posts)

on May 29, 2009 - 12:32pm.

How addictive you are! I swore I wouldn't do it. Then I did it. Story of my life.

My Tweet name is in my sig ;)

________________

"C'mere and gimme a cuddle."

Tweet, tweet. Follow my Twitter ramblings @ Dropkickit

Welcome to AfterEllen.com!

by Dorothy Snarker

When you tweet upon a star, sometimes they tweet back