These people are awesome and I am sorry that I haven’t given them a shoutout sooner. They are rockstars in my eyes and you should totally check them out. Not in that way, well, maybe in that way. If you want it to be in that way. I’m sure some of these people are single and could use a good checking out. Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I’m going to move on from this point and get to the #FollowFridaying. (By the way, that is totally a verb).

@jakrose: Bio: Where we’re going, we don’t need roads… - Website: http://jasonkeath.com/

Jason Keath is such a rockstar that the level of his rockstarness should almost be illegal. He is a social media man, entrepreneur, community engager, blogger, speaker, and creator of SOCIAL FRESH (http://socialfresh.com/). Social Fresh (and Jason) brings amazing speakers, facilitates incredible conversations, and gets people together to collaborate and learn from each other. His content is solid and consistent. Oh, and he works his butt off.

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@sarkatbur: Bio: My joys of southern living as a PR/marketing professional include family, friends, music, laughter, fashion, sports and a black lab. - Website: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahburris

I first met Sarah Burris at a #TLWT (Triangle Ladies Who Tweetup) and she was such a great person to talk to. I didn’t know very many people when I first arrived and she immediately started talking to me and we got along really well. Since then I have been following her on Twitter and she is one of the most engaged people I follow. She retweets awesome content, is a conversationalist, engages in the space, and creates great stuff of her own. She adds a personal touch to everything which I think is awesome.

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@ElizabethPW: Bio: Elizabeth Potts Weinstein: Speaker of Truth. Lover of Passion. Video Blogging Addict. Tweetup Connoisseur. People Loving Introvert. Truth Evangelist. – Website: http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com/

This woman is easily one of the most inspirational women on Twitter (and, arguably, in the social media space). I read her blog regularly and she is no bullsh*t, in your face, honest, and transparent (even when she doesn’t want to be). She video blogs, she writes, she inspires. This woman rocks and I really hope to meet her someday.

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Tell me: Who are YOU #FollowFriday’ing this week?

Word.

A while ago, back in the day, I did a video blog post about “What is #FollowFriday?” back when #FollowFriday on Twitter was this new and exciting thing. Since then, I think most of us have lost sight about what #FollowFriday really is about.

See this? This is Twitter name vomit.

On Twitter, #FollowFriday is really a way for us to tell our friends and followers who we LOVE on Twitter and, of course, give props to those awesome Twitter rockstars.

Now, all #FollowFriday has become is a bunch of Twitter-name-vomit.

And that’s sad. When you rock out #FollowFriday with a gazillion (I still say that’s a real number) Twitter names, they all become lip-service and get lost in the mix.

How many times do you see a #FollowFriday on Twitter now and actually check out each individual name? I am going to bet that it’s not very often.

So here’s my tip this week: take some extra time with #FollowFriday and say no to name-vomiting. Instead, choose ONE person to give props to in each tweet and tell your followers WHY they are awesome.

Give your followers a reason to follow the people you love.

For example, I gave #FollowFriday props to two of my good friends Beau and Kristen. Here’s my tweet on #FollowFriday for them:

TELL your Followers WHY they're awesome!

Shameless plug? Sure, but the message is short, simple, and tells my followers why these people are awesome. Why not spread your #FollowFriday messages out throughout the day? Even more meaningful, write a blog post giving props to those people you love. That’ll really make them feel awesome and give even more credibility to your suggestions. Try it out this week. I bet you that people will be more likely to listen. Otherwise, it’ll be just a big jumble of names. Ya heard?!

So say NO to #FollowFriday-Twitter-Name-Vomit.

Love your followers and love those you follow and they’ll love you back. Word.

Social Media TIP OF THE WEEK: A Better #FollowFriday from Molly Buckley on Vimeo.

All for now.