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Thursday, July 9, 2009 , Updated

Get the lowdown: Top 5 Dallas Twitterers

by Sarah Hall

DALLAS — If you don’t have a Twitter account, come out from that hole in the ground. There are people right in your neighborhood who use it daily – by the minute, sometimes –- to share business tips, personal stories, and links to stuff you need to know. And chances are they knew first.

Barring Carrollton-based woot.com, which is edging toward 1 million followers, these five people have attracted more twitterpated fans than anyone else in Dallas. Why is that? Most of them “get it,” while the rest of us are still figuring it out. And they’re twitterholics to the max, meaning that while we put our phones away during dinner, they’re telling us what’s on their plate. Keep in mind that our numbers are accurate at press time -- but quickly increasing by the minute. And now your top five, in reverse order:

icerocket)

* 30,284 followers

* Who is he? Runs a real-time blog search engine called Ice Rocket that searches blogs, the web, news, images, Twitter, and more. He’s from Dallas.

* Fun fact: His blog has a massive amount of information, but Blake adds a personal touch by tweeting random stuff he finds interesting. And generally, we thought it was interesting too.

Funny tweet: “Ed Hardy offices to move into Jackson mansion http://bit.ly/7xR2n is that legal?” (And a fun sidenote: Did you know Michael Jackson leased that gigantic estate?)

* Our 2 cents: He doesn’t post anything besides links to his blog, and we think there should be more to him. But this guy has social media mastered. Beware: If you follow him and click on a link, it won’t take you to the story at hand. It’ll take you to his site where you have to (sort of) search all over again. But when you get to his site, you may never leave.

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<p><strong>#5:Blake Rhodes</strong> (@<a href="http://twitter.com/icerocket">icerocket</a>)</p>

<p>* 30,284 followers</p>

<p><em>* Who is he?</em> Runs a real-time blog search engine called <a href="http://www.icerocket.com">Ice Rocket</a> that searches blogs, the web, news, images, Twitter, and more. He’s from Dallas.</p>

<p><em>* Fun fact</em>: His blog has a massive amount of information, but Blake adds a personal touch by tweeting random stuff he finds interesting. And generally, we thought it was interesting too. </p>

<p><em>Funny tweet</em>: “Ed Hardy offices to move into Jackson mansion <a href="http://bit.ly/7xR2n">http://bit.ly/7xR2n</a> is that legal?” (And a fun sidenote: Did you know Michael Jackson <em>leased</em> that gigantic estate?)</p>

<p><em>* Our 2 cents</em>: He doesn’t post anything besides links to his blog, and we think there should be more to him. But this guy has social media mastered. Beware: If you follow him and click on a link, it won’t take you to the story at hand. It’ll take you to his site where you have to (sort of) search all over again. But when you get to his site, you may never leave.</p>

#5:Blake Rhodes (@icerocket) * 30,284 followers * Who is he? Runs a real-time blog search engine called Ice Rocket that searches blogs, the web, news, images, Twitter, and more. He’s from Dallas. * Fun fact: His blog has a massive amount of information, but Blake adds a personal touch by tweeting random stuff he finds interesting. And generally, we thought it was interesting too. Funny tweet: “Ed Hardy offices to move into Jackson mansion http://bit.ly/7xR2n is that legal?” (And a fun sidenote: Did you know Michael Jackson leased that gigantic estate?) * Our 2 cents: He doesn’t post anything besides links to his blog, and we think there should be more to him. But this guy has social media mastered. Beware: If you follow him and click on a link, it won’t take you to the story at hand. It’ll take you to his site where you have to (sort of) search all over again. But when you get to his site, you may never leave.

AhhPhotography)

* 32,577 followers

* Who is he? From Frisco, and he’s the lead photographer for Ahh! Photography. He photographs seniors, families, weddings, and events in “Frisco, Craig Ranch, DFW.” (Aren’t Frisco and Craig Ranch in DFW already?)

* Fun fact: He’s only received one portrait commission as a direct result of a follow on Twitter. So how does he have so many? Horn says he “tries to keep it light, and not a substitute for conventional advertising.” He instead provides camera tips, free stuff, or funny one-liners “rather than infomercials.”

* Insightful tweet: “It takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night.” (June 24)

* Our 2 cents: Need a photographer? This guy’s a nice guy.

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<p><strong>#4: Peter Horn</strong> (@<a href="http://twitter.com/AhhPhotography">AhhPhotography</a>)</p>

<p>* 32,577 followers</p>

<p><em>* Who is he?</em> From Frisco, and he’s the lead photographer for Ahh! Photography. He photographs seniors, families, weddings, and events in “Frisco, Craig Ranch, DFW.” (Aren’t Frisco and Craig Ranch in DFW already?)</p>

<p><em>* Fun fact</em>: He’s only received one portrait commission as a direct result of a follow on Twitter. So how does he have so many? Horn says he “tries to keep it light, and not a substitute for conventional advertising.” He instead provides camera tips, free stuff, or funny one-liners “rather than infomercials.” </p>

<p><em>* Insightful tweet</em>: “It takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night.” (June 24)</p>

<p><em>* Our 2 cents</em>: Need a photographer? This guy’s a nice guy.</p>

#4: Peter Horn (@AhhPhotography) * 32,577 followers * Who is he? From Frisco, and he’s the lead photographer for Ahh! Photography. He photographs seniors, families, weddings, and events in “Frisco, Craig Ranch, DFW.” (Aren’t Frisco and Craig Ranch in DFW already?) * Fun fact: He’s only received one portrait commission as a direct result of a follow on Twitter. So how does he have so many? Horn says he “tries to keep it light, and not a substitute for conventional advertising.” He instead provides camera tips, free stuff, or funny one-liners “rather than infomercials.” * Insightful tweet: “It takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night.” (June 24) * Our 2 cents: Need a photographer? This guy’s a nice guy.

Jeanmano)

* 32,802 followers

* Who is he? Internet marketing, forex trader, stock trader, salvage seller. He’ll sell you stuff or teach you how to win big, basically. And somehow he never sleeps, because he relentlessly posts, 24 hours a day.

* Not-so-fun fact: Every tweet links you to http://www.infinitydownline.com, promising to make you “sick amounts of money” by turning $25 into a “mega-fortune.”

* Ridiculous tweet: “Ever seen a $25 Bill? How about Hundreds of them?” (July 2)

* Our 2 cents: It seems like a scam. He really got 30K people to follow him?

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</p><strong>#3: Jeff Swartz</strong> (@<a href="http://twitter.com/Jeanmano">Jeanmano</a>)</p>

<p>* 32,802 followers</p>

<p><em>* Who is he?</em> Internet marketing, forex trader, stock trader, salvage seller. He’ll sell you stuff or teach you how to win big, basically. And somehow he never sleeps, because he relentlessly posts, 24 hours a day.</p>

<p><em>* Not-so-fun fact</em>: Every tweet links you to http://www.infinitydownline.com, promising to make you “sick amounts of money” by turning $25 into a “mega-fortune.”</p>

<p><em>* Ridiculous tweet</em>: “Ever seen a $25 Bill? How about Hundreds of them?” (July 2)</p>

<p><em>* Our 2 cents</em>: It seems like a scam. He really got 30K people to follow him?</p>

#3: Jeff Swartz (@Jeanmano) * 32,802 followers * Who is he? Internet marketing, forex trader, stock trader, salvage seller. He’ll sell you stuff or teach you how to win big, basically. And somehow he never sleeps, because he relentlessly posts, 24 hours a day. * Not-so-fun fact: Every tweet links you to http://www.infinitydownline.com, promising to make you “sick amounts of money” by turning $25 into a “mega-fortune.” * Ridiculous tweet: “Ever seen a $25 Bill? How about Hundreds of them?” (July 2) * Our 2 cents: It seems like a scam. He really got 30K people to follow him?

CaliLewis)

* 49,892 followers

* Who is she? “Shiny, Happy Host” of GreekBrief.TV, a daily news show about technology and gadgets. She’s Dallas’ resident expert, and she’s cute and funny. We can totally see why nerdy guys are into her.

* Fun fact: She’s “old” on Twitter. She joined back in 2007, when none of us had heard of it yet. Leave it to her to be ahead of the common folk.

* Funny tweet: “I have ants in my computer!!!” (June 16)

* Our 2 cents: Her tips are great way to learn about new technology – and she’s easy on the eyes and ears! Follow her if you want the lowdown on hot new gadgets.

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<strong>#2: Cali Lewis</strong> (@<a href="http://twitter.com/CaliLewis">CaliLewis</a>)

<p>* 49,892 followers</p>

<p><em>* Who is she?</em> “Shiny, Happy Host” of GreekBrief.TV, a daily news show about technology and gadgets. She’s Dallas’ resident expert, and she’s cute and funny. We can totally see why nerdy guys are into her. </p>

<p><em>* Fun fact</em>: She’s “old” on Twitter. She joined back in 2007, when none of us had heard of it yet. Leave it to her to be ahead of the common folk.</p>

<p><em>* Funny tweet</em>: “I have ants in my computer!!!” (June 16)</p>

<p><em>* Our 2 cents</em>: Her tips are great way to learn about new technology – and she’s easy on the eyes and ears! Follow her if you want the lowdown on hot new gadgets.</p>

Photo credit: geeks2girls.wordpress.com

#2: Cali Lewis (@CaliLewis) * 49,892 followers * Who is she? “Shiny, Happy Host” of GreekBrief.TV, a daily news show about technology and gadgets. She’s Dallas’ resident expert, and she’s cute and funny. We can totally see why nerdy guys are into her. * Fun fact: She’s “old” on Twitter. She joined back in 2007, when none of us had heard of it yet. Leave it to her to be ahead of the common folk. * Funny tweet: “I have ants in my computer!!!” (June 16) * Our 2 cents: Her tips are great way to learn about new technology – and she’s easy on the eyes and ears! Follow her if you want the lowdown on hot new gadgets.

mcuban)

* 79,384 followers

* Who is he? Billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks. (Heard of him?)

* Fun fact: Twitter and Facebook bring more people to his blog than any Google search ever did, according to his site.

* Funny tweet: “Times have changed my 2 yr old wont go to bed until we check her email for her. The terrible 2s – the Email version.” (June 20)

* Our 2 cents: He’s a super high-tech guy, and we love him. And oooh, Mark Cuban’s posting top-secret stuff while also giving us a cute peek into life with his kids? We’ll follow.

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<p><strong>#1: Mark Cuban</strong> (@<a href="http://twitter.com/mcuban">mcuban</a>)</p>

<p>* 79,384 followers</p>

<p><em>* Who is he?</em> Billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks. (Heard of him?)</p>

<p><em>* Fun fact</em>: Twitter and Facebook bring more people to his <a href="http://www.blogmaverick.com">blog</a> than any Google search ever did, according to his site.</p>

<p><em>* Funny tweet</em>: “Times have changed my 2 yr old wont go to bed until we check her email for her. The terrible 2s – the Email version.” (June 20)</p>

<p><em>* Our 2 cents</em>: He’s a super high-tech guy, and we love him. And oooh, Mark Cuban’s posting top-secret stuff while also giving us a cute peek into life with his kids? We’ll follow.</p>

#1: Mark Cuban (@mcuban) * 79,384 followers * Who is he? Billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks. (Heard of him?) * Fun fact: Twitter and Facebook bring more people to his blog than any Google search ever did, according to his site. * Funny tweet: “Times have changed my 2 yr old wont go to bed until we check her email for her. The terrible 2s – the Email version.” (June 20) * Our 2 cents: He’s a super high-tech guy, and we love him. And oooh, Mark Cuban’s posting top-secret stuff while also giving us a cute peek into life with his kids? We’ll follow.

Other interesting Twitterholics

To see a list of the top 100 tweeters in Dallas, click here. Beware: It took some finagling to sort these correctly since the link above only refers to those who say they're from Dallas. We picked a few of our favorites from the top 20 to show you who else in the area has the Twitter bug:

Feeding frenzy: Pegasus Twitter feeds

@pegasusnewsall (RSS feed from the main page)

@pegasusnews (Square Pegs, the Pegasus News blog)

@pegnewsdining

@pegnewsmovies

@pegnewsmusic

@pegnewschat (Comments)

@lostpetfinder

Also, check out our personal Twitter feeds, where many of us also share DFW-area info. You can see a list of Pegasus News staffers here to search on Twitter.

#8: Jonathan Cook

With only three months time on Twitter, Cook has a surprising 28,587 followers. Or maybe it’s not that surprising, seeing as Cook is in a band called Forever the Sickest Kids. The band played July 5 at Warped Tour at the Superpages.com center. Besides his fame, he writes funny tweets -- often about his latest “midnight snack,” but we’re not judging. Case in point: On June 24, Cook tweets, “ok midnight snack is making me sick tonight, I seriously wanna puke, freaking two whole boxes of orange tic tacs & roll of strawberry mentos.” Eww.

#20: David R. Jennings

David didn’t quite make the top 5 and barely made it into the top 20, but he is nevertheless worth following, as proven by his 14,184 loyal followers. He runs a company called The Bauart Creative Services Group, a creative e-media supplier. His services may be interesting and practical to a broad audience, but it’s his quirky tweets that keep us reading. On June 17, Jennings posted, “Hate the Post Office? Think again. For 44 cents they will come to your house and take drunken scrawlings across the country on a plane.” I laughed.

New to Twitter? Learn the lingo.

Twitterati – the glamorous A-List Twitterers everyone wants to follow

Twitosphere – the total community of Twitterers

Tweet – a Twitter submission or reply to someone

Fail Whale – when the Twitter application overloads and a picture of a whale is shown

Twitterfly – being a social butterfly, evidenced by extreme usage of @ signs

Twitterhea – sending too many Twitter messages

Sources: slideshare.net; tweetyourblog.blogspot.com; mashable.com

Methodology

Sarah surfed on Twitterholic.com and made a list of interesting people that were within the top 20 Dallas tweeps. Then she whittled the list down, deleting any companies or organizations so we could just focus on the real people posting. After tracking the number of followers for each person, she conducted a daily update -- mostly by stalking them on their Twitter accounts, on blogs, and on websites. It all came down to the top five and two interesting additions. Start following them if you want to hear more!