Cute illustration by Brandon Reese

Well, here it is: Follow Friday. Or as I should write it, #followfriday or even #ff. If you are new to Twitter, Follow Friday is both a blessing and a curse, because really – the fun doesn’t start until you have enough people you are following to make it feel like a party. So you want to follow good people, and by that I mean real, interactive people, not just the sales blasts masquerading as people.

A typical #followfriday tweet looks like this:

@wordspring: #followfriday @kk @robcottingham @hummingbird604 @mynameiskate @miss604 @awsamuel @trishussey @raincoaster @gillianshaw

Not pretty is it? Nor do you have any idea that these people are very active part-time or full time in Vancouver’s social media scene. We’ve got bloggers, reporters, teachers, software geeks, and actual full-time social media community builders on that list. But how would you know? Are these the best ones? The most “famous” ones? Or just the ones I’ve followed the longest? Nothing there to tell you, except their names.

You can click on a name or two, visit their profiles and see what they have to say. Then decide if they are a good fit for your Twitter stream. But wouldn’t it be easier if you had a little bit of context from the sender?

To that end, and because I live in Victoria BC, where the social media community is beginning to blossom, here is a more full introduction to just 10 of the dozens, even hundreds, of people active on Twitter right here in #yyj (which is just a short, airport-y way of saying Greater Victoria, and not getting it confused with Victoria TX, or the Australian state of Victoria)

Why ten? Because I would be here all week if I tried to make a more comprehensive list. Because 10 people is enough to follow in one shot if you are new, and because I can do 10 different ones next Friday, if I am inspired.

1. @mikevardy – Works at the Victoria Film Festival, is just back from his long-delayed honeymoon, is very funny and creative, and has the good sense to show us all a slightly warped persona of himself – Mike Vardy, the CEO of Effing the Dog and an “eventual productivity expert”.

2. @cpudan – Dan Parks is a transplanted Californian who thinks that Victorians are so laid-back, we are on a par with Hawaiians. His mind works at warp speed, and he comes to morning Tweetups with a hundred new ideas and at least a dozen new apps to try out. Bring a pen and a notepad. This guy shares good stuff. Full of joy, too.

3. @claytonstark – The VP of – hmmm, is it engineering? at Flock’s development office, Clayton is funny, passionate, very very bright, and turning me into a huge fan not only of Flock, but of Clayton Stark

4. @tpholmes – can’t forget my dear friend Paul (not to be confused with my dearly beloved Paul, who stays far far away from Twitter) He is amazingly proactive at learning and spreading about Social Media’s many business uses – see www.paulholmes.ca for details. And together we are boosting the Social Media Club which promotes media literacy, ethical behavour and best practices.

5. @lacouvee – Janis is a force of nature! She is Twitter’s welcoming committee in our city, and loves to connect people and resources. If you want to know where to find an elephant, or ANYTHING else, talk to Janis

6. @gilnamur – I’ve only known Gil on Twitter a week, but love that he is doing the “make the world a better place” thing you see a lot on Twitter… with the important difference that he isn’t just rehashing other people’s stuff. It’s his own wisdom and generosity coming through. Check his blog, www.synaptici.com, for more good stuff.

7. @b_west – Another fella! Really, I’ve made more male friends on Twitter than I have since I was treeplanting with a whole bunch of rugby players in 1984… but I digress. Chris Burdge is the social media mojo behind Suburbia Advertising. He’s been waving the flag for authentic interaction on the corporate web for at least a couple of years longer than most of his clients realize. Now they are starting to wake up and listen. When Chris has something to say, I pay attention, because it is always of value.

8. @vic_toria – By day, she is a hardworking government employee. But Victoria Klassen pushes herself way beyond those cozy publicly-funded walls. She’s running half-marathons, volunteering to teach spin classes at the Y, climbing mountains, or at least mountain-like structures. And that’s just her workout! More important, she is an excellent writer and communicator, and has her finger on the pulse of social media. Follow her, and try to keep up.

9. @yuleheibel - Many people in Victoria have seen her columns on urbanism in Victoria’s Focus magazine. And how many of us even knew there was a field of thought and study on urbanism until Yule returned to her hometown about 5 years ago? Yes, she’s been a prof at Harvard. Yes, her whole family’s brainpower could light a small city for a month. But be neither fooled nor intimidated. Yule and her husband @wernerbahlke (slipped a bonus one in there!) are good listeners, thoughtful conversationalists and humble at heart. And community spirited, too!  Check their amazing Victoria blog aggregator, www.metrocascade.com I’m very glad to know her, and hope to get back to the Ogden Point Open Coffee groups soon. Like, a week Tuesday.

10. @jodie_nodes I’ve only known Jodie Gastell for about a week too, but I sense some major common ground between us. She has given over a whole room in her townhouse to teach blogging, with 10 netbooks and a super business plan. She also has one of the best avatars on Twitter. I’m going over for a tour and a chat next Tuesday, because really – Twitter is just a jumping off point for more extensive conversation and community building where you can do it.

There you are, new-to-Twitter people! I challenge each of you to get blogging on a 10-person sample of your Twitter stream. Tell me when you do it, and I’ll come read it.