WE FOLLOW PEOPLE we love, we follow people we love to hate, we follow people we often agree with, as well as those we never do, we read about those we know well and others we know not at all.

Twitter has opened up a whole new world of conversation between people in different countries, timezones and walks of life. But it has also created a community of Irish people, more connected than ever.

An upcoming awards ceremony hopes to recognise the very best of Twitter and has invited users to nominate their favourite online personalities under 13 different categories.

The inaugural RaboDirect Tweeties 2013 will honour a celebrity, a sports personality, a business person, a news hound, a charity and a television star.

A shortlist will be announced later this month after which tweeters will have their say in choosing the winners. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in The Odeon in Dublin’s city centre on 2 October.

Founded by DigitalTimes.ie editor Stephen Conmy, the event looks to recognise those people who use the micro-blogging site to inspire and inform.

“The idea for the RaboDirect Tweeties came about simply because it has become, in such a short space of time, a far reaching real-time platform for breaking news, entertainment and information sharing. Just as film, TV, radio and print have their award shows, I thought those who use Twitter to inspire and inform should also be recognised,” he said.

What are your thoughts? Who are your favourite tweeters and who do you reckon will be the early frontrunners?

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