For better or worse, Twitter has become a major source for breaking news and thought-provoking discussions on a variety of different topics as the social home to numerous personalities. The trend isn’t unique to a specific industry, as individuals can curate their Twitter feed and establish a niche for themselves in any field of choice.
The technology sector is no exception. Tech news is frequently first reported on Twitter — not to mention networking. With that in mind, here is a roundup (in no particular order) of the top people in the tech industry to follow on Twitter for breaking news, technology trends, and perhaps more importantly, jokes.
Tech titans of industry
Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
Amusingly referring to himself as a “hat salesman” once, Elon Musk’s Twitter account is informative, educational, and entertaining. On Twitter, Musk provides updates about his companies (SpaceX, Boring, and Tesla) while also cracking the occasional joke. Musk also uses Twitter to interact with customers and his followers, which is quite impressive when you consider the fact that more than 20 million people (he literally added probably a million more since the Falcon Heavy launch) follow him.
Bill Gates (@billgates)
He may no longer play a day-to-day role at the company he co-founded and led, but former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates still comments about the tech industry through his Twitter account (don’t expect him to post much about Microsoft, however). And now that his focus is on the foundation that he and his wife lead, Gates often posts about social issues and other important causes. With nearly 50 million Twitter followers — and he is quite active on the network — his views are more relevant now than ever. If you’re looking for something Microsoft-related, you may want to follow current CEO Satya Nadella’s account instead.
Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai)
Google’s influence has moved beyond online search. The company is now a major force in artificial intelligence, mobile software and hardware, and home automation, just to name three of many sectors the company has a hand in. If you want to know more about Google’s many activities, definitely follow its CEO, Sundar Pichai. You also get a small glimpse into his life and interests as well.
Tim Cook (@tim_cook)
Apple CEO Tim Cook keeps his personal life relatively private, so his Twitter account tends to be strictly business. Yes, you will find the predictable Apple news, but you also see a part of his role that isn’t always in the news, like his visits to schools and views on social issues. His posts aren’t just about Apple’s products, but also about areas where the company makes an impact, such as education and health.
Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos)
Like Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos keeps it professional when he tweets. Bezos, however, has been known to crowdsource for ideas and interact with his followers. Bezos may be best known as Amazon’s founder and CEO, but his other ventures include Blue Origin and The Washington Post — two companies he also tweets about.
The tech influencers
Emily Chang (@emilychangtv)
Emily Chang hosts a tech-focused show on Bloomberg. She is the author of B, a recently released book about women in tech. Like the topic of her book, Chang tweets about influential women working in the field, in addition to the tech industry as a whole.
MKBHD (@mkbhd)
MKBHD, aka Marques Brownlee, could be the most influential tech vlogger on YouTube. His videos garner millions of views the instant they’re posted. But he doesn’t use Twitter simply to promote his videos to his 2.7 million followers. You’ll find his thoughts on products, general tech, and other amusing musings.
David Heinemeier Hansson (@dhh)
Commenting on Silicon Valley culture and the tech industry in general, Hansson will provide some thoughtful discourse to your Twitter feed. Hansson is a partner at the software development firm Basecamp and is known as the founder of Ruby on Rails, which is an easy to use web development framework that is used for apps, databases and web pages.
Reshma Saujani (@reshmasaujani)
The founder and CEO of the nonprofit Girls Who Code, whose mission is to get more women involved in computer science, Saujani will add an important aspect to your Twitter feed as she tweets about the under-representation of women in the tech industry. Saujani also encourages young girls to get into STEM programs and provides information for them to do so.
Additional recommendations
Kara Swisher (@KaraSwisher)
The co-founder of the technology news site Recode, Swisher is an experienced tech journalist and tweets about important industry news. Swisher is frequently a guest on talk shows and her tech industry knowledge is among the best in the business.
Christopher Mims (@mims)
Similar to Swisher, Mims reports on and opines about the tech industry for The Wall Street Journal. His Twitter account is filled with news and his opinions about technology trends, and he also frequently interacts with his followers and helps to foster discussion about trends in the tech industry.
David Cohen (@davidcohen)
As the founder and managing partner at the startup accelerator Techstars, Cohen tweets about internet startups and the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the tech industry.
Charles Arthur (@charlesarthur)
Arthur was the tech editor at The Guardian for five years and now works as a freelance journalist in the industry. He is well known for the book Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet, which is focused on the business of the internet and computers.
Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner)
Since he’s the CEO of LinkedIn, Weiner provides updates about the company and their growth. He also frequently tweets about the relationship between tech and business as well as interesting interviews with leaders of both industries.
Benedict Evans (@benedictevans)
A partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Evans has been a mobile analyst and industry pundit for well over 15 years. His Twitter account is filled with commentary about Silicon Valley, coding, and essentially all things related to the tech industry.
Siraj Raval (@sirajraval)
A man of many talents, data scientist, and YouTube star Siraj Raval produces video tutorials aimed at developers who are interested in building artificial intelligence. Raval’s Twitter account does promote his YouTube tutorials, but he also engages with his followers and comments about AI news and trends.
Ajit Pai (@ajitpaifcc)
As the head of the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Pai has been in the news of late due to his dogged pursuit to end Net Neutrality. His Twitter account has recently turned into an endless feed of supporters of his cause. Despite this self-promotion, Pai is an important follow in the tech industry because of his position at the FCC.
Bored Elon Musk (@BoredElonMusk)
As great as Musk is on Twitter, the parody account based on his personality is also worth a follow. Amusing for everyone, even those not interested in the tech industry, Bored Elon Musk pokes fun at innovations and technology trends. The account frequently tweets out hilarious ideas for apps and tech ideas that are just jokes but are so well thought out that they could be real.
SwiftonSecurity (@SwiftonSecurity)
A Taylor Swift-inspired parody account, SwiftonSecurity, will provide a much-needed dose of levity to your Twitter feed. SwiftonSecurity comments about cybersecurity and office IT culture but adds an amusing pop culture twist to “her” tweets.
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