We know our readers can’t get enough of the people behind the “@.” So here are five Arizona celebs who have us glued to Twitter.
Name: AJ Colores (@AJColores)
Followers: 60,121
Following: 17,175
Number of Tweets: 22,668
Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter? @Kanyewest and @LilbtheBASEDgod.
Who do you wish was following you on Twitter? @haydenpanettier and @DonaldGlover.Kanye, too.
Why did you start Tweeting? Just for fun. Myspace was dying and people were talking about Twitter being the new big thing. So I got on, and started talking crazy—and here we are now.
What do you Tweet about? My daily life. I’m always checking in with Foursquare, posting pictures with Instagram, and posting my videos when I make them. I also try to tweet a lot of positive things and a generally positive outlook on life,even when situations are bad. A lot of people in the world haven't had the advantages I have had so I always try to keep things light-hearted and grateful. Try and bring some light into people’s worlds.
What will you never Tweet about? Negativity. We all have friends on Twitter or Facebook who constantly post about all the horrible things that happen to them or why the world is against them. Or just mean stuff in general. I’m not about any of that at all and try to keep it away from me as much as possible.
Where is the strangest place you have Tweeted from? The top floor of an abandoned haunted building in Downtown Phoenix. I didn't even have any service but could still tweet #spooky.
How do you choose who you're going to follow? Chaos Theory: whoever, whenever, wherever. Everyone’s got something to say. And the people who tweet what I like to see, I’ll place them in lists that I follow more closely.
iPhone or BlackBerry? iPhone.
Name: Carey Peña (@CareyPenaTV)
Followers: 13,030
Following: 12,450
Number of Tweets: 8,200
Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter? I follow different people for different reasons. I have to say the Daily Show sends out some entertaining tweets. Senator McCain is pretty good, too. I think he’s learned a lot from his daughter who is frequently on Twitter speaking her mind.
Who do you wish was following you on Twitter? Key politicians so I could DM them and cut to the chase: 140 characters – what’s really going on.
Why did you start Tweeting? The more people you know, the more interesting life is.
What do you Tweet about? I try to tweet stuff that matters: whatever is going on in Arizona, nationally or around the world. But I’m also obsessed with fashion, food and travel so I tweet that stuff, too. And I am one of those people who actually enjoys when people tweet pictures of their food so long as it’s not half-eaten.
What will you never Tweet about? I don’t tweet or RT negative.
Where is the strangest place you have Tweeted from? I often tweet while getting a pedicure. Not sure if that’s strange. To me it’s more like multi-tasking.
How do you choose who you’re going to follow? I follow people who are active, engaged and have something to say.
iPhone or BlackBerry? iPhone.
Name: Javier Soto (@JavierSotoTV)
Followers: 4,787
Following: 1,275
Number of Tweets: 14,588
Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter? @Y_U_NOOO.
Who do you wish was following you on Twitter? Ali Velshi from CNN.
Why did you start Tweeting? Because @CareyPenaTV told me “all the cool people were doing it.” Honestly. she was the one who turned me onto it and said it was an important tool to reach viewers and a great new platform to deliver news.
What do you Tweet about? Everything! Mostly news but it’s also a great to just have a conversation with different people you wouldn’t normally be in contact with.
What will you never Tweet about? Hmmm, good question. I guess it’s all a case by case basis but I will never tweet anything with nudity or profanity.
Where is the strangest place you have Tweeted from? I once tweeted from a C-110 about 10,000 feet in the air with the Navy Seals getting ready to jump during Navy Week.
How do you choose who you’re going to follow? What I typically do is go through those following me and check their bios, followers and, most importantly, the number of tweets. I want to follow people who have something to add to the conversation. Too many people get on Twitter and don’t interact. If that’s the case, they will never get anything out of it.
iPhone or BlackBerry? iPhone.
Name: Johnjay Van Es (@johnjayvanes)
Followers: 35,000
Following: 1,700
Number of Tweets: 23,000
Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter? I’m a big fan of @johnjayandrich because our producer NEVER tells me what’s going on our show! If I ask him who we have on or where a certain video is he says “Read our Twitter feed!”
Who do you wish was following you on Twitter? Easy answer: Ashton Kutcher, Larry Fitzgerald and Joel Osteen.
Why did you start Tweeting? My partner Rich (@richberra) told me about it years ago and said it was the next big thing. I started tweeting before I even had a Facebook.
What do you Tweet about? I try to help people with charities, church events and anything that helps people and pets. My life--literally, my everyday life. I share my life on air.Once I get off, the air the stories continue. I’m just glad people care.
What will you never Tweet about? Probably politics. There’s not much I won’t tweet about.
Where is the strangest place you have Tweeted from? My mother’s funeral (I think I was tweeting to keep my mind off of what was going on). I’ve tweeted from the bathroom, a porta-john, the gym, church, my sons’ school, getting laser hair removal, getting a colonic, getting a shot at the doctor’s, getting a prostate exam. Everywhere!
How do you choose who you’re going to follow? I follow everyone that asks me to follow them, I also follow my friends, and general people that I think are cool.
iPhone or BlackBerry? 100 percent Blackberry!
Name:Tram Mai (@tram_mai)
Followers: 7,109
Following: 3,056
Number of Tweets: 2,951
Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter? That’s tough. I have a lot of favorites! I love following TV broadcasters, celebs and chefs. I also get a kick out of Overheard Newsroom. It captures the best overheard comments in any newsroom…yikes!
Who do you wish was following you on Twitter? TV Broadcasters (Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Brian Williams, Barbara Walters), any celebs, and chefs (Racheal Ray, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, Giada de Laurentiis, Paula Deen).
Why did you start Tweeting? Honestly, because 12 News encouraged us to engage with our viewers through social media. Once I started tweeting, I was addicted. I still love tweeting. It’s short and sweet, and I can do it as many times as I want to throughout the day. I’ve even gotten numerous story ideas through twitter too!
What do you Tweet about? Pictures of my dogs, what I’m eating, what I’m doing, questions to pick people’s brains on issues, hot topics, or what they plan to do on the weekends
What will you never Tweet about? My views on politics or religion, if I’m having a bad day, or anything negative
Where is the strangest place you have Tweeted from? I don’t think I’ve ever tweeted from a strange place. I’ll tell you where I won’t tweet from or even use the phone in: the bathroom. Ewww!
How do you choose who you’re going to follow? Usually if they’re news-related or food-related, or just plain interesting to me
iPhone or BlackBerry? iPhone.
