You see, even I’m writing about it, and I stopped following Stephen Fry’s Twitter account months ago.

He didn’t notice, because I didn’t bother to slag him off and test his incredibly thin skin.

I’m quite surprised that Stephen, who at least gives the impression of being super-intelligent, didn’t realise that building a huge following on the Internet had significant potential for being criticised.

Some people are even nasty.

It’s something that bloggers learned right from the start. Unlike traditional journalists who were fairly exempt from written criticism — most people’s anger burned out once they had to find some paper, a pen, an envelope, a stamp, and the postal address, and then realised that it would take anywhere from a day to a week for the letter to arrive, which might not even be read or reacted to — bloggers have been dealing with trolls, haters, and (gasp) genuine critique for years.

You can develop a thick skin, wimp out and turn comments off, or get out of the blogging game.

You’re even more vulnerable on the takes-three-seconds-to-post-an-insult world of Twitter, except you don’t have to read your @replies.

What my bugbear is: at least in the UK, Stephen Fry seems to have become some kind of celebrity tech god.

He landed the number 4 position in this year’s T3 most influential people in tech list.

Having your photo taken with a new Nokia handset, and being able to boast that you’ve used a lot of PDAs and cellphones in your time, doesn’t really make you an expert.

And anyone can say that they’re annoyed at a web service (Plaxo) after they’ve forgotten to set their privacy controls correctly.

Number FOUR, and you’ve buggered your privacy settings?

I can see the hate email coming now. Fry is a national institution. I just wonder why, when it comes to tech, some people hang on his views. That’s like paying John and Edward to give singing lessons.

One apology: to our international readers who have no idea who these people are.

140 Characters which have become a normal part of life for every geek now also are gathering really fast mainstream coverage and growing faster and faster non-stop.

Obviously I am speaking about Twitter. The Twitter leaderboard has undergone huge changes and tech-celebrities seem drop the rankings and it won’t last long anymore before the tech celebrities will end up where they belong on the Twitter scale of popularity: in oblivion.

I took a look at the geek _real_ celebrities using Twitter at this moment and why, if you should follow them. Obviously there are huge advantages at following an Oscar-winner. Believe me it makes much more fun to make fun of them than poking at blowhard like Scobleizer. ;)

So which geek celebrity uses Twitter today?

Geeks on Twitter

Stephen Fry · @stephenfry

It was obvious that we had to start with the British übernerd, owner of the 2nd Apple computer in Europe, loved by both techies and regular variety fans. Stephen is one of the biggest adepts of Twitter and uses it for everything from his daily walking exercise to announcement of his new man bag.
Stephen Fry’s followership has quintupled in less than 2 months and it seems that he soon will reach #1 and knock off the (then) electoral candidate campaign team of Barack Obama.

Money tweet: Tourette’s, you runty bastard. # (answering the question ‘if you were a patient on House, what disease/ailment/general unpleasantness would you prefer to have? DON’T SAY LUPUS!’)
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 3
Follow-worthy? Definitely. @stephenfry is a Twitter sitcom.

Jonathan Ross · @wossy

The British presentator and movie, Japan and comic geek has been on Twitter since little more than 2 months and is about to break the mark of 100.000 followers. Wossy’s tweetstream is mainly dominated by responses to followers and in the early days he was everyone’s help to find other British celebs on Twitter.
Money-Tweet: Must go to give wife support and make concerned and caring sounds while we try to get her ‘puter fixed. Bye. #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 11
Follow-worthy? No, too much of twoise.

John Cleese · @JohnCleese

John Cleese needs very little intro and if you don’t know him, what are you doing reading here? John Cleese is a real gadget geek btw.
Money-Tweet: some people spout complete twaddle. they could be spouting incomplete twaddle and leaving the remaining twaddle for us. thoughtless! #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 23
Follow-worthy? Obviously. Although his tweets often contain links, it’s John Cleese FTW! And don’t forget the Twitter Movie.

MCHammer · @MCHammer

Every geek mid-thirties will probably remember the Hammer (those who don’t know the Hammer, listen to U Can’t Touch This at last.fm). MC Hammer now also is an investor in a ‘Web2.0′ company DanceJam.
Money-Tweet: Next Life, I roam the Cosmos as an “Invincible” enforcing the statutes of God on the “dark invisible” and traversing upon a melody #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 25
Follow-worthy? Depends. If you’re a fan of the Hammer or DanceJam addict yes. Otherwise not really.

Shaquille O’Neal · @THE_REAL_SHAQ

One could argue whether the Shaq a geek is or not, but his followers know that he is a real nerd! A nerd of txt speak!
Shaquille uses Twitter ,ainly from his phone and enhances a fun dialogue with his followers. He also asks them for advice.
Money-Tweet: Some rumors are planted for a reaction, i dnt react, i act , have u seen kazaam, i kno terrible, lol #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 28
Follow-worthy? Absolutely. The Shaq is too funny not to follow. here’s another money-Tweet: ‘Ok i admit it i at performance enhancing frosted flakes 2 yrs ago, lol’#.

Dave Matthews · @DaveJMatthews

Another music nerd in our list is Dave Matthews from, yes the Dave Matthews Band. With more than 10 tweets/day on average Dave Matthews certainly is one of the more active celebrities on Twitter, even though the majority of these are answers to his followers.
Money-Tweet: it is great to be recognized. I would be lying if I said getting a Grammy didn’t feel good. But the best is so subjective. #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 38
Follow-worthy? A must for fans otherwise too much twoise.

Ashton Kutcher · @aplusk

The reason why Ashton Kutcher made our list is because he majored in biochemical engineering. Ashton often has cosy chitterpatter sessions with Demi Moore (@mrskutcher) on Twitter. Sometimes he even surprises with the odd psychological statement.
Money-Tweet: is it odd that it’s illegal for people to urinate outdoors but not illegal for dogs? why do dogs get to have all the fun? #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 48
Follow-worthy? Meh.

John Hodgman · @hodgman

Many will think who the frak is John Hodgman, but if I tell you ‘I’m a PC’ from then you all say ‘Aaahhh!’.
Hodgman is not only actor in the popular ‘Get a Mac’ ads from Apple but also a genuine BSG nerd (He appeared in last night;’s episode ‘No Exit’ – Oops it has not aired in the UK yet :S) and has written many satire and appeared several times on TV. He also is the starter/creator of the internet hobo meme.

Money-Tweet: Silver said in 4 words what some people are currently taking 18 minutes of flash powerpoint to say: The predictable is designable. #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 65
Follow-worthy? If you’re a Mac-head it is obligatory to follow @hodgman.

Sheldon Cooper, PhD · @sheldoncooper

Sheldon Cooper, PhD is *THE* Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon is an übernerd and if you understand all his jokes, you are reading the correct site.
Sheldon is on Twitter exactly as he is in the series: snarky, sarcastic and ad rem.
Money-Tweet: I will NOT join you on Blip.fm and it is NOT like Twitter for music. #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 2306
Follow-worthy? Following @sheldoncooper is a must!.

Agent M · @Agent_M

Agent M is a Marvel writer, editor and blogger. His Twitter popularity has shown tenfold growth over the last month, also helped by a give-away of Marvel items some weeks ago.
Agent M is a very active Tweep with on many days more than 100 tweets.
Money-Tweet: Caught up on the Office…and wine…and now very sleepy. Time to pass out. #
Twitterholic rank on 02/15/2008: 49
Follow-worthy? Following Agent M would be compulsory for every geek if it weren’t for the incredible twoise Agent M creates.

Honorable Mentions

• @michael_phelps: Swim and pott nerd;
• @algore: he of ‘I have invented the internet’ fame and user of 3 30″ Mac screens on his desk. Co-owner of Current.com;
• @freddurst: Another music nerd. Leader of Limp Bizkit.

Obviously you should also follow Forever Geek on Twitter. :)