Community Chatter: Favorite Instagram, Twitter, and other Social accounts to follow
In 2020 alone, there were approximately 233 million people using some form of social media in the United States, and the average person spends upwards of 2 hours a day viewing, liking, and commenting on social media posts. For many, it is more than just entertainment - social media offers connection to others, a way to find out what is happening in the world, and increasingly, a way to discover, interact with, and support brands and businesses.
If you are new to the Social world, or are simply looking for new ideas and accounts to follow, we have gathered some of our favorite accounts together.
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My Insta feed is a mix of friends and celebrities of course, but it is also where I follow artists for inspiration, various tags for things that I am interested in like knitting or houseplants, and small businesses that I like and want to keep up with.
Some of my favorites are:
Both IBM and Nike are brands I don’t follow but like to check in on periodically to see what they have done lately - they tend to have people/story focused pieces regularly that really show how you can use Social media to build your company brand.
Twitter is where I go for my news and current events, as well as being my main platform when it comes to actually interacting with brands. I don't generally follow brands on Twitter unless I am ride or die with them, so my feed is mostly a mishmash of reporters/news outlets, book publishers like TOR, podcasters like The Rusty Quill or The Try Pod, fun nerdy accounts like Star Trek Without Context, and a lot of hockey. No really, a lot of hockey.
YouTube really came in strong for me in the last year, and I’m pretty sure I have the algorithm completely confused at this point with my micro fixations and random deep dives. (Looking at you, Animal Crossing and Chill) It is my quick escape from everything, and also my go-to for learning how to do things such as my recent foray into raised bed gardening. If you are interested in it, I guarantee someone on YouTube is producing videos about it.
Some of my favorite channels to follow are:
The Financial Diet (Yes, I follow them on 2 different platforms - love the way they segment and target content to the specifics of the platform they are using!)
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My Insta feed is a real potpourri of joy for me, as I’ve somehow learned to balance friends with my favorite popular culture, travel, history, fitness, and (what else) animals. All of it brings me joy and feeds my imagination, health, and intellect, while keeping me in touch with friends & family. Today, I will highlight a few of my favorites across just a few of the categories I enjoy.
As a student of the Italian language, I love traveling to Italy. I particularly enjoy following Insta accounts related to Italy, specifically ancient ruins. Whether I’ve been there or not, the parks where ruins are located usually have an Insta account. Descriptions are written in Italian (or Greek), and if I can’t interpret on my own, I enjoy that there is always an english description provided below the Italian. I also follow associated hashtags, and enjoy looking at photos other people are taking in real time at the ruins.
My favorite ancient ruins & Italian classicism accounts include:
- Pompeii Archaeological Park: https://www.instagram.com/pompeii_parco_archeologico/
- Nuraghe ruins (mysteriously unique to Sardinia, I follow the hashtag) https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/nuraghe/
- Mary Beard is my favorite classicist & author. She has her own Insta account, but doesn’t post to it often. I follow the #MaryBeard hashtag which helps me connect to other people who love her just as much as me: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/marybeard/
When it comes to art, I enjoy following Artists & the people who post their art on their own accounts. One of my very favorite artists is Eric Joyner, who paints Robots & Donuts as they relate to popular culture. I am also a fan of Yoshitomo Nara:
- Eric Joyner: https://www.instagram.com/eric_s_j/
- Eric Joyner’s artwork as posted by other people: #RobotsAndDonuts: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/robotsanddonuts/
- Yoshitomo Nara: https://www.instagram.com/nara_archive/
- Yoshitomo Nara’s artwork as posted by other people with a hashtag: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/yoshitomonara/
A favorite account list from Insta would not be complete without the animal accounts and rescue services I love to follow. Special shoutouts to:
- Farm Sanctuary: https://www.instagram.com/farmsanctuary/
- Cat Town: https://www.instagram.com/cattownoak/
- The Cat Daddy (Jackson Galaxy) https://www.instagram.com/thecatdaddy/
- Beth Stern has fostered and rescued thousands of cats, and always makes me smile: https://www.instagram.com/bethostern/
Lastly, I love space. It is the final frontier, and thanks to Instagram all of the images from the space station, astronauts, telescopes, and satellites are available for our marvel, along with education about the images shared:
- NASA Hubble: https://www.instagram.com/nasahubble/
- International Space Station: https://www.instagram.com/iss/
- NASA: https://www.instagram.com/nasa/
- NASA Astronauts: https://www.instagram.com/nasaastronauts/
When it comes to Twitter, it is hard to nail all of my favorites. I’ve been using Twitter since 2007, and my feed is a widely varied mix of popular culture, and people, places, or things that make me smile. Favorites include:
- George Takei: https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei
- Fandom: https://twitter.com/getFANDOM
- Mary Beard (she Tweets!) https://twitter.com/wmarybeard
While I’ve only provided a smattering of the accounts that keep me piqued, I am grateful for these tools which enable me to explore the world, connect with other people, and gaze at the stars while sitting at home, or wherever I happen to be when I pick up my phone to scroll.
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My Instagram is like a time capsule of my various interests and fascinations throughout the 11 years I’ve had my account. Gaming, food, fitness, art...memes. But, a few accounts endure as my go-to’s when I want quality insta-tainment.
- Chunk the Groundhog https://www.instagram.com/chunk_the_groundhog/
- Devin Elle Kurtz https://www.instagram.com/devinellekurtz/
- Oben365 https://www.instagram.com/oben365/
- That Idaho Life https://www.instagram.com/thatidaholife_/
As a bonus, a local donut shop, Guru Donuts, produces high quality photography of their beautiful donuts every day, and I never get tired of it: https://www.instagram.com/gurudonuts/
I’m almost afraid to admit that I only recently started to appreciate YouTube as a platform to find and follow content rather than just landing there when I clicked a video link somewhere else. So, my subscription list is limited, but I have a few faves:
- Psych2Go https://www.youtube.com/c/Psych2go
- Sarah Beth Yoga https://www.youtube.com/c/sarahbethyoga/
- Dan Vasc https://www.youtube.com/c/DanVasc/
Then, if you’re a TikTok person, I have to recommend my #1 creator there: Nic Cho (Your Korean Dad) (https://www.tiktok.com/@yourkoreandad). It’s wholesome. It’s educational. It’s everything I want on the internet right now.
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Now it's your turn, what accounts do you love and follow? Let us know below.