The following code uses the SimpleXML extension so it requires PHP5. What it does is search through the XML output of search results for a given user name on Twitter. The version of the code below is set up to bypass Tweets beginning with “@” indicating an @ reply message. This behavior should be simple enough to change if so desired, it should also be easy enough to tweak it to exclude RT: style retweets as well.
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@wardelldesign is currently testing out  Twitter’s @Anywhere view this post at blog.wardelldesign.com to see some of the functionality.  Visit dev.twitter.com to find out how to add it to your own site.

Some of my favorite people to follow on twitter: @adonisLL, @JessicaLaShawn, @mrelevance, @littletechgirl, @KellyOlexa, @mjcarter, @koa, and obviously many more. If I’ve forgotten any one leave a comment below and reply to me on twitter and I’ll give you a shout next time around.

Fill out your bio! First and foremost even if you don’t follow any of the suggestions mentioned here after. You should fill out your 160 character bio.  Don’t try to be too creative or witty, any normally functioning adult knows you can’t completely surmise any individual in 160 characters so here are a few questions you may want to try to answer: What are your passions or interests? What pays the bills? What do you aspire to be? What do you like to do in your free time?  The purpose of this is not to give your life story but to give some indication to potential followers what shared interest you may have and why they may want to follow you, be it for personal or professional networking. If you only intend to use the platform to converse with others who already know you personally then this probably isn’t as important to you, but it seems to me that most people use Twitter as a public networking platform and I personally never follow anyone without some sort of bio information.

Make your profile visually appealing. Add a profile photo and change your background image. The default profile appearance for Twitter isn’t bad but it’s the same one everyone starts off with. If your Bio isn’t enough to entice others to hit the follow button your profile style may give you just the edge you need to persuade them. I just want to go on record here as saying that it’s better to be bland than nausea inducing, so if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body, or don’t know of anyone who can create a decent looking profile for you, then just go with one of the non-default options that Twitter provides. Alternatively there are also websites like twitrbackgrounds.com and twitbacks.com which not only allow you to create your own backgrounds but also “extend” them with photos and additional information about your self such as contact details. Read the rest of How to Win Followers and Influence Tweeters »