Take professional athletes (please) -- narcissistic, shallow, dim-witted, immature ... and that's just Terrell Owens.
How about politicians? Self-serving, two-faced, tone-deaf regardless of party affiliation.
And celebrities from Ashton Kutcher to the Jersey Shore crowd, not to mention various Kardashians, set the bar ever lower on a daily basis.
That's why it's important to share with your friends the ones who get it right. The #FF movement has kind of petered out, so I try to periodically share my favorites with my followers. As 2011 comes to a close, here are 10 artists who used Twitter as a canvas to make the world -- or at least my little corner of it -- a bit brighter this year.
10. Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch), media columnist for Sports Illustrated, always has insightful commentary on the media, stirs the pot when necessary, keeps ESPN on its toes.
9. Dave St. Peter (@TwinsPrez), front-office stalwart at Target Field. How many team executives publicly engage fans on the issues? This guy does, and Twins fans appreciate it.
8. Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur), Canadian sports columnist. An enjoyable mix of sports, humor, politics and pop culture with a decidedly north-of-the-border bent.
7. Neko Case (@NekoCase) and Kelly Hogan (@hoganhere), the two musicians I'd most want to have a beer with. (I actually have but I'd want to again.) Their wacky Twitter hijinks, often served up in multi-tweet conversations, never fail to entertain.
6. Dana Wessel (@DanaWessel), local sportswriter, radio producer and man about town. Always amusing off-beat observations on life and Rocky movies.
5. Karl Welzein (@DadBoner), a great fake (?) account from a Michigan dad who's a big fan of bold flavors, cold ones, and always living life to the fullest, you guys. Just an absurdly entertaining bit of performance art.
4. David Brauer (@dbrauer), local media raconteur and writer at MinnPost.com. Keeps me apprised on important news in politics, the media, and the politics of media. Fellow South Minneapolitan.
3. Ray Ratto (@RattoCSN), San Francisco-based sports columnist. Long one of my favorites, this wry curmudgeon's wit transfers perfectly to the new medium. Toys with fans until they tie themselves in knots. Never lets local teams get too full of themselves.
2. Tom Linnemann (@Tom_Linnemann), college football legend, Target executive, world traveler. Pretty much kills it from all four corners of the earth.
1. Old Hoss Radbourn (@OldHossRadbourn), 19th-century Hall of Fame pitcher who tweets from beyond the grave, offering brilliant observations on the nature of today's athletes and reminiscing on his dead-ball era days of debauchery, womanizing and winning 59 games in a season.
