When someone like Oprah Winfrey signs up for a service like Twitter, you know the service is starting to get mainstream. 

Still thinking that Twitter is for techies or your kids? Think again.  Lawyers, HR Professionals, and media outlets are all on there. (There’s a great list of 20 Twitterers that lawyers should follow and yet another list here of 736 lawyers.)  It’s basically micro-blogging; writers have only 140 characters or less to get across a message (which as you might be able to tell from this blog is not exceedingly tough for lawyers). It’s quick and fun.

You just need to know where to look.  (For example, you can find me @danielschwartz, as I’ll explain). So, assuming that you are interested in employment law and HR-related topics by reading the blog, I’ll present for you my list of 10 people or companies to follow on Twitter relating to employment law.

("Following" is a concept similar to subscribing to a newspaper; you get access to that person’s "tweets" or messages.)

First, a caveat. Lists are notoriously random and I’m sure that I’ve left a few off — some unintentionally (as I’m sure I’ll find out) and some intentionally (like many HR folks who have compiled their own top ten lists, such as @jessica_lee, @kris_dunn, @sharlyn_lauby, @cincyrecruiter and @hrbartender to name just a few). 

So, feel free to add your Twitter name to the comments section below and do not be offended if your name doesn’t appear; it’s intended as a starting point for conversations not an end.  Note that names on Twitter begin with the ‘@’ symbol. Don’t ask me why; that’s just the way it is.  But if you’re on the web, you can find any of them at twitter.com/[username, without the @].

So, in no particular order, here are ten feeds to get you started.

  1. @TheHRLawyer – Chris McKinney, who also authors the HR Lawyer’s Blog;
  2. @rossrunkel – Ross was one of the first employment law bloggers and his twitter feeds consistently provide useful and concise information related to employment law;
  3. @hirecentrix – Yes, a little more HR-centric, but Karen Mattonen provides information on HR news with several legal-related items;
  4. @manpowerblog – Mark Toth is a newbie to Twitter, but his blog is one of the most entertaining and education sites out there;
  5. @Eric_B_Meyer – Eric has had his pulse on the Employee Free Choice Act, but also sets his sights at being a premium employment law writer for Twitter;
  6.  @davidmellon – Anyone who can be a dad to quadruplets and do ANYTHING else is worth a follow, right?
  7. @Labor_Law – JD Supra provides timely information on a number of labor & employment law topics;
  8. @djillpugh – Despite (or rather, in spite of?) representing employees, Jill provides useful information on employment law trends; in all seriousness, she has some really good material;
  9. @dougcornelius – Doug doesn’t write strictly on employment law issues — his focus is on compliance — but the issues he discusses directly impact employee/employer relationships and dynamics;
  10. @jonhyman – Jon does the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog; while his tweets tend to mirror his blog, they provide a great resource, particularly his Friday recap posts.

I’ve discussed Twitter in some prior posts as well including this one about Twitter in the Workplace.  Again, you can find me at twitter.com/danielschwartz.

Can you suggest any other employment law twitterers to follow? Add them to the list by commenting below and, if things warrant, I’ll do a followup post.