As I’ve mentioned before… One of my favorite ways to keep in touch with my online network is through the microblogging tool called Twitter.  At the beginning of the holiday season I sat down and created my 2009 Men of Twitter Calendar.

Coming up with the list of women has been much… much… much more difficult!

With the holiday tree in the front window and a blanket of snow on the ground today seems like a great time to pass around a tray full of rich connections full helpfulness and light …  It was really difficult to get down to just 12… and I may just slip in a couple of others that would have graced the holiday squares:

 

January

Valerie Gonyea (vgonyea)
Biana Babinsky (bianababinsky)
Jan Tallent (jantallent) 

I may not know where I will spend New Year’s Eve, but I know that the menu for the long football-filled weekend will be infused with the great meals Valerie, Biana and Jan creates… how can you tweet a recipe?  Easy… mix these 5 things, bake this temp J… longer creations do take email… but a wonderful community emerges when you tweet what you are creating for dinner.

Each of these women have amazing business and tweet with humor and community concern… but this holiday season it is their sense of community stew that keeps me warmest. 

February

Karen Swim (karenswim)

Few people can turn a phrase as well as Karen let alone craft so much caring into 140 characters!  I met Karen through online networking groups, but have come to cherish the time we spend ‘chatting’ on the weekends.  A tireless entrepreneur who is a great example of building a strong personal online brand.

March

Lisa Dilg (pprlisa)

Wildly funny and serious (sometimes in the same tweet) Lisa is like a fresh flower peeking out from under the snow.  I have gained many great follows from her suggestions and discovered some great blogs from her retweets.

April

Debrah Micek (CoachDeb)

Deb is a warm breeze blowing in from Hawaii… she helps all her followers embrace the power of online marketing through her myriad roles –   lecturer, blogger, author, radio host… way more titles than I can think of… she is also a member of the twitter puppy club and taught us all the power of networking when she tweeted about her dog eating a box of chocolate and we all learned (thankfully in time) just how dangerous it was.  

May

Beth Kanter (bethkanter)

Debbie C (snax)

Beth and Debbie are amazing forces in the world of online non-profit collaboration.  Beth – in the use of Web 2.0 tools by organizations around the globe.  Debbie – in the needs of the gulf area.  I met Debbie while helping with the 2008 Hurricane Information Center project and have continued to be blow away by the force of hope and help she has brought to sooooo many organizations!

June

Kim Beasley (kimbeasley)

If you are looking for a mid year change to your online business Kim is a great follow.  She is a world class site designer and business transformation expert.  Her tweets are funny and informative… she also runs a great mind mapping group on Facebook that helps both novice and expert organizers of thought.

July

Heather Gardner (Heathergardner)

It’s so easy to gloss through life in the summer.  How often do you read a blog post that encourages you torun NAKED through the sprinkers?  This warm and engaging lady behind a great recruiting blog shares her California adventures in work / family balance while bringing a personal touch to the 2.0 world. Her “Working With a Recruiter 101” post should be required reading for everyone. 

August

Five Husbands (fivehusbands)

I first came across this eternal well of hope and possibility through a comment on a post entitled “Depression Clouds Everything” on Jason Alba’s blog.  Divorce, ending unemployment, worker discrimination, children issues, and the Ohio economy all sprinkle through her tweets.  She has recently found employment again (yippee!) and continues to serve as a great cheerleader and advocate for those struggling to keep on.

September

Irene Koehler (IreneKoehler)

Like the ladies of January Irene is a great food follow, but she also brings the regional current events touch of Karen Swim, along with the recruiting / HR discussions of Heather Gardner…. so she is a great all around follow… but don’t order yet… there’s more to the Ginsu set…  Irene has started a great ‘Can I Help‘ service on twitter (in conjunction with her blog) this year that everyone in the twittersphere should follow…. follow the link for the ‘rules’ and join the hottest new trend in netweaving –> grateful assistance !

October

Susan Beebe (Susanbeebe)

Susan is very active in the PMO (project management office) community and brings color and humor to both Friendfeed and Twitter. With over 20 feeds streaming into her Friendfeed stream (including 3 twitter profiles) she has really optimized her online work flow and is a great professional and personal follow.

November

Barbara Howard (TheRecipeBox)
Sally Witt (DrSallyWitt) 

As the holiday’s approach I find myself reaching multi-task overload.  One of the ways I love to relax is by listening to Barbara and Dr Sally on Blog Talk Radio.  Both ladies send show and blog updates on a regular basis and during these hectic days of fall I would much rather keep up to date by tweet than by RSS.

December

Carol Deckert (caroldeckert)

Carol is an amazing coach, netweaver, and motivator. She is connected across the internet, but her random positive thoughts and todo’s on Twitter are always a spark for action:

I hope that you find this list helpful in building out your network of great follows… but in the spirit of the season of sharing… who do you follow that changes you world in ways you would have never imagined when joining Twitter?