Since everyone and their mother is on Twitter, including Ashton Kutcher and Sean “Diddy” Combs (both of which have turned a tool for the masses to use into “celebritwity” much to my dismay)  explaining Twitter and trying to understand why it’s so popular is a moot point -  plus there are so many other blog posts and articles who have done a better job doing all that than I ever could. Still, despite it’s massive popularity, there are those who “don’t get Twitter” and feel that it’s just a waste of time, to which I say, “Puck you, sir” as famously declared by Jonah Takalua from the ingenious series, “Summer Heights High.”

What’s not to get? You are allowed 140 characters to tell the world ANYTHING you want. All you have to do is take two minutes to register. You don’t have to buy a domain, or start a blog, hell, you don’t even have to think too hard. Why wouldn’t someone embrace that? Unless they don’t have anything to say, which I guess, is the case for a lot of people.  I cannot tell you how many amazing people I have come into contact with all because of Twitter and how much I’ve learned as well. I mean, how else would I be able to follow editors of the New York Times, writers from all over the world, mixed in with my favorite bloggers and quasi-celebrities in the same stream? Twitter is not something to be scoffed at, as a recent article in the New York Times by Virginia Heffernan, suggests. Although judging by the fact that she’s displayed quite a bit of hatred for the iPhone ( a device which has become a truly integral part of my life), I’m not surprised.

But I digress.

Let’s move on to what this post is really about, which is essential Twitter follows those who live in or are thinking about moving to Los Angeles. Perhaps over time, I can start to consistently write about what the best Twitter follows are according to different categories  like food, writing and the like, because let’s face it, this 140 character virtual soap box is not going away anytime soon.

Now more than ever, we live in such a fast paced world, and I don’t know about you, but I find it a bit difficult to get all the news that fit to print (or post, or podcast, you get the idea) along with having lively discussions with others on interesting and important topics every single day.  Twitter allows you to do all of this, all on one site. You can thank the creators later.

• @LATimescitydesk- The home of all things L.A as far as L.A Times coverage is concerned, the LATimescitydesk  is spear headed by Nita Lelyveld, the Los Angeles Times metro assignment editor, where she hand-selects updates to push to your feed every day. Recent tweets have included: “More heat records likely to be broken today. But try not to sweat it too much. Relief is in sight. http://tr.im/jhfC” and “The bomb squad is out at 1st and Main downtown. Suspicious package.”LATimescitydesk responds to tweets and gives you a personal look into how the reporters and editors of the L.A. Times operate. Example: After the paper won a Pulitzer Prize for their wildefire coverage last summer, this tweet went out: “Truth be told, we drank Prosecco today, not champagne — but honestly, I’d rather we spend what money we have on stories, not parties.”

• @LAWeekly – L.A Weekly just excudes cool, so there’s no reason why their Twitter feed should be any different. Bringing you the best in news, food, music and culture, LA Weekly keeps you up to date on the obscure “Happy 4/20 all. This day in photos, 1970: Roman Polanski on his way to court for hearing on rape charges http://poprl.com/1XYC” to the interesting “Numero Uno supermarket founder and president George Torres convicted today of racketeering, solicitation of murder http://poprl.com/1YYF“

• @SoCalConnected - KCET’s So Cal Connected is an amazing Los Angeles gem, and I’m not just saying that because I used to intern at KCET. They bring you news from all corners of this vast city that you probably couldn’t have found anywhere else, at least not as indepthly any way. Follow them to keep up to date on stories that make you think and want more. Recent tweets include “in case you missed it: SoCal’s Val Zavala takes a look at the “un-banked” – http://ow.ly/37cj – “300K households in LA do not use banks. ” and “KCET Local blogger Ophelia Chong ponders the meaning of a facebook reunion – ‘Reconnecting is also about letting go” – http://is.gd/rCcT‘”

• @LAist - Perhaps the best Los Angeles blog about there, LAist keeps you up to breast of great stories that news organizations don’t have the space, resources or time for. It’s the first place I check for ultimate breaking Los Angeles news, whether it’s a car chase or an earthquake – that’s the beauty of blogging and self-publishing on the internet, news really becomes “instant.”

• @trafficla - If you spend as much time on the Los Angeles freeway system as I do, trafficla should be your next best friend. This useful Twitter page tells you what accidents are on which freeways at all times, street closures and if there are any major incidents like fires or lane block offs on the freeway. For me, traffic is in many ways tolerable at this point, but I still hate that element of surprise, and trafficla does a great job of preparing me for what I’m about to face.

• @abc7 - The Twitter sister to ABC 7 Eyewitness News, abc7 is an amazing resource for up to the minute information about all that’s happening around L.A. Abc7 also covers most of Southern California, so you get a well-rounded sense of all that’s happening in the area you live in. Recent tweets: “Josue Luna, husband of woman arrested in hit-and-run death of USC student Adrianna Bachan, was arrested Friday. abc7.com” and “RECALL: 3-oz. packages of World Famous Gourmet Nutty Nanners Frozen Bananas recalled over salmonella concerns – http://tinyurl.com/copunr“