A few weeks ago I asked what topics you wanted on EdelmanDigital.com and you responded that you’d like to read more about tools and resources. Starting this week, we’ll be featuring social media tools from contributors around the world.

Today’s tools are to help you find new people on Twitter to follow because once you’ve added your address book contacts (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL) it can be a little daunting to find new people. Sure, Twitter has a “find people” search but it’s really only best if you know the real name of the person you are looking for or if you know their Twitter handle. With the list below you’ll be able to cast a wide net and connect with new people on Twitter.

Follow Finder

Google recently released Follow Finder, a tool that analyzes public social graph information on Twitter and recommends people for you to follow. This tool generates two recommendation lists, “tweeps you might like” and “tweeps with similar followers.” Since this is a new tool it isn’t as robust as some but it does offer some quick Twitter connections.

MrTweet

MrTweet is an automated tool to find new people to follow. Start by allowing access to your Twitter account through MrTweet’s site and in less than 20 minutes you’ll have a unique URL that houses personalized recommendations. MrTweet tells you “influential friends of your network” and “good followers you are not following back.” MrTweet also recommends communities that you might be interested in following. @EdelmanDigital was a member of the social media, public relations, and journalism communities through which I found several people I wasn’t currently following. As you add more people to your Twitter account the MrTweet tool will evolve and will update daily to showcase new recommendations.

WeFollow

WeFollow is an opt-in Twitter directory. After joining the site (through your Twitter account) you select the top 5 categories to best describe your account. @EdelmanDigital would be social media, digital, public relations, agency, and strategy. You can browse through users by city, category, influence, and popularity. With over 30,000 users and hundreds of category tags, you’ll be able to easily find new people within your fields of interest.

Targeted Twitter Communities

Another great way to find new people to follow is by searching for Twitter communities (twibes) or Twitter lists. If you are looking for a journalist or media outlet on Twitter, I’d recommend Muck Rack or Cision’s Journalist Tweets. If you wanted to connect with moms on Twitter TwitterMoms would be the way to go. And if you are looking to find people that love dachshunds you can find that within a Twibes network.

Image credit: Josh Russell