Web Wonder Dave Bushe pointed out this top 50 of Irish Tweeters and, as Dave thought, who would be in a Scottish social media list of such? Well, that made me put on my thinking cap and here’s who I think – in no particular order – are the top Scottish tweeters, but to be awkward I’ve gone for 60 instead of 50.

And just to avoid any accusations of bias, I’m leaving myself (@craigmcgill) off the list and remember Contently Managed runs a PR Tips Twitterfeed.

Just a quick note before we get started – yes, quite a few of these people are in the communication industries – but that makes sense as a lot of these people are of interest to a wide group or are (either as journalists or PRs) responsible for influencing the public and society at large.

(and on the note of media, yes BBC Scotland is on Twitter but I don’t think they use it particularly well – they don’t follow anyone, they don’t engage in conversation. It’s purely a broadcast medium for them, which is a shame as the BBC have some interesting and talented people who could be great tweeters. There are some online to be fair, including the always entertaining anniefmcguire)

The people were picked on a basis of how often they tweet, the quality of tweets, how often they retweet and followers – not the number of followers but who their followers were. After all, anyone can have a high number of spambots following them. Some people were also looked up in online directories just to double check figures, followers and so on.

I’m not going to add explanations for all of them, just every now and then to break up the list. And if there’s anyone you think I’ve missed out, feel free to suggest or add them in the comments section. The comments for some of the tweeters also suggest some others to follow so click the links people!

The list is in no particular order and with that disclaimer, here we go…

Weenick

Nicky Stewart’s website has a name that sounds like mothers’ whisky appreciation society but there’s no denying that Monifeith and the surrounding area are well served by Nicky’s tweets.

Limmy

Limmy (AKA Brian Limond) is hilarious. YMMY if you are not from Glasgow, don’t have a sense of humour or dead. This is the best web page ever (as wellas possibly the most offensive) but fair mention to his Halloween with Darth Vader and Yoda Speaking Clock.

Steven Livingstone

Founder of Valebrity.

Kate Wooding

Quite possibly one of the most polite people in Glasgow.

Ananyah

If you are a foodie and only follow one person on this list, it’s this one.

Mashable

Pete Cashmore set Mashable up and it’s fair to say it wouldn’t have been the succcess it is if he had stayed in Scotland. He’s now in the USA having set up one of the best 2.0 type sites out there, constantly packed with new information. He’s done so well, he even has t-shirts made with his name on it for women to declare undying love for him.

Shaun Milne

No-one’s made a t-shirt for Shaun but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an impact. He’s been dubbed the Roy Greenslade of the Scottish Media scene and that’s probably fairly true. Insightful, thoughtful and probably the best-connected Tweeter on the Scottish media scene.

HEScotland

For all things education-related…

Ross McCulloch

Most things related to charity and Twitter in Scotland go through this hellishly-talented, incredibly online-savvy, all-round nice guy

Maurice/Mo Edu

Kicks a ball for Rangers Football Club. Gets involved online with the fans.

Celtic FC

And for balance – no Partick Thistle aren’t online – Glasgow’s other team, Celtic can be found officially on Twitter here while Celtic Rumours/Celtic Underground can be found here.

Kyle MacRae

Set up one web2.0 company, sold it to a multinational, now doing social media in Glasgow. Does a great presentation on social media.

LittleDishy

A popular humanist who resists the urge to end every tweet with #thereisnogod

Iain Hepburn

As online editor of the Daily Record, Iain has helped bring Scottish journalism into the 21st Century, deservedly winning the inaugral Scottish Digital Journalist of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards in 2009. Along with the likes of Bev Lyons, he’s helped show that Scotland can do digital journalism, websites, podcasts, social media as good as anyone else – and without spending a fortune.

Camera Obscura

These guys follow no-one so technically shouldn’t count but if you look at their tweets, every second one of them is practically talking and having conversations with people, so they sneak on (and there’s not a lot of bands on here anyway). The Whisky Works deserve an honourable mention for branching out past MySpace to reach new fans.

Scott Douglas

Along with Stephen Rafferty, he knows everyone that needs to be known on the East coast and was quick to embrace the opportunities offered by web2.0, turning his news and PR companies into multimedia beasts that put content online – complete with video and tweets – within minutes of sending it to the press and bloggers.

Neil McIntosh

Survived working at The Scotsman and The Guardian to be the European Online Editor of The Wall Street Journal. And one of Scotland’s best commentators on digital matters when he gets the time to do so.

Scottish Football Blog

For those who aren’t one way or the other for the Old Firm, the Scottish Football Blog and Scottish Football Tweets keep them sane.

A Bunch of MPs

Sadly that isn’t a Twitter address, but this post has taken long enough and I can’t think of a polite collective noun for politicians who tweet. Like a lot of digital communications, the Scottish politicians have been really slow to embrace the full opportunities and given how close Scottish politics is, that’s quite surprising. Anyway, amongst those who are active and interesting on Twitter are:

• Eric Joyce
• Jo Swinson
• Tom Harris
• David Mundell
• Angus Robertson
• Patrick Harvie

Ewan McIntosh

One of the first to spot the opportunities of digital in education, Ewan’s now one of the very senior people at Channel 4′s 4iP project.

Craig Hepburn

I don’t think there’s anything Craig doesn’t do…

Ewan Spence

Edinburgh’s premier podcaster. Not only have his Edinburgh Festival podcasts been dubbed better than The Guardian’s, he still finds time to be interesting, fun, hardcore about the Eurovision Song Contest and do other podcasts on rock music and Sony’s PSP. He also did the best unboxing video ever here.

Richard Paterson

Richard Paterson is the Master Blender for Whyte and Mackay, a man passionate about whiskies and that passion has extended online, with a followers list which is the who’s who of the whisky world online. SingleMalt TV have also been very impressive with their online tweeting. Whyte and Mackay also deserve to be on the list for the company’s proactive online approach with numerous blogs and Twitter accounts across brands – and the fact that they donate heavily to the Scottish Twestivals. (disclaimer: Contently Managed has worked with them on online matters.)

Tourscotland

Some great tweets and pics posted from what seems to be a one-man digital tourist board

Andrew McCormick

Deputy editor at REVOLUTION. Interested in digital marketing, media and journalism – you couldn’t NOT have him on the list.

The List

It’s nowhere near as good online as it should be, but it still does a good service and reaches/interacts with nearly 3,000 people.

Flackboy

Brian Baglow is one of the few who actively works to promote the under-promoted Scottish games scene. And also one of the few who truly understands digital media and hasn’t just jumped onto a bandwagon.

Hot Tin Roof

Hot Tin Roof do some interesting things and like Scott Douglas have gotten involved in Twestivals and online work, so no Scottish Twitterati list would be complete without them. Sarah and Chris at the company are smashing people.

Moray Firth Live

There’s more to Scotland than the Central Belt you know…

Pissed Off PR

No one knows who this is – I’ve been accused of it a few times – but if you only followed one PR person on this list, this is the one.

Kate Trussler

Knows her stuff. Was probably – though I’ve never asked – responsible for her company coming onto Twitter.

Red Jotter

Artistic and insightful. Go read the blog.

Murray Cox

Probably the only full-time social media person who lives in Scotland, spends a lot of time in England and has a MBA. Top bloke.

Edinburgh Shopper

Bargains and discounts in Edinburgh.

James Watt/BrewDog

BrewDog are never dull and James Watt probably has the best set of beer-connected followers (and a friendly bunch too). The company is also experimenting in social media with their black lager brand Zeitgeist, which has a very 2.0 web community here and is on Twitter here.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman newspaper – and portal to the paper’s 11 Twitter streams.

Stewart Kirkpatrick

His company may be shy on Twitter but Stewart who, along with Iain Hepburn, is the country’s foremost expert on digital journalism makes good use of tweeting.

Kirsty McAlonan

Why Virgin Media haven’t put her in charge of Social Media is a mystery.

Amanda Jones

Talented as hell.

Gordon Smart

He’s the editor of the Bizarre column for The Sun. How influential do you want?

Phil Adams

Bossman at Blonde, thoroughly decent bloke and typing this has just reminded me I’ve got a longstanding lunch/coffee to have with him.

Richard McKay

Richard – and wife sister Maggie – have a great grasp on Twitter. They use it for fun but also to promote their flooring business McKay Flooring, offering discounts, advice – and getting involved in Twestivals.

Mike Coulter

Mike’s been doing this stuff very well and for a long time and if you are ever about in Edinburgh on a Friday morning, his breakfast morning’s are a must-attend.

4TM Social Media

Because social media isn’t just for the cityfolk you know…

David Petherick

Edinburgh’s digital biographer.

So, who’s been missed out then?