Enter WeFollow, a new Twitter directory and the most recent project of Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg. Rose opted to make the announcement via Digg. Since then it has gained momentum, with over 2,500 followers in less than 24 hours.
The premise is simple: anyone can tweet to @wefollow hashtags that represent what categories they would like to be listed under. WeFollow sees these @replies and then organizes users based on those hashtags. Common hashtags include #blogger, #entrepreneur, and #socialmedia. WeFollow only allows for three hashtags per person, assuring the directory does not become overly cluttered.
The site has a simple and clean interface, making it easy to find Twitter users with similar interests or in similar industries. It lists users based on the number of followers they have, which is not always the best way to organize Twitter users but makes sense nonetheless. It has gained a lot of traction in a short timespan. Several big names have voluntarily joined the directory including companies such as Google and celebrities like Ashton Kutcher. It's important to note that several listings on the directory were added manually, such as The New York Times.
In the end, it does not offer more functionality than other Twitter user directories, but it has already overcome the problem of critical mass (a user directory is useless without a decent number of listed users) and doesn't attempt to bombard the user with dozens of features. With Kevin Rose behind the project, it's going to be a popular directory.
More Twitter resources from Mashable:
- The 10 Users You'll Meet on Twitter
- Find 'Em on Twitter: 15 Twitter Directories Compared