If you’re rolling around on Twitter every Friday, you’ve probably noticed a trend that started a couple months ago – #followfriday. People recommend favorite Twitterers to their community, thus creating a chain and viral effect on Fridays. It’s a great way to meet new fun folks and has even gone a step further with people creating starter packs for new users. One thing that’s missing, being 140 characters, is that there isn’t always depth on why you should follow those people.

So, what I decided to do was start a little weekly series of Follow Fridays but with a little twist – I’m going to juice it up a bit and suggest great folks to follow, not just for their value on Twitter, but for what they bring to their respective blogging communities. Here you have this Friday the 13th’s Follow Fridays:

Danny Brown

Danny is one of the newest people that I’ve gotten to know this new year. He’s a super-smart Public Relations/Social Media professional who truly loves to connect with folks on Twitter. His blog’s community is no different. Though only launching last year, he’s put out some great content that gets you thinking and participating. While we’re talking about building community, he’s also the founder of the 12for12k Challenge. It’s a great charity fundraiser that utilizes social media to help raise awareness for great causes. Did you need more reason to follow him?

Twitter: @dannybrown | Blog: Danny Brown

Olivier Blanchard

Olivier, a passionate Brand and Marketing Strategist, is one of the brightest people I’ve connected with as of late. His tweets are informative and ones that make you think and want to expand on. I can say this from experience as I’ve piggybacked off his thoughts and into a post of my own. Aside from Twitter, his blog TheBrandBuilder, is a great read that talks about building strong brands through passion and innovation. Being a new reader of his, I can honestly say it’s one of the first feeds I check in my morning Google Reader ritual.

Twitter: @thebrandbuilder | Blog: The BrandBuilder

Shannon Farrell

I’ve known Shannon for a couple years now and can say that she’s one of the most talented graphic designers I know (if you don’t believe me, you’re looking at one of her designs – my blog.) She hasn’t been using Twitter for a long time but since I got her on it last year, she’s realized how great the community is and has become an avid user. She’s always up for conversations about design, freelancing, animals and Italy (had to throw that in there). Upon redesigning her site, she took down the walls and added a blog. She’s relatively new to blogging but knows how to engage and bring value with great resources to the design community. Looking for an awesome designer or just want to chat about puppies, hit Shannon up!

Twitter: @dolceshan | Blog: Shannon Farrell

Lisa Hoffmann

Lisa is another new person I’ve connected with this year through Twitter. She lives & breathes new media but above all, loves conversation. This is one of the reasons it’s been so easy connecting with Lisa and being able to chat with her, whether it be about social media or why we’re cooler for not being at SxSW (we’ll continue to tell ourselves that.) Her blog dives into the realm of new media but presents views that gets your mind churning and the conversation going. If you’re still not convinced she’s a must follow, she’ll make you laugh out loud (seriously.)

Twitter: @lisahoffmann | Blog: New Media Lisa

Mark Hayward

Mark is someone I connected with by stumbling upon his blog. He’s a small business owner that moved down to the Caribbean to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. His self-titled blog highlights his thoughts and ideas on business, social media and life. Chatting with him on Twitter showed me what a down to earth, humble guy he really is. He’s a true conversationalist, as well as a humanitarian; creating the non-profit, Train for Humanity. Definitely a class act and someone to watch out for.

Twitter: @mark_hayward | Blog: Mark Hayward

What are you waiting for? Don’t you have some connecting to do? Hope you enjoy the conversations with these folks as much as I have. Look out for a whole new group next Friday!