I’ll be honest, I was never a Twitter fan. I always thought, “I don’t have the time to sit on Twitter all day and read every single thing someone has to say in under 140 characters.”But then…I became a believer.

I know there just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything we need (and want) to do. However, I have found some great articles and information from Twitter. The best part is that it’s all in one place. It’s a real time saver. I take a few moments sporadically throughout the day to see what new pieces of information I can find. Think of it like a treasure hunt.

So who should you follow when you join? Here are my favorites:

Regulation

FDIC (@FDICgov)

Federal Reserve (@federalreserve)

NCUA (@TheNCUA)

OCC (@USOCC)

General Banking News & Info

BAI (@BAI_Info): BAI serves retail banking providing research, training and coverage in BAI Banking Strategies.

Bank Director (@BankDirector): Tweets the latest news, commentary and insight on all things officer and board-related.

Cbanc Education (@Bankerstuff): Cbanc Network’s Twitter feed that provides education and resources that strengthen today's financial institutions.

CreditUnions.com (@creditunionscom): A valuable resource for all things credit union related.

Blogs/Publications

ABA Banking Journal (@ABAJournal): The journal by the American Bankers Association.

American Banker (@AmerBanker): News coverage, in-depth analysis and commentary on key issues affecting the banking industry.

Banking.com (@bankingdotcom): A banking industry blog providing industry news, trends and the best voices from around the web.

Banking Exchange (@BankingExchange): An experienced team & expert contributors offer quality banking journalism to provide competitive intelligence for bankers.

Bank News Media (@BankNews_Media): BankNews Media is dedicated to serving financial institutions through a wide range of print, digital and online products and services.

Bank Think (@BankThink): American Banker's blog about trends in financial services, plus the Morning Scan, a roundup of each weekday's banking news.

Credit Union Journal (CreditUnionJrnl): The nation's leading provider of news and information for the Credit Union community.

Credit Union Magazine (@cumagazine): Monthly magazine showcasing innovative credit union practices and people, and promoting credit unions’ uniqueness and good works.

Credit Union Times (@CookeonCUs): Tweets by Sarah Snell Cooke, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Credit Union Times and CUTimes.com.

Gonzo Banker (@GonzoBanker): Cornerstone's totally opinionated take on the technologies, vendors, strategies, and anything else they run across in the trenches of the banking industry.

Associations

American Bankers Association (@ABABankers)

Consumer Bankers Association (@ConsumerBankers)

Credit Union National Association (@CUNA)

Financial Managers Society (@FMS_Inc)

Independent Community Bankers Association (@ICBA)

National Association of Federal Credit Unions (@NAFCU)

There are also tons of great community banks, credit unions, and state/regional associations you can follow. You can also follow us at @Plansmith to see what tidbits of information I’m finding and to get the latest scoop on what’s going on at Plansmith.

So what are you waiting for? Get your community bank tweeting!