Social TV: The Top 30 Celebrities to Follow On Twitter

What makes a celebrity follow-worthy on Twitter? For one thing, we like people who tweet for themselves. If we wanted to hear from someone's publicist or assistant, well... let's be honest: we don't really want to hear from someone's publicist or assistant. Shameless self-promotion is expected, but the less overt, the better. Here's a good example: "So i know you wanna see me juggle 4 awesome, opinionated ladies at the same time. Tune in to watch me co-host 'The View' today!" @JesseTyleFerguson tweeted on Tuesday.

We know the celebrity Twitterverse can be a bit overwhelming, so we've narrowed down a list of our favorites — consider this an update to the last one we put together here. These people are funny, candid, responsive to their fans, and keep self-promotion to a minimum. They engage us by getting into friendly-spats with other celebs (a la @JoelMcHale and @Snooki), and tweeting behind-the-scenes photos, as @FelicityHuffman did recently. Check out our list, complete with sample tweets, and be sure to share your own favorites in the comments.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), @JesseTyler: "Lady to me: "You look very familiar in the face". Me to Lady: "Oh, we'll I am on TV". Lady to me: "No, that's not it"

Simon Cowell (The X Factor), @SimonCowell: "Maybe the winner of @TheXFactorUSA this yr should compete with winner of The Voice & Idol in a super final. Just a thought. I'd be up for it"

Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), @ZooeyDeschanel: "Hey east coast! These ladies are on @newgirlonfox in 30 minutes! http://instagr.am/p/mrlUe/"

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) @JasonSegel: "Sometimes work is strange. http://pic.twitter.com/YdVJ0Dd2"

Whitney Cummings (Whitney), @WhitneyCummings: Before you marry a person you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they truly are"

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Chris Gorham (Covert Affairs), @Chris_Gorham: "I can't show you everything, but I can show you this! #SecretCovertAffairsPhotoShoot http://say.ly/kzV1suZ"

Kristin Chenoweth (GCB), @KChenoweth: "Morning people scare me."

Mindy Kaling (The Office), @mindykaling: "I'm not wishing Beyonce happy birthday on twitter because I am wishing it to her in person on our yacht we share because we're close friends"

Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog), @FeliciaDay: "Whenever I'm paralyzed about making a big decision, I ask myself, 'What is the story I want to tell with my life?' Makes it easier."

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Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), @ChelseaHandler: "Tonight is probably the funniest episode of chelsea lately we've ever done, and I don't even like the show."

Chris Pratt (Parks and Rec), @PrattPrattPratt: "All New Parks and Recreation tonight at 8:30 on NBC! Lady Gaga Guest Stars!!! (she doesn't) But Kim Kardashian does!!! (Also doesn't)"

Blake Shelton (The Voice), @BlakeShelton: "I'm so drunk right now I just walked into Canadian customs and shouted "Why y'all checkin' me?! Ur the ones with a pot leaf on your flag!!"

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Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), @FelicityHuffman: "Shooting flashbacks today.20 years,15, and 10. Lets see what magic hair and makeup can whip up! Happy Tuesday flicksters."

Nathan Fillion (Castle), @NathanFillion: "Dear Weekend, Big fan of your work. Anytime you want to put in some overtime, I'm all for it. Nathan"

Aziz Ansari (Parks and Rec), @AzizAnsari: "Just heard back from my agent did NOT get the part of 'Little Boy That Sings the Star Spangled Banner' in The Dark Knight Rises."

Josh Charles (The Good Wife), @MrJoshCharles: "If you don't watch #TheGoodWife tomorrow you'll make my puppy #Zeus cry. Don't be that person! Tomorrow night at 9pm! http://pic.twitter.com/x6wRrNwi"

Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), @JimmyKimmel: "congratulations to ME on being the first ever to hit a BILLION followers! @jimmykimmel !!! oops... apparently, a billion has another zero. disregard."

Josh Malina (The West Wing), @JoshMalina: "Grammy Newsbreak! Ice-T and The Lemonheads to form supergroup, 'Arnold Palmer.'"

Joel McHale (Community), @JoelMcHale: "I saw a woman with a huge chest tattoo that read 'Only God Can Judge Me'. Cool, but I've already gone ahead & done some prelim work."

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Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), @EricStonestreet: "Ever wonder what a Modern Family table read looks like? http://plixi.com/p/83044280"

Chris Colfer (Glee), @ChrisColfer: "I'm so glad to have finally reached the Chihuahua demographic!!! @baytht: @chriscolfer Check out your doggy fan!! http://youtu.be/0UN1AzdldBg"

Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), @PattonOswalt: "I...can't believe it's over. Oh God, it's really over. Need more scotch. See you guys next year. #DowntonPBS"

Jeff Probst (Survivor), @JeffProbst: "You good with Sizzler? RT @lyndzzz: @JeffProbst i think u should take me out 4 Valentines Day.."

Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), @TheEllenShow: "Why did the ghost go to the bar? For the boos. #ClassicJokeMonday"

Zachary Levi (Chuck), @ZacharyLevi: "Suiting up for the last time. #nerdherdforlife http://pic.twitter.com/sYESAEq5"

Daniel Tosh (Tosh.0), @DanielTosh: "in my experience i have found that the mo money you have, the mo manageable yo problems tend to be."

Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), @PatrickDempsey: "Lion on the show today http://pic.twitter.com/JVHf00vX"

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), @ActuallyNPH: "Here's a pic of the family in costume: http://t.co/1nElA9PH"

Pauley Perrette (NCIS), @PauleyP: "Dreamt I had a @SteveMartinToGo bobblehead in an elf suit! If I DID I'd put it with my @BarackObama & Abby! http://twitpic.com/6of087"

Ricky Gervais (The Office), @RickyGervais: If I had an award for every time the Daily Mail said my career was over, I'd...oh wait...hold on.. Ha ha http://t.co/cQy5LB5h"

Do you agree with our list? Who are your favorite celebrities to follow on Twitter?