Follow these accounts on Twitter for timely, relevant small-business tech news and tips!

TechCrunch: @techcrunch
Michael Arrington provides a very interesting outsider’s view of the world of tech entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay area. His blog grew to a point where venture capitalists regularly read it to keep up-to-date on the happenings of tech start-ups. When he and his writers began to tweet, it took his small business blog into the mainstream – now at any tech start-up conference, people are reading their tweets as much as they are actually listening to the speakers.

Palo Alto Software: @timberry
Tim Berry has over 4,400 followers, meaning there are a lot of decision makers (read: potential customers) that read his tweets. By following a philosophy of avoiding personal updates in favor of short, economically useful data and industry tidbits, Tim has created a virtual “lead machine” for his small business.

Scobleizer: @scobleizer
In 2004, some said that no one could possibly make $1M a year from blogging. But that’s exactly what Robert Scoble did, using Twitter to take his blog from something static (people read it when they came to it) to a push-platform that notified his followers anytime he had something useful to say about the tech industry. And, as it turned out, he had a lot of useful things to say. A classic example of taking a good blog’s readership to the next level by using unique content and pushing it on Twitter.

SmallBizTechnology.com: @ramonray
There are a lot of websites that try to cover technology from both a user and vendor perspective. Small Biz Technology, however, defined a niche for itself and focused on becoming good at only that “one thing” which made them unique. By only writing about technology as it applies to small business owners, SBT has leveraged its website content to create a Twitter following that is both loyal and, more importantly, full of business owners that have money to spend. Kudos to another great example of taking one’s expertise (even if it’s already on a website) and leveraging Twitter to create an “active subscriber base” with a single focus.

Mashable: @mashable
Who says you can’t make a business talking about Twitter on, um, Twitter? Pete Cashmore has turned his thoughts and practical “training guides” about social media (namely Twitter) into a million-dollar enterprise, acting as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies as well as large media firms on how to leverage social media outlets for advertising and PR. The new Mashable Twitter Guide Book for 2009 may be outdated after this December, but it’s a great example of how teaching others (even teaching people on Twitter how to best make use of Twitter) can make for a real business on the Internet.

BatchBlue: @batchblue
BatchBlue Software was created by a group of IT guys and girls who had experience in programming, web usability and project management. They use Twitter in a unique way that other companies have started to pick up on. Their Twitter account is a communication tool between them and their customers. Server running slow? Send out a tweet letting followers know. Customer having a problem with their software? Post to Twitter and BatchBlue will answer on Twitter. Have a complaint? They welcome Twitter posts so the problem may be addressed quickly. A great side effect is that they have an archived list of bugs and solutions that can help other customers down the road.

DIYMarketers: @DIYMarketers
Marketing firms especially seem to really understand the power of Twitter. Take DIYMarketers, for instance. A group of six people who operate virtually to create quick marketing for their clients, DIYMarketers has built up its Twitter account to more than 4,500 followers. The firm tweets tips and trends in marketing to give good advice to those who are looking for more info. It also tweets links to articles of interest. The company doesn’t post several times a day; rather, it chooses to post only items that back up its ideology on marketing.

Take a moment to check these tweeters out and see what they have to say. A small business can build its Twitter plan with the help of these seven great Twitter accounts. And you might even find a few you want to follow!