NEW YORK ( TheStreet ) — There is market-moving power in a tweet. Take the fake tweet on Tuesday that sent markets into the abyss for a few minutes. Someone hacked into the Associated Press’s account and tweeted that Obama was hurt in a White House bombing; the hack was discovered and stocks pulled back up.

So why should you get on Twitter and follow traders, especially those with track records and thousands of followers?

First of all, don’t think, Oh, not another social network to deal with, when I should be following the market! These tweets can help you get more profit and more fun out of trading; here are three good reasons why:

1. Market opportunities happen in real time; and people who tweet about them can deliver the information faster than the news media can.
2. Stocks are constantly changing price and moving, and tweets of comments and opinions act as timely alerts.
3. Expert traders are often humorous and bring fun into what may be a loooong day watching stocks for the right trades. Boredom goes down, while profits go up.

Are you convinced you need to be following a trader now? If so, then out of the hundreds of thousands of traders out there in the Twitterverse, who should you follow? Before I tell you my top 10 traders to watch on Twitter, here are some of the criteria for picking them:

Also see: Salmon: Must Investors Be on Twitter? >>

1. Follow a trader with more than 1,000 followers and who posts actionable stock-alert tweets.
2. Look at his/her last tweet and make sure it was posted within the hour to ensure he/she tweets regularly and often.
3. Watch the stock that was tweeted and see where the trader entered and exited. Over time you will see the power of following a precise, financially savvy expert.

Now here are 10 traders you can follow on Twitter and who have all demonstrated timely and consistent stock picks.

The first is Bryon Franzen (Bryon Franzen @ bkfviking123). He is a full-time trader with thousands of tweets to his name and some truly great trading picks. He tweets less frequently than some, but when he does, the information is valuable. He deserves many more followers.

Craig Heath (Craig Heath @Burns277) is South African born and now a Charlotte, N.C. resident. His skill is in momentum trading. He also gives practical information on stocks he has bought and that he holds for weeks to months. A must-follow for swing traders.

Nathan Michaud (Nathan Michaud @investorslive). Michaud has already posted $10,000 a day in profits. He is the quintessential day trader. Notice his thousands of followers and over 50,000 tweets, including very recent tweets. A very active trader and fun to watch.

Also see: Don’t Get Burned Drinking Fuse with Tiger Woods, Daymond John >>

Mark Lehman (Mark Lehman @markflowchatter) has more than 23 years of experience in the market, and already has been known to release news about stocks before the media. He has a remarkable knack of predicting events for companies before they happen. A must-follow!

Matt Busigin (Matt Busigin @mbusigin). If you are into macroeconomics and classical music, this is your guy. His constant insights into market economic reports help people to really understand them. He has inspired me to become a better economist. Both Bach and Bernanke would be proud of his tweets.

Joe Kunkle (Joe Kunkle @OptionsHawk) is an options expert. He is constantly scanning and trading stocks, figuring out which prices will move by tracking increases in the options traded for the underlying equities. A must-follow for his directional trading ability that allows him to nail many of the moves that produce profits.

Scott Redler (Scott Redler @RedDogT3Live) is a technical analyst. The more you watch him, the better you learn to chart stocks. With over 20,000 tweets and regular updates, he provides stock-charting experience and learning resources that are second to none.

Also see: Thinking of Consolidating Your Credit Cards? Read This First >>

@STT2318 is the watch list king. His tweets are primarily composed of potential plays that may be ready to pop, or tank, during the day he tweets them. Together, these tweets make a great watch list for traders to research further, all from a sound stock-charting starting point.

Paul @Super_Trades. Don’t be put off by the Superman persona. This is a small-cap, low-float, fundamentally sound, stock-picking expert. He can find stocks of legitimate companies that trade up by as much as 300% in a month. Just one example: His latest pick and my favorite was Parametric Sound (PAMT — Get Report ). The stock rocketed from around $9 to $22 within a month.

NYC Trader or @SZAman finds stocks that have momentum and consistently maximizes the profit from trading them. A very active trader with very consistent tweets, he is also a must-follow.

If you’ve followed several traders for a while, create your own lists of the ones that trade using similar styles — the investors, the swing traders, the day traders, and so on. This is important for understanding the approaches behind the styles, and the one that suits you best. Traders using different styles will trade stocks that have different price profiles, so you don’t want to mix it up too much.

Here is a list of traders C Squared Trading follow. including some of the ones we recommend above.

Many active traders online tweet about what they are buying and selling, as well as their opinions about stocks. Following the right traders shortens the learning curve for trading stocks. It can also maximize results.

When two, three, or four of the 50 or so traders you follow tweet the same thing, get ready for a possible trading opportunity. Seeing the stock moves through their eyes can be a big help in earning money in a market that often has more than a few surprises in store!

— Written by Ben Brinneman in Charlotte, NC, owner of C Squared Trading. which teaches how to trade legitimate penny stocks, priced between $2 and $10.

Follow us on for legit, real-time trades here:

At the time of publication, the author held no positions in stocks mentioned, although positions may change at any time.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet’s regular news coverage.

Brinneman and his team have taught hundreds in a one-on-one mentorship setting via Skype or live in Charlotte. C Squared Trading’s mentorship programs are built for those that are serious about learning how to maximize their trading by learning from an expert trader in a live setting.

You can also follow some of their free trades and tips on Twitter. Please visit C Squared Trading for more information on its mentoring program.