Lon S. Cohen is a writer and social media strategist. He is @obilon on Twitter.

Never before in history has it been easier to glean from the knowledge of others who will give it away to you for free. It’s equivalent to getting higher education. I’m talking about Masters level stuff. And it’s all available right there on Twitter. I call the people I follow who contribute above and beyond the basic answer to “what are you doing?” my professors of Twitter.

Many of them don’t even know it and that’s the beauty. There is no course outline, no costly tuition (yet anyway), no declared major, and you can take as many electives as you want. There’s also no hard and fast list of required experience to be my personal Twitter Professor and tenure is non-existent. I do have very simple guidelines I keep in my head when designating my Twitter Professors:

1) RT really smart stuff from the people they follow saving me from sifting through even more of a stream of Tweets. 2) Have insightful Tweets in and of themselves (not just links). 3) Inspire me to engage in conversation with them or with others. 4) Write really great articles/blog posts on subjects I want to learn about or point to interesting articles I would never have read otherwise. 5) Expand my world experience through their stream of Tweets.

Usually, it’s a combination of many things and there is no way to quantify it, there’s no real formula and there’s no one particular Tweet that I can pull from to summarize their contributions. I just feel out the people I like to follow most.

Below are 18 people I follow for a real time education. Please suggest your own Twitter professors in the comments.

Christopher Penn







@cspenn Why he’s my Prof: Like many of the Twitter Professors, he gives information freely for which others might charge an arm and a leg. He provides a daily heads up on what to look out for by analyzing real financial indicators. Because of @cspenn, I know to track the TED spread and the BDI and why. He also gives advice about online marketing. Oh, and he co-founded Podcamp. Courses offered: Finance, Online Marketing Required Reading: christopherspenn.com, The Twitter Power Guide

JOHNABYRNE







@JOHNABYRNE Why he’s my Prof: He really engages people on Twitter, which is admirable for an Editor-in-Chief at a national business magazine’s website. Sure he could have assigned some lackey intern to Twitter all day, but he didn’t. I’d expect nothing less from a self-professed “Digital Journalism Advocate.” I even know the important people he’s HAVING lunch with and what they are going to talk about. He asks for suggestions on questions to ask them. He doesn’t just tell you afterward that they ordered the bisque and it was a little cold. He also gave us a list of all the other BusinessWeek writers that Twitter, which is where I found @shirleybrady and @stevebaker. Courses offered: Business, Finance, Journalism Required Reading: BusinessWeek.com

Jeremiah Owyang







@jowyang Why he’s my Prof: As the Senior Analyst in Social Computing at Forrester Research, @jowyang provides an endless stream of information about that voodoo that we do. Then he tried an experiment and purposely stopped Twittering for 20 days to refocus. Boy did I miss him. I learned that the world won’t blow up if I leave Twitter for 3 weeks, but if it did, I’d have to find out about it with everyone else in the world. He also cuts a mean run as a Salsa dancer. Course Offered: Social Media Web Strategy Required Reading: web-strategist.com/blog

Beth Kanter







@Kanter Why she’s my Prof: When I got my job at a nonprofit (@ALSofGNY) I dove right into Social Media as the primary way to connect with patients, families, caregivers and potential donors. I sought out others to learn how to do it better and @Kanter’s name came up. @Kanter imparts all her wisdom about how nonprofits can benefit from Social Media. Course Offered: Nonprofits 2.0 Required Reading: beth.typepad.com

Ann Handley







@MarketingProfs Why she’s my Prof: Chris Brogan says about Ann: “She's connected to LOTS of great people, so when I see who she's talking about, I pursue and learn more.” Agreed. Ann has the coolest job title in the world as Chief Content Officer. She uses social media to share marketing resources with the crowds, and I’m here picking up the tidbits. Course Offered: Content Marketing Required Reading: annhandley.com, mpdailyfix.com

Chris Brogan







@chrisbrogan Why he’s my Prof: If I left him off the list, I’d get phone calls. The man is always pushing a boundary of New Media whether it’s doing a paid post for Kmart as a trusted blogger and lighting up the blogosphere or telling you why you’re micro-famous, dammit and you’re special so go out and conquer the world, no charge for the moxie. He’s one of the biggest proponents of giving away value to get value that I know. Course Offered: Online Business Communications Required Reading: chrisbrogan.com

Sarah Evans







@PRsarahevans Why she’s my Prof: Founding #journchat alone is enough to make this list, IMHO. She has created a community, fostered it and is committed to making it grow, but brave enough to let it grow on its own. It’s a lesson that, if you love something, set it free – well, you know the rest. No wonder her bio says that philanthropy and volunteerism rank high on her priority list. Courses Offered: Communications, New Media, Community Building. Required Reading: prsarahevans.com, #journchat

Tara “missrogue” Hunt







@missrogue Why she’s my Prof: I didn’t know what a “whuffie” was until I met her. It’s what she calls “the store of social capital that is the currency of the digital world.” This professor has me sitting up straight in the front row and paying attention. I like her sincere style. Hunt specializes in marketing to existing communities but admits that she’s somewhat of a marketing whore (her words) and dedicated consumer. When she’s “handing out whuffie like it's growin' on trees,” you know I’ll be first in line. Courses Offered: Online Community Marketing, Personal Branding Required Reading: horsepigcow.com, Whuffie Factor

Jennifer Leggio







@mediaphyter Why she’s my Prof: Is there ever a time of day that I’m on Twitter and @mediaphyter is not imparting her opinion and knowledge? She blogs and tweets about the crossroads of technology and social media. Whether she’s fighting for or against the media, she usually comes out on top. Courses Offered: Social Media, Technology, Communications Required Reading: blogs.zdnet.com/feeds

Jay Rosen







@jayrosen_nyu Why he’s my Prof: A real life professor at NYU J-School who spends a good amount of time offering his commentary and advice. His linkouts always follow a theme from one side of an argument to another until he’s sure you’ve got the best of what is being said on a subject, then gives a little more. What I really like is that he doesn’t “do lifecasting but mindcasting on Twitter.” Courses Offered: Journalism, New Media. Required Reading: journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink

Laurel Touby







@laureltouby Why she’s my Prof: I don’t think any of my other Twitter Profs go out and live Tweet from conferences and meetings more than @laureltouby. As founder of mediabistro.com, she’s the one who gets me all the info on media, PR and journalism (when it’s not a Monday evening and I’m on #journchat). Her entrepreneurial energy comes through in her feed as she treks around the country attending conferences, meeting people, and making connections. Courses Offered: Media, Media, Media, Networking Required Reading: mediabistro.com

Meryl at Beanstalk







@Meryl333 Why she’s my Prof: What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? Nothing according to @Meryl333. I look to her for reaction to just about everything in current events, which is usually positive and calming. She even shares her Jewish cooking. Sometimes I think I can smell the latkes frying on the stove while she Tweets. Yummy. Good food, good advice and just enough guilt. Courses Offered: Peace, Love and Understanding Required Reading: @Meryl1333

Shel Israel







@shelisrael Why he’s my Prof: His breadth of interest and knowledge may make him the Dean of Twitter. He and I may not see eye to eye on brands on Twitter, but at least he respects my opinion on the matter. I also notice that he’s not immune to chasing an idea down a rat hole just in case there’s something under there, which is why he’s spending his days interviewing the people behind the brands on Twitter for a section in his new book, Twitterville, set to be published this fall. But while you wait you can get a ton of info by following his links to his interviews, which he’s posting on his website. Courses Offered: Social Media, Journalism. Required Reading: redcouch.typepad.com, Twitterville, Naked Conversations

Andrew Maynard







@2020science Why he’s my Prof: Maynard is a “scientist gone over to the dark side” according to his profile, and I am glad he did. He communicates all the good stuff on his blog that you really don’t get everywhere else. Then he adds in his bio, as if it’s a minor thing” “Oh, and am the Science Advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotech.” Super smart guy on Twitter alert. Course Offered: Science Required Reading: 2020science.org

Jeffrey Levy







@levyj413 Why he’s my Prof: He’s a Government 2.0 pro and with a long resume just on his Twitter profile. Watching his Tweets, I learn about Government on the Web, get info on how Government 2.0 is shaping up, and specific links to government websites for a ton of other information. Course Offered: Government 2.0 Required Reading: @levyj413

Chris Heuer







@chrisheuer Why he’s my Prof: Do I need another Social Media professor? Probably not, but I make an exception for Heuer. He promotes a way to bring legitimacy to and awareness of Social Media to the public. He co-founded Social Media Club to bring together like-minded people: You and me. Course Offered: Social Media Required Reading: chrisheuer.com

Brian Stelter







@brianstelter Why he’s my Prof: Stelter offers a smart, critical view of television and media. And if you didn’t guess by now, I likes me some media. He intersperses his Tweets with TV factoids, comments about his workday at the New York Times and links to his articles – a 360 degree view of what it’s like to be a media journalist and blogger with The Gray Lady. Ok I’ll admit it; I’m living vicariously through his Tweets. Course Offered: Media, Journalism Required Reading: tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com

Fern Ellen Cohen







@fec139 Why she’s my Prof: Cohen (no relation) hasn’t posted much yet, but who else is letting you know the interests and experiences of someone with a fatal neurological disease that robs you of your ability to move, breathe and speak and has no treatment and no cure? Yeah. Makes you think, right? Puts things into perspective? That’s what a good Professor does. She’s a former teacher, who used to talk a lot but according to her bio, ALS has forced her to “sit down and shut up.” That did not stop her from communicating and what better way to communicate to the world when you can’t travel far from home or speak aloud than the World Wide Web? Course Offered: How to be both earnest and funny in the face of tragedy Required Reading: fernals.blogspot.com

Help me find more professors

As you can see from my list, there is no lack of people out there Twittering about media, public relations, social networking and journalism. (In fact, there are a tremendous number of Twitter profiles claiming to be Social Media experts, ninjas or demigods.) My regret is that none of the Twitter Profs on my list are in the arts. Plenty are writers, but none are writing fiction. I’m looking for artists that Twitter about their craft while opening other’s eyes to the world of their chosen profession. Or even better, a real university professor twittering about art history, literature, performing or dramatic arts, etc. Are you out there? I’d like to take your class next semester.

More Twitter resources from Mashable:

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, viorika.