People do searches by hash tag, if you are on twitter and click one of those hash tags, the search will pull up. #tcot is top conservatives on twitter, #tlot is top libertarians on twitter there are a bunch of different occupy ones which is topical today because their people are getting arrested and transported on public buses so they are tweeting (I added Brent's arrest into the mix by applying #OWS and replying to one of their tweets) #p2 is civil libertarian type progressives #p is the ordinary sort of progressives #yal is YAL, #MO is missouri #MOCaucus is self explanatory, etc
In that case it goes not JUST to your followers but to those who are doing those searches.