For the past several months Friday has been a popular day for recommending people to add as new followers on Twitter. The idea was the brainchild of Micah Baldwin, and you can read the origins of Follow Friday on Mashable.

Unforunately, like many Twitter memes, what started as a good idea has devolved into a meaningless popularity contest or numbers game. Far too many people just post a long string of names and add the designated hashtag, #followfriday.

If you’re like me, that tactic is completely ineffective. I skip right over a list of names without reading them. In fact, a couple of people have taken it to such extremes–a dozen or so list-only #followfriday tweets in a row–they merited an unfollow. Hey, it’s not about listing all of your followers for fear you’ll leave someone out; I could copy your whole list if I wanted to.

Last week I posed this question:

A number of people agreed with my dislike of follow lists and retweeted my question. Only one person disagreed with me:

But no matter how much I trust you, I’m not going to follow a list of people you recommend unless I know why you recommend them. Here are a few suggestions for making the most out of Follow Friday.

1. Recommend only one or two people per tweet, and say why you follow them. In effect, you are marketing your friends to me. Why would I want to follow them? It’s not just because you like them. Tell me the value they provide that you think would also be meaningful to me.

2. Recommend several people at once, grouped by category, i.e. people who work for or write about non-profits or food; people who are hockey fans; people who share a hobby like knitting; or people who live in a certain city.

3. Even if you follow suggestions 1 and 2, don’t go overboard and think you have to recommend all your friends this week. There’s always next Friday.

Below are my recent Follow Friday recommendations:

Very talented on keyboards/vocals: @DietrichSchmidt w/ @TheArsSupernova. Has MBA, works for Deloitte; but music his passion. #followfriday

Gifted artists who also write: @susanreynolds and @mousewords. Another artist whose work I admire is Stephen Harlow, @p0ps. #followfriday

For inspiration and powerful writing in simple words, @jnswanson. Also a man of faith and integrity. #followfriday

Would be professional singers if they could make a living at it: @kamihuyse and @lauriereece. Both have gorgeous voices. #followfriday

I have enjoyed tag-teaming presentations w/ both @SheilaS and @epodcaster. Fun when you work well w/ people. 2 smart women for #followfriday

#followfriday @MuthaMae for giggles, drama, adventure w/ toddlers in tow. Yes, a midwestern housewife can be a video star! Bonus: pink boa

#followfriday @Dayngr is friendly, reaches out to newbies. She also tweets as @MailOurMilitary, a great nonprofit. Check them out.

#followfriday For one-liners that actually make you LOL @badbanana http://bit.ly/hHZCD