By Jim Connolly

So, want to know how to gain 10,000 followers per hour on Twitter? Just post six tweets in that time, and be named Bill Gates.

Yes, Mr. Microsoft has found a home on Twitter, and it’s not even one of those email scams where some friend tells you to just send an email to Microsoft and they will send you ten bucks. But money does matter in a Gatesian tweetosphere. He’s using Twitter to promote his new website, The Gates Notes, and the various charities and social initiatives that he and his foundation support, including an effort to get aid to Haiti.

Gates’s early posts include exchanges with celebrity maker Ryan Seacrest. Roughly 24 hours after his first post Bill had more than 236,000 followers.

Want to know who he’s following himself? If you have to ask, you probably don’t belong to that select array of 40 people and groups. Well, there’s Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical and Seacrest. Don’t forget President Obama, Queen Rania of Jordan and George Stephanopoulos. Then there are a dozen or so charitable organization and a half dozen Microsoft initiatives (including Bing. Guess he’s not following anything from Google). On the news side, he’s tracking the Economist, the New York Times, Time and others. No MHT? Dang!