Lady Gaga is the first person to hit 20 million Twitter followers. It's a massive number and is a nice social media accolade for her resume, but at the end of the day, what does it really mean to have that many people following your 140-character posts? Apparently, a whole helluva lot. Gaga reportedly earned a whopping $30 million in revenue due to her Twitter account.

The diva supposedly raked in $90 million in total income last year, which means that her Twitter feed accounts for a third of her income. Judging by the numbers, which don't lie, mind you, Twitter is quite a viable revenue stream for the Mother Monster.

Smart Money reports that social media experts place a premium on the direct connection Gaga forges with her little monsters. That, along with all the publicity that comes from her tweets and the size of her following, increases her earning potential by a substantial margin. That close, interactive relationship means that Gaga's fans are more apt to make purchases of her music, instead of illegally downloading (read: stealing) it.

The fact that she engages her followers, tweets at them and retweets them also helps to bolster the earning power of her Twitter account. #makingbank #gettingpaid.

Gaga is in the process of launching her own social media network, which means she can bank even more bucks thanks to the digital age. #itsgoodtobegaga.

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