It really depends what you’re after. You’ll find cool people by following hashtags, certainly, but if there’s somebody in particular you like, follow the person, too. Do both.
Also, some people bring their bad habits from Xitter and the rest, so it helps to have all the options.
I’d ignore step 4 and stick to hashtags only… from there you’ll end up finding interesting people anyway.
It really depends what you’re after. You’ll find cool people by following hashtags, certainly, but if there’s somebody in particular you like, follow the person, too. Do both.
Also, some people bring their bad habits from Xitter and the rest, so it helps to have all the options.