Charlie Sheen it seems, does not do things by halves. Within a week of opening his Twitter account, he's being followed by 2.2 million people and growing. A massive Twitter following is a sign of influence, so whatever you may think of him, Sheen is creating some serious value with his entertaining commentary on the entertainment world.

In the next few weeks Sheen will pass some of the best known publishing companies in the world such as Time, People, the New York Times and institutions such as the NBA. Odds are now being given on just where the climb will take Sheen. We've commented before that bookmakers are the best assessors of the probability this type of event occurring and Irish bookmaker Paddy Power current has very short odds of 11/4 that Sheen will have more than 10 million followers by year end. The odds are naturally shorter that Sheen will have more than 5 million followers by December 31 but at 5/4, the bookies obviously feel it's almost certain that Sheen will be close to the top 10 most powerful Twitter opinion makers.

The odds on just what rung of the ladder are also favourable for a strong showing by year's end. Bookmakers rate him a 5/4 likelihood of having eclipsed Barack Obama who is currently in fourth place on the list with 6.88 million followers. The chances of Charlie Sheen taking top spot within the year after giving Lady Gaga a three year and 8.6 million follower head-start is considered distinctly possible at just 6/4.

So more power to you Charlie Sheen. There's an old adage in show business that you don't heckle the man with the microphone – in effect, it means that the person with the most powerful voice (most influence) usually wins any exchange. Like the people of the Arab world who are finding their voice through social media, Sheen is wrestling back the microphone.