Eric Sheptock is a homeless man who uses social media to advocate for others in his situation. He has a Facebook fan page with 4,548 fans with 1600 unread messages at last count, he was featured on top of CNN’s homepage as “Don’t Miss” story, the was featured on this blog next to Steve Jobs, the Washington Post has written a four page story on Sheptock’s life and daily routine, he has a Twitter account with thousands of followers.

It is not just anyone following the homeless, unemployed former crack addict of 15 years, his followers include policymakers, advocates for the homeless and hundreds of college students who have heard him speak on behalf of the National Coalition for the Homeless.

He maybe homeless but not penniless, Sheptock makes $330 from his blog posts ($25 a pop at Change.org) and his speeches ($40 for those he gives in the Washington region and $100 for those farther away). Sheptock says having 5,000 friends on Facebook is more important than having $5,000 in the bank.

“Too many homeless people have come to look up to me, and I can’t just walk away from them,” he says in a recent blog post titled “Tough Choices.” “My conscience won’t allow it.”