Relief From Twitter Overload?

Like a glutton, I have overloaded my list of Twitter feeds with interesting connections, newsblips, worthy organizations and other stuff that seemed compelling, at least when I signed-up.  There is much to like in Twitter's ability to deliver terse bits of information from friends and colleagues, but there are also challenges.  With all the excitement bubbling around Twitter and its myriad of uses, I thought I would share a few observations about the tool, its strengths, and challenges it poses for online communicators:

• Many Twitterers seem to subscribe to the "I Tweet Therefore I Am"  philosophy, as they put even the most mundane life details into their posts.  But more thoughtful users may want to ask, "why am I doing this?"  From this question comes specific ways to tweet.  If the idea is to build a following, it is well to create targeted and keyword optimized content.  To keep up with friends and associates, the personal touch makes good sense.  Establishing credibility?  Try lots of links stitched together with an insight or two.  For collaboration, try asking questions and sharing your opinions.
• The sheer quantity of posts in a Twitter feed can produce some pretty disjointed conversations.  Despite its hash tags feature (#ASAE, #WhatsForDinner, etc) for grouping posts, Twitter users often see fragments of conversations rather than complete threads.  Twitter's terse format also leaves little room for in-depth conversations.  The tool is simply not designed for this purpose. For better interactivity and meaningful conversation, emerging tools like Google Wave, or awkward but tried and true email may be better choices. 
• Posts from news-oriented providers are terrific when using Twitter as a newsfeed, but have the potential to  choke out the updates, thoughts, ideas and wishes of your online friends.  To maintain clear channels both for news and personal/business updates, you may find it helpful to: 1) Access some content using RSS feed-readers; 2) Setup separate Twitter accounts for different purposes; 3) Use third party applications to filter posts; or 4) Visit content provider web sites directly.
• Twitter is no haven from SPAM.  Thanks so much, LaughterAndJoy and ThatGoGirl88348, but I am not interested in your half conversations and babble.  And, as one of thousands that you follow, I am sure you are not deeply interested in any thoughts about societal uses of technology, social media, or relationship-building that I might have. So how does one stop Twitter SPAM and excessive following? The best way I have seen so far is to block SPAM senders, one by one. 

Despite much flexibility for delivering headlines and personal updates, Twitter's micro-blogging features are not yet mature.  For now, business and individual online communicators may need to find creative ways to manage and prioritize their own Twitter feeds, when their content and number of uses begin to overflow.  Third party products, like the popular TweetDeck application and others, help to fill-in the gaps.  But the future belongs to service providers that can help individuals prioritize and manage their content, as well as receive it.