I recently created my fifth Twitter account for an upcoming iPhone project called MortgageZen. Each of my accounts has a specific intended audience. Each one, a loose set of rules that guide decisions on who I follow. Some of my twitter id’s are focused on building a strong following, others I’m less concerned with # of followers.

Because of the multiple accounts, I’ve noticed that “follow” philosophies can be simplified into two main camps. On one hand, there is the “Follow me, Follow you” approach. The network happens on the mutual expectation of a push of the button resulting in a “follow” action. The other, more selective approach is the “If I’m interested, I’ll follow you” technique. This approach is different in that you only follow people that you like or that add value to your life in some way.

For my primary account on Twitter, I’m selective about whom I choose to follow. I keep my follow counts down to a reasonable number that I feel comfortable keeping up with. But as I meet new folks that I’d like to follow, the noise level inevitably ratchets up. Programs like TweetDeck offer temporary relief by allowing me to place people into groups, but these applications (I’m looking at you Nambu) don’t yet support group membership syncing between devices and as follow counts grow, so too, does the noise level.

So what might solve this problem?

My hope is that Twitter will continue to introduce methods for users to optionally reduce noise. Two suggestions, the ability to selectively hide excessive Re-Tweeters and the ability to hide @replies between people I follow. Granular control over aspects of the conversation that I want to toggle off would make Twitter more valuable. More thoughts, ideas, & jokes, less regurgitation & water-cooler banter. Don’t get me wrong, I like the banter but I want the ability to limit the noise.

There is buzz in the ‘TwitterSphere’ about managing multiple Twitter ID’s. Multiple ID’s make sense for those using Twitter to microblog both personal and professional audiences.

I manage Twitter accounts effortlessly from within my browser with the TwitterFox extension for FireFox. Other options are standalone applications like TweetDeck or Twhirl. Both are free and both allow you to manage multiple Twitter ID’s.

Twitter sites like TwitterCounter & TweetLater are examples of the extended functionality possible with Twitter data. We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Twitter is changing the paradigm of dialogue. Teaching us all to communicate with more purpose, efficiency, & effectiveness.

Why Multiple User Id’s?

@jbinfrisco: The primary Twitter account. Used to record thoughts and conversations on both personal and professional topics. A digital vapor trail for what’s on my mind. This ID is also the moniker that I choose for most social networks within which I participate. If the intent of use is not clear or I’m ambivalent at sign-up, I’ll use jbinfrisco. By design, it’s unique has always been available everywhere I want to play.

@jbermangroup: This is a professional Twitter account. It’s primary purpose is to post information to The J. Berman Group website via the Twitter Tools plug-in for WordPress.

This works because Google Reader has been configured to capture any webpage that I want to share with my clients. If I see a good article, it gets added to gReader and from there it is one click to Twitter. Mortgage, Real Estate, & Technology content streamed simply and for free to the J. Berman Group website.

@reblogworld: Event feed to raise awareness and make the case for attending REBlogWorld.

@jberman: Primarily used for blip.fm tweets. It’s a repository for tweet streams generated by websites that I interact with. Sending these tweets to a third account gives your followers an option to take it or leave it and eliminates the possibility of overwhelming those who don’t care that you are a ‘hip-hop gangsta wanna-be’.

Everyone is drowning in noise. Give your followers a break and the choice to filter you. Something to think about if nothing else.

How many Twitter ID’s are you using? What is your philosophy for Twitter?