No, I really can't do that. I can catch stuff via peripheral vision. (No edit link for my comment. I really need to read what I just wrote before submitting. My hands think different thoughts than my head ...)
Of course not. That's not how use Twitter
"If you sample randomly you bias for those who post often rather than those you care more about."
If a random sample routinely has someone posting items of little to no value to me, I follow. So it works out.
The people I really care about I connect with in other ways: phone, E-mail, blogs, conferences and local meetings, and so on.
Twitter is but one of many ways I get my daily data bath. That I miss this or that is not a big deal. Besides, the important stuff tends to get repeated so it usually finds me anyways.
It's an ambient medium.
I'm surprised, then when people speak of using twitter to get news out on something (such as an upcoming local event), since there's a very good chance people will not see it (unless it gets repeated and re-repeated).
I have stopped following people who tend to not offer much useful info (I really don't care where you are eating breakfast, nor want to be reminded that you enjoy being a shill for someone's business). Basically, I prefer that any random slice of messages will have some actual information content in the mix.