Thinking of how it all went down, I actually do have some really smart people in my feed who just got noisy and concerned. No way to tune 'em out one day and listen closely the next.

One of the nice things about Twitter's API, is the ability to create filters using third-party APIs.

On TweetDeck, for instance, you can filter out keywords (look at the bottom of the column you'd like to filter & you'll see a "-" option).

That's what I did as soon as the swine meme got out of hand (even some of the "smart" peeps I follow went a bit overboard (and I understand why)).

The problem with Twitter "noise" is that any one of your followers (not matter how 'smart' they are) can become noisy: noise is relative. And the public stream is still an important souce of information: having an educated public is especially important in crises.

My concern about the TweetNoise, from a public health perspective, is how to introduce music, especially during a time of crisis. We need more leaders on Twitter (we have enough followers).

The CDC aught to be a strong leder during these times. (As of today, @CDC is still not 'owned' by the CDC – it's a private account that has nothing to do with the CDC. In times like these, if I want to follow the CDC on Twitter, I'd have to know about @CDCemergency. Ironically, Google has pageranked @CDCembergency high enough that anyone searching for the CDC's Twitter handle will likely go to @CDCemergency. Still, the CDC can ask Twitter for the account, or ask for a url re-direct to @CDCemergency.)

We need authoritative agencies to continue to improve their presence on Twitter. This is just the beginning, so hopefully time and experience will improve Twitter's standing.

The experience with swine flu has shown me both the power (potentially) of Twitter's use in epidemiological survey but also its power for spreading fear, ignorance and misinformation (in fact, malicious spam).

I believe that crowdsourcing on Twitter does, eventually, help spring forth good information. It's the short time periods, however, that prove the most challenging. The cost of fact-verification is steeper within a 1-hour period than a 72-hour one.

The CDC did a good job during this and I think there were some good lessons here.

I'm a *huge* fan of Twitter. And it's because I'm a huge fan that I want more skepticism (not cynicism) about Twitter. I've been on Twitter long enough to be past the praise stage: now's the time for scrutiny.

A tweet is only as good as the brain behind it.