Here’s the scenario:

MY TWEET: I’m looking for a new iPhone app that finds me a job based on my location.
FROM DAVE: @daveferguson wow, that would be cool.
FROM Mary Beth: @mbstockdale Have you looked on iTunes?
FROM ME: @daveferguson – Yeah, I’m really hoping someone makes it.
FROM ME: @mbstockdale – Yep, I checked iTunes. Nada.

In that brief interchange several things happened:

• I posted a question on Twitter and, true to form, Twitter worked and two people who follow me answered.
• I posted a question to everyone, but the answers came back for everyone to see who happens to follow @daveferguson and @mbstockdale (respectively).
• My reply back to each of them was seen by all of the people who follow me.

Yes, that’s how Twitter is supposed to work. And, yes, if both the person following me and the person I’m following are connected, a Direct Message can keep this conversation private.

But what happens if I answer a person who doesn’t follow me? I can’t send them my answer as a direct message. I have to go “public” and put my answer out for everyone to see. Sometimes, this is good and helps other people. Often, I feel like I’m overhearing a private conversation that has no bearing or interest to me. Yet it’s still there on my Twitter timeline, intruding somewhat on my time and space.

My solution is to use a new tag: Mention@username. This allows me to send a non-public (but not a private direct message) reply. Furthermore, similar to @replies, the person has to decide if they want to accept (heck, even receive) Mentions from people they don’t follow. If so, they can have see all Mention@username directed to them just like they can currently choose to look at all @replies or only @replies from people they follow.

Simple, huh? Yes, it takes up 7 more characters, but that seems a small price to pay to keep pseudo-private conversations off of the public timeline and out of view.

So, what do you think? Have I thunk up a good idea or is there an even better solution?