Twitter -- useful or creepy?

I usually give legitimate companies that hold personal data the benefit of the doubt and assume that they won't abuse it or sell it to anyone that will abuse it.  Google is sometimes under the microscope because of the wealth of information that they collect.  After all, their advertising engines read our emails and display ads that fit the context of what we're communicating about (except sometimes when they mess up, which I find hilarious).

Though an incredible potential for abuse exists, I'm not as afraid of Google, who comforts our fears with their company creed, "Don't Be Evil," as I am of connected individuals who might not have the same proclaimed level of integrity as Google.  And a lot of those individuals I don't trust are on Twitter.

One of my best buds talked me into joining Twitter.  He said it was "fun and easy."  I agree that sometimes it's fun and it's definitely easy, but it leaves me nervous that it can change the equation for those who think stalking is fun, but not easy enough.

I'm going to keep my twitter account, but will use it with a little bit of caution.  I will no longer use my full name as a username for most sites because of a bad experience on YouTube.  If you exercise this for Twitter, it will make it harder for people to find you that you don't want to find you; like your boss; like your mother; like your girlfriend.

Additionally, for my personal Twitter account, I don't allow people to follow my updates if I don't know them.  If I find that I'm being followed by someone that I've never heard of, I simply block them (which seems a little harsh).  I don't usually give a lot of specific details about what I'm doing, but if I'm going out of town, I'm likely to update my account to say what city I'm in.  If a criminal wanted to, he or she could follow my Twitter updates, do some research to find out who I am/where I live, and wait until I say something like "out of town with the misses for a few days" and then come burglarize my house.  Yes, it's a little out there, but it's a can of worms that I will just choose not to open.

I don't know why someone would want to follow me that doesn't know me.  If a complete stranger wants to read my daily updates, I'm not comfortable with that.  I'll gladly share my unique username with my friends who can then see what I'm up to, but that's where my commitment lies.