I've been using Twitter for a couple of months now, yet during this time i've struggled to define my interest in it.

This article has provided that definition so I thank you.

I only follow people that interest me and that mostly includes those working in the video game industry and it's enthusiast press. There have been occasions where some people have become irritating with their content and/or frequency of their tweets, and as your post suggests, they have been 'unfollowed'. The annonymity afforded by this feature is also greatly appreciated as there is rarely any awkwardness unlike in Facebook.

A mute option could be useful in the context suggested by @Darren but, for me personally, I don't follow anyone who tweets in that grey area of 'interesting but annoying sometimes'. The tweeters i've encountered so far are either one or the other.

In summary, Twitter performs a very specific function for me and the fact that I can customise my experience to match my interests means that i'm only viewing content I want to see.