Remember when you had to ask one anyone on Twitter to follow you first before you could send them a DM (Direct Message)? It was annoying, wasn’t it?
Well, those days are long gone.
Twitter has changed how DM works so that it’s even easier for you to communicate one-to-one or with a chosen group of people, anywhere in the world without the need for a follow back.
Twitter has taken a step forward and now gives users an option to receive direct messages from anyone without any barriers or need of a follow to enable DMs. Previously, if you wanted to send a direct message, you had to ask them to follow you first.
This opt-in feature allows users to receive messages from anyone if you check and enable this in your Security and privacy settings on Twitter. The setting also allows you to reply to anyone who sends you a Direct Message, regardless of whether or not that person follows you.
You however still do have an option: If you do not want to receive a Direct Message from someone you don’t want to privately converse with, you can still disable this feature in the same settings page by opting out.
Some accounts, including businesses, have enabled a setting to receive Direct Messages from anyone so they can be asked any questions which ensures they cannot miss out on a potential business-related opportunity.
This however poses the question of Twitter spam and how it will be affected by this new rule. Will spammers increase on Twitter? Will you get a whole lot of spam DMs if you indeed do enable your account to receive DMs from anyone?
I’ve just enabled mine and will report back on my findings in 2 weeks. Stay tuned.
This feature makes it easier for companies to deal with problems privately whenever any issue and concerns arise from their customers, allowing businesses connect more easily – and directly with their customers – on Twitter. Now, businesses won’t have to follow back thousands of users to deal with customer issues.
The company recently announced two new features, group direct messages and mobile video cameras. The group DMs group allows Twitter users to have private conversations with up to 20 other Twitter users at once.
