Twitter made a big change today to direct messaging, one of its core features. Also known as DMs, now you can opt in to receive direct — or private — messages from anyone. Previously, you needed to establish a mutual connection with the account you wanted to message in order to converse privately.
The need to establish that connection was just silly. The road to getting someone to follow you usually had to be done in public, unless you chose to ask via email, which was even sillier. The new way, you can direct message me with feedback on my column or the Chicago Tribune in general, regardless of whether we follow each other.
If you’re feeling some sort of social media déja vu, you have a good memory. Twitter debuted this feature on a very limited basis in late 2013. Now everyone gets it.
The changes are still rolling out, so you might not see it just yet. Once you do, you’ll see it under your security and privacy settings at twitter.com; just check the box next to Receive Direct Messages from anyone, or use the settings menu in the Twitter for iOS or Twitter for Android apps.
You’ll also see an easier way to know who has activated the feature in the form of a new direct message button on profile pages on Android and iOS. This way, you’ll know at a glance who you can DM and who you can’t. I think that’s a smart idea and should help cut down on the confusion.
The feature hasn’t rolled out to my account yet, but I can tell you that from a professional standpoint, I like it. I do wish there were more ways to filter, versus opening up to all or none, but perhaps Twitter will continue to surprise and amaze.
If the first thing you thought of was “this is going to result in people getting a lot of spam,” I agree. I thought of it too, and luckily blocking someone still removes the ability to send direct messages.
Here are a few very important #SoSocial tips to keep in mind:
*Official feature or not, it’s going to take a while for people to consider direct messaging anything other than private, so contacting someone this way might not always result in a response, whether or not the person activates the new setting. That said, you should use it and see how it works for you, but traditional tweets may still be your best bet.
*I wrote recently about Twitter spam, or sending the same tweet to multiple accounts in rapid succession. It’s bad form anyway, but Twitter could temporarily shut off your account for it. Twitter’s updated FAQ page states that “sending duplicate direct messages to multiple accounts (including sending the same link to multiple accounts), this may be flagged as spam activity” and can result in you not being able to send a Direct Message for at least 30 minutes. Trying to send a direct message within that 30-minute window could result in further lockdowns.
*Please do not abuse the feature. I have no idea why this would ever affect you, but Twitter has an account limit of 1,000 direct messages per day. Hit 1,001 and you’re done for the day. But forget 1,001; hit 101 and I might come knocking at your door to ask what’s wrong with you.
* If a person sees your direct messaging as overwhelming, you’re more likely to be blocked because that’s the easiest path to stop the messages. And once you’re blocked, you lose the ability to send publicly too.
And, as you think about the tweets you plan to send, whether they are direct or public messages, remember that Twitter is taking threats and abuse more seriously than ever.
On Tuesday, Twitter announced two policy changes — one related to prohibited content and one regarding enforcement of violations. The content changes apply to Twitter’s violent threats policy, which the company said was unduly narrow and limited its ability to act. It is now extended to include “threats of violence against others or promot[ing] violence against others.”
For enforcement, Twitter is giving its support team the ability to lock abusive accounts for specific periods of time. A user whose account is locked may need to wait for a certain period of time to pass before they can access Twitter again and they may be asked to delete certain tweets to be in compliance with Twitter’s rules and regulations.
The best advice I can give that applies across the board is to go slow and think before you tweet.
What questions do you have about social media? Tweet them to @scottkleinberg. He might select yours for use in a future column. Oh, and I’ll respond to direct messages if you truly don’t want to ask it in public.
