Last week Twitter made a huge shift in no longer allowing links to be included in Direct Messages, now returning the use of our Direct Message (DM) inboxes as a way to have private conversations with our followers. A feature that was overtaken by spammers and malware in the past four years (at least). With the bombardment of push marketing promotions, ‘did you see yourself’, many Twitizens gave up checking their DM stream. It became a nightmare shifting thru all the junk messages and there was concern about clicking a link that would be a complete waste of time and might infect your computer.
With the change, the only links that are allowed to be shared via DM are links from Twitter accounts, Facebook or Instagram. Email addresses can also be shared.
Until now, we were only able to send DM between accounts that were following each other. Now with a simple click of a box in your settings you receive a DM from anyone regardless if you follow them back or not. Go to Twitter Settings, Account – scroll down to the content section and check the box — Receive direct messages from any follower and Save Changes on the bottom of the page.
I am looking forward to rediscovering the world of possibilities reopened with my Twitter DMs ….To be able to take personal conversations out of public view, delve deeper into conversations to assist people in my community deal with some challenging issues, and as a way to build trust and rapport with people I’d like to begin new friendships or collaborations with.
Please let me know how you see these new changes in DMs affecting your Twitter experiences.
To help you become the Master of your Twitterverse schedule a 30-minute Strategy with me to develop your Twitter Success Map to better connections, community engagement and business success. A $100 value for only $25. If you only get one idea that could shift your Twitter success – wouldn’t it be worth investing ½ hour?
