Twitter's @reply error

Filed under Proactive Writer.

This week Twitter imposed a change to the way their system operated. In a nutshell they decided that when you Tweeted a message that started with an @reply, this message would only be seen by your followers who also followed the person the message was aimed at.

So what you might ask…

Well it now means that a well known twitter tactic of engaging in a conversation that a wider audience may find interesting is now more difficult. It means that the followers to the person with whom you are conversing will not see your @replies – in essence you are invisible to them. So no more curious twitterers getting involved in a conversation, and this is surely a step backwards.

One solution is to make sure that you never ever start a tweet with the @ symbol. Personally I am going for a . @reply.

Any thoughts?

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  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895 Tania Hershman

    Good idea. But does this mean that if you begin with .@reply the person you are replying to won’t see that you’ve replied to them?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/18235379024739124934 Bubblecow

    Good point, you need to make sure you have a space in front of the . – . @reply

  • http://www.judaystley.com Judy Astley

    Or would it work if you write the message then put the @reply person at the end?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/18235379024739124934 Bubblecow

    Judy – as long as the tweet does not begin with @ it will be fine.

  • Lori

    good advice, but didn’t you or maybe it was nathan bransford who suggested this.