Demystifying the Twitter @ Reply

Today I want to clear up something that is the most common points of confusion for new and seasoned twitter users alike.

The “@ reply” versus the “direct message”. What EXACTLY is the difference and when are you supposed to use each?

And perhaps more importantly – what in the world am I talking about?

The term @ reply means you show that you’re responding to someone by putting their twitter name with an @ sign in front of it somewhere in your message. Traditionally replies start with the other persons name but they don’t have to. Here are a few examples:

@lkr man you are so cool!
man I really think you are just the coolest @lkr!
Who else thinks that @lkr is cool? I sure do!

Yup, just another day in the life of @lkr (me!). I’m kidding, kidding!

Anyway, as you can see an @ reply can have someone’s twitter name in the beginning, middle or end of the message. It doesn’t matter. No matter where the @twittername is it will show up in the @ replies tab on their twitter account. (Sign into twitter then look for @yourtwittername to see your @ replies page.)

Now that you understand what an @ reply is here’s the first major point of differentiation between @ replies and direct messages. Your @ replies will show up in my @lkr page no matter if I am following you or you are following me. Neither one of us can be following each other and your message will still show up on my page.

(Hint: THIS is what makes twitter such a powerful networking and communications tool way above and beyond Facebook or LinkedIn where you usually have to agree to a mutual relationship before you can contact someone.)

So if I send a message to @theellenshow it shows up on her @ replies page even if she doesn’t follow me! Pretty cool huh?

OK now we’re clear on the fact that you can send @ replies to anyone, what should you use them for and who should you send them to?

@ replies are generally used for casual, quick conversation that other people might want to chime in on. The vast majority of conversation on twitter is done via @ reply. When in doubt, always send an @ reply over a direct message (and send plenty, this is the main way that relationships are formed via twitter).

So when should you NOT send an @ reply?

@ replies are not appropriate for detailed back and forth that would have no interest to anyone else. For example, picking a time or restaurant to meet at for lunch or exchanging detailed information. @ replies should also not be used when discussing anything that might be private information. I’ve had people ask me via @ reply asking financial details about my business, and it kind of puts me in an awkward position. If I’m going to tell someone that, it won’t be in a public place!

In short, @ replies are a powerful way to mix and mingle on twitter, as well as get your name in front of people who may be otherwise hard to reach.

– Laura