This is interesting.
The way Twitter users interact with another is about to undergo a quite significant change after the social media behemoth announced an upgrade to its Direct Message feature today.
From now on, Twitter users will be able to receive Direct Messages from other Twitter users regardless of whether or not the users follow each other. Up until now, users had to follow each other in order to privately exchange Direct Messages.
One’s initial reaction to this news is to feel sorry for the celebrities with millions of followers who will be inundated with direct messages from besotted fans, but, thankfully for them, receiving DMs from all users is an optional setting that can easily be turned on and off.
How to accept Twitter DM’s from anyone (via http://t.co/RpAeqErFOf) Twitter > Settings > Security & Privacy pic.twitter.com/IcqYsWvwX6
— That Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) April 20, 2015
The ‘optional’ bit didn’t quite register with a few Twitter users, however, who greeted the news with a sense of doom having assumed that their privacy had been compromised.
Word on the street is that pressure from investors forced Twitter into the move, but they claimed in a blog post today that it will make for a more engaging messaging experience.
“We continue to invest in our private channel to lay the foundation for a powerful and engaging messaging experience,” Twitter said.
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