Have you ever tried privately communicating with a brand on Twitter about an issue you were having, only to find out you couldn’t DM them because they weren’t following you? How many tweets have you seen among the people you are following that says “Hey, I can’t DM you because you’re not following me?” I see it all the time.
According to a report by The Next Web and a tweet by one company, it looks like Twitter is easing up on the requirements for DMs, but only for Verified accounts with celebrities and brands. No one knows quite yet if they will do this across the board for all Twitter users.
It makes complete sense for them to do this with brands. My sister-in-law was having an issue with her cable company and got the whole situation resolved thanks to Twitter. Although, the entire conversation was on her’s and the brand’s Twitter stream for all to see, so the ability to DM them might have been more reasonable.
The company Tata Docomo sent out a Tweet on July 3rd letting their followers know all they had to do to DM them, was to follow them. “Now to DM us all you need to do is follow @tatadocomo. No need for us to follow you first. Tested and its working”.
What do you think of this change? Also, do you want people to be able to DM you who you aren’t following?
The current way is preferable – even for many brands, I would think. Optimally, Twitter would give us an option for turning open DMs on and off. Brands that want to allow it could allow it, the rest of us could leave things as they are. (Not that it affects us average users, who typically aren’t Verified).
The current way is preferable – even for many brands, I would think. Optimally, Twitter would give us an option for turning open DMs on and off. Brands that want to allow it could allow it, the rest of us could leave things as they are. (Not that it affects us average users, who typically aren’t Verified).
I agree with Daniel. The optimal situation would be for each individual or brand to choose to turn it on or off for those we aren’t following.