Twitter Direct Messages For All

The communication kings over at Twitter have increased the lines of virtual communication with a new option which allows users to receive direct messages from any user on Twitter.  The feature is opt-in and appears to be in state of current roll out. Some Twitter users, but not all, are seeing the option in their Settings menu.

Since Twitter’s launch, users have only been able to send direct messages if both parties followed each other on the micro-blogging service. This policy cut down on spam messages being sent from unknown users.  Now, users can navigate to Twitter.com, Settings, Account and scroll down to Content. If you are one of the people who have been rolled out, you should be able to see an option to check the box next to “Receive direct messages from any follower.”  If you check this option, any Twitter user that follows you will be able to send you a Direct Message, regardless of whether you decide to follow them back.

This news was first reported via Twitter from Blogger Jim Connolly. On Tuesday morning he noticed the new function in his online settings. “I’m giving it a go…Why not?”   he wrote.  But, not everyone was eager to give it a try, as user Magnus Thörnblad tweeted in response to Connolly’s news “Great feature if you like spam dm’s from bots ;)”.

It appears the microblogging site started the feature for a limited number of accounts, “in cases where having that capability may be beneficial…We do not have plans for making the feature more widely available at this time…We will continue to experiment with ways of helping people and companies get more value from Twitter.” The company told The Next Web. Last month, the company launched Twitter Alerts, which provide users with notifications about emergency situations from trusted sources like the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the World Health Organization. Users must subscribe to the alerts.

So, if you don’t already have enough followers, no doubt if you check the box, you’ll have a whole lot more!

[Image via: thenextweb]

SOURCE: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425768,00.asp