Twitter: How to Send Direct Messages (DMs) in Twitter
Karl Kasca
Twitter is great for sending public messages to the world, but here's
the inside scoop on how to properly send private/personal
messages in Twitter. And should you send an automated Direct
Message to new followers? Answer: "No!"
Skip to
Video
- Note: Since
there may be more info of interest/use on the page below, you should at
least skim it quickly in addition to viewing the Video below.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What
is a Direct Message (DM)?
- A direct message, also called a "DM", is a personal/private
message sent from one Twitter user to one of their followers.
- Just make sure that your message is truly personal,
otherwise you can send a public @Reply (e.g., @chrisbrogan) to the
other person and their followers.
- HUGE
WARNING: Never send any information that is truly
confidential via a Direct Message, just in case you accidentally send
it to everyone (the World!) by mistake.
- Note: You can't send a DM to someone in Twitter unless they
follow you.
How
to send a Direct Message in Twitter
Form: d twittername
Example: d
chrisbrogan <--
Yes!
Example + message: d chris brogan Great link - thanks for
sharing. Call you at 6:00pm your time to discuss our project
Do NOT: dm chrisbrogan
<-- NO!
(Note: Yes, it's
tempting to want to use "dm" to "direct message" someone, but that's
the wrong format!)
Action
Steps - Method 1 (from Twitter.com) - Easiest & Safer
- Go to your Twitter home page.
- Click on the "Direct
Messages" tab in the column on the right.
- Select
the recipient's name from the drop-down list of your followers'
names.
- Write your tweet/message.
- Click "Send".
It's
that easy!
Note: "Safer" means your message will not be sent to the
public timeline (the World) by accident. Whew!
Action
Steps - Method 2 (from Twitter.com) - Moderate & See Warning below
- If you know the person's Twitter name (and you know they
follow you),
- Then go to your Twitter home page and type or copy
their Twitter name into the "What are you doing?" box.
- Then insert
a "d" (without the quotes) in front of their Twitter
name.
- Then insert
a space after the "d".
- Go to the end of their Twitter name, insert a space and
write your tweet/message.
- Click "Update".
WARNING:
Do NOT forget the "d " in front of the Twitter name!
- Because if you do, your
private message will go out to the whole world (and be public) - yikes!
Action
Steps - Method 3 (from Twitter.com) - Moderate & See Warning below
- If you know the person's Twitter name (and you know they
follow you), and
- You have located a tweet the person wrote.
- Hover over their tweet and then click on the arrow that
appears.
- Twitter will automatically place "@twittername" with their
twitter name in the "What are you doing now?" box.
- Then delete
the "@" and insert a "d" (without the quotes) in front of
their Twitter name.
- Then insert
a space after the "d".
- Go to the end of their Twitter name, insert a space and
write your tweet/message.
- Click "Update".
WARNING:
Do NOT forget the "d " in front of the Twitter name!
- Because if you do, your
private message will go out to the whole world (and be public) - yikes!
Action
Steps - Method 4 (from your Mobile phone) - Moderate & See Warning below
- If you know the person's Twitter name (and you know they
follow you),
- Then go to text messaging (SMS) on your mobile
phone.
- Send a text message to Twitter's text phone number: "40404"
(without the quotes).
- In the compose message area: Insert a "d"
(without the quotes) in front of their Twitter name.
- Then insert
a space after the "d".
- Go to the end of their Twitter name, insert a space and
write your tweet/message.
- Click "Send".
WARNING:
Do NOT forget the "d " in front of the Twitter name!
- Because if you do, your
private message will go out to the whole world (and be public) - yikes!
Action
Steps - Method 5 (from your Mobile phone - Using Slandr.net) -
Moderate & See Warning
below
- Open the internet browser on your mobile phone, e.g.,
Internet Explorer or Firefox.
- Go to: Slandr.net: http://m.slandr.net/.
- Type in your Twitter name and password to log-in.
- In the Update box: Insert
a "d" (without the quotes) in front of their Twitter
name.
- Then insert
a space after the "d".
- Go to the end of their Twitter name, insert a space and
write your tweet/message.
- Click "Update".
WARNING:
Do NOT forget the "d " in front of the Twitter name!
- Because if you do, your
private message will go out to the whole world (and be public) - yikes!
Action
Steps - Method 6 (from your Mobile phone - Using Slandr.net) -
Moderate & Safer
Note: This is the way I
reply to DMs on my cell phone
- Open the internet browser on your mobile phone, e.g.,
Internet Explorer or Firefox.
- Go to: Slandr.net: http://m.slandr.net/.
- Type in your Twitter name and password to log-in.
- Locate a tweet one of your followers wrote.
- Click on the "Envelope" icon after their twitter name.
- This takes you to a new screen where you can write your DM
message.
- Write your message.
- Click "Send".
Note: "Safer" means your message will not be sent to the
public timeline (the World) by accident. Whew!
Other
Methods: Twhirl and TweetDeck
- Safer
Note:
These are the programs I use to reply to DMs on my Laptop and Desktop,
respectively.
In future Articles I'll be showing how to get more out of
Twitter by using the Twhirl and TweetDeck programs.
Direct
Message Etiquette
Question: Should I write "Thanks for following" autoresponses?
Answer: NO!
These are considered to be spam (unsolicited messages) by
most users now and there are numerous programs to autodelete them.
Question: What are autoresponses?
Answer: These are automated direct messages which have been sent by
autoresponder programs like TweetLater.
- Note: TweetLater is a great Twitter program, just don't use
it to send automated thank you notes.
Question: When should I send a Direct Message?
Answer: When you're saying something truly personal that you do NOT
want your public timeline (the World) to see.
Question: What's my public timeline?
Answer: It's the tweets from your followers that you seen on your
Twitter home page: http://twitter.com/home
VIDEO
- How to Send a Direct Message in Twitter
Resources:
The Official Twitter Commands
ARTICLE DATE: 03/10/09
REVISED DATE:
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Twitter: How to Send Direct Messages (DMs) in Twitter
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