Why are so many people frustrated with the new Twitter @replies policy? Because most users are human and fast-paced change can be a scary thing. This is not the first time we’ve seen such changes in communication.
Years ago, news spread virally through a phone system called a “party line”. Switchboards were slow and phone lines expensive so the system rewarded those who shared phone lines. No call was private because neighbors could pick up and listen at any time. (This happened with succulent regularity.) The party line was great for keeping a small community buzzing.
Carla, Jim, and David were neighbors who happily shared a party line. Happily, that is, until a housing development was built on their street and thousands of phones were added to their party line. Suddenly, it wasn’t a party anymore. The rapid expansion caused a frustrating mess!
The very same thing happened to Twitter recently. As growth skyrocketed and more people moved into the “neighborhood,” (the neighborhood concept didn’t work so well for Geocities, did it?) Twitter started having problems. There were too many people on one line. It was time to change things for the better of the entire community. But how does one maintain a “neighborhood feel” while bringing efficiency to communication?
The big birds decided it was time to apply one rule to all of Twitter. “Only show me @ replies sent to users I am also following” were the words Twitter put in every user’s mouth.
Say what you will, it was for the best.
Here are just five of the reasons why you should be thrilled about the way Twitter displays updates:
1. Reduced Noise
Your stream has been cleansed of all the idle chitchat taking place between the people you follow and others you’re not following. When somebody you’re following decides to have a long conversation about American Idol with a user you’re not following, you no longer have to see any of it. Isn’t that great? By reducing the noise in individual streams, Twitter has allowed users to spend less time sorting through random bits of conversation. Less noise means you have more time to read the tweets that really matter. A win!
2. Better Conversations
Say you go to a party. (A real one. Not a World Of Warcraft guild meeting.) You notice two of your friends having a conversation at the far side of the room. Your first impulse will be to walk over and join in the conversation, right? Twitter has done a lot to make your stream friendlier by highlighting conversations between people you follow.
3. Genuine Engagement
Instead of fluttering about trying to keep track of everything, Twitter’s updated reply policy encourages you to do a better job of connecting with users you’ve already met. You’ll still meet new people through your friends’ RT’s of great links and conversations. If you’re desperate to see who your friends are talking to that you’re not following, check out their streams! When was the last time you even read a profile of a user you frequently chat with? Twitter is all about communication and the new replies encourage best practices. Those of you whining about things “not going viral” would do well to spend more time building connections and less time trying to get followers. 500 people who vouch for you always trump 5,000 people who will listen to you.
4. Less Spam
A favorite tactic of spammers is the “conversational marketing tweet”. Playing on the natural voyeuristic tendency most of us have, spammers use the @ reply to throw links around Twitter under the guise of “conversation”. Often, those @replies would go to nonexistent accounts or even random people. The point wasn’t to get others to respond but to trick one’s followers into thinking a specific product was satisfactory. Something like, “@jonelai784 Hey! I’m so glad your acne disappeared overnight with ScumScrubber Elite. That’s amazing!” no longer shows up in anybody’s stream…unless they follow both people. Need I mention that #followfriday also makes a lot more sense now?
5. Progressive Behavior
The last reason you should be excited about Twitter updating replies is simple: They actually care about keeping Twitter simple, fun, and free from as much rubbish and confusion as possible. They saw a growing problem and changed it. Was it a drastic change? Yes. Was it a needed change? Absolutely. It’s all worth celebrating because a company that is willing to make smart moves to help its users is a company worth spending your time on.
If Twitter had insisted on maintaining a worldwide “party line” system, the stream of new users would have served only to worsen the problem. I’m glad they did something about it because I like Twitter and I’d hate to think I’d wasted my time here.
Do you agree? If I’m wrong about something, please take a moment to set me straight. Thanks!
photos via flickr:bobster855, eye2eye, bonkedproducer
Personally, I've had that setting on my account for some time now. However, I'm not sure it's correct to *force* that choice on people. Just because you like it, doesn't mean the Bob down the street wasn't happier the other way. And by forcing the issue, Bob had his options removed. So Bob is complaining… as most people would when options are taken away from them.
I'd need to understand more about why Twitter chose to do it. Was it just because most people had that option enabled already or was it because of a system load issue? The former is not a good reason, while the latter may be.
My point? You may like it and that's fine. But live and let live. It's a preference for you, not a hard fact.
I disagree with 2nd. The reason is, as long as you follow people in same niche/circles (whatever you call that), you get same information. Keeping your analogy, you might go to party to have a good time with your friends, or to get introduced/introduce yourself to other people that your current friends are interested in. Just remember, you are not interested in other people just because they are friends of friends, but because they speak about something interesting.
Sure, follow Friday does quite the same, but not everyone participates, and criteria people use are different.
I really like your comparison to the party line system, I'm old enough to remember it well. Change is always difficult, my immediate knee-jerk reaction was like most others- I saw it only a restriction on the freedoms we enjoy here on twitter and the Web in general. But for several reasons, have slowly come around to a similar point of view as you share here. As the number of my followers increased, the flood of useless one-sided conversations was beginning to make it difficult to connect & share in a meaningful way. I love how you tackle the unpopular side of issues, they too need a champion!
Twitter had switched the “default” setting weeks before they made the policy mandatory for all users. As very few changed their settings it made sense to go with the new policy. For the most part, an “option” was taken away that a very low percentage was taking advantage of to begin with.
Why is the former not a good reason? Streamlining always makes a few people angry. Most of the “big” users were already madly filtering their tweets in 3rd party systems so losing some @replies didn't matter to them. They're the ones, other than a full-scale rebellion, with the power to change things. They didn't care.
Certainly, I live and let live. But it IS a hard fact in that the policy has been put into place. Twitter has made the change and I expect more to come in the future.
Great point. I've noticed a lot of that now that I follow very few and see a lot of the same conversations. For instance, I follow 5 designers who all tweet essentially the same content. (The RT each other a lot, too. Which makes things interesting)
My comment about FollowFriday was more of a negative one in that I think it's been abused and turned into spam on many accounts.
When Twitter's userbase was small, it made sense to traipse along and find new people to follow in a highly organic way. Now that there are millions of users, I think it makes more sense to map out your network, figure out which niches you're missing out on, and use some of the search tools available to track down the movers-and-shakers in those areas.
Obviously, this is just my opinion. I'm wishing long life, cold lemonade, and free HBO for everyone. =)
I admit it took me a little while to get used to it. But the search function and hash tags, twibes, etc allow me to continue to find other people who are interesting and follow them.
I'm a little late to remember the classic party line but I did grow up in a complex that had 19 phones with the same number. You get very, very good at noticing the sound of breathing on the phone. =)
Connecting and sharing in a meaningful way is, for me, where the value's at. I'm not a celebrity hoping to give my fans another way to feel connected so they go see my movies. I'm a regular dude trying to build connections with people in a way the lets them get to know me, me get to know them, and perhaps grow something that will provide value for us all in our analog world.
Unpopular? Not at all. Just misunderstood. =)
Thanks Roger!
All of the features you just described were available by default when users signed up. Only 3% of Twitter users had enabled the “see all @replies from people I follow” option, so most users saw no change. I can't say whether the change is good or bad, but I do think the idea that Twitter is now a better model of actual conversation is based on poor observation of how actual conversations are conducted (both in and out of twitter) Here's a piece I wrote about the linguistics of twitter that discusses this phenomenon: http://www.ethnographer.com/?p=6
Precisely! When I first switched over (I did so before the widespread policy took effect) the tone of my stream changed and I wasn't sure what I thought about it. After a few hours, I got used to the reduced noise and really began to appreciate it.
Now I use hash tags, friend's rec's, and searches to find interesting people. I haven't gotten into the “wefollow” or Mr. tweet craze because they're based on follower counts and a game-able reciprocity quotient.
It's fun that we each get to decide our own way, no? I just hope more can embrace the changes and learn to keep reaching toward their goals no matter what bumps they hit along the way.
Thanks Vikki!
From your post:
“The implications for how we martial the indexical resources made available to us by these technologies in crafting or evading identity on the web may result in novel social changes we cannot anticipate but whose resonance may be felt far beyond the @.”
Well-done, sir! =)
Have you considered researching the original, pre-@ Twitter? I think you'd find an entirely different set of points to come at this argument from. Might be interesting.
In the meantime, great stuff, I still hate crashtaggers and I like that people have to make an effort to “broadcast”. It's the difference between normal conversation and shouting to a room…which seems quite palatable to me.
Thanks Andrew!
I completely agree, that everyone has its own way.
Though your example about designers disagrees with your comment that you need to track niches power users only. Following “big fishes” that retweet alikes will give you 5x load of same messages only.
I obviously need to use more emoticons. For instance,
“(They RT each other a lot, too. Which makes things interesting [insert smiley face here so you know I don't really find it at all interesting])”
As an interesting experiment, I've been tracking the links tweeted by those designers to see which accounts I can unfollow and still see most of their great content. So far I have it narrowed down to 3 possibilities. I'll know for sure by the end of the weekend. Fun stuff!
Sorry about the miscommunication. I meant the disagreement to be one of irony and, without being clear, I ended up clouding my point in totality. My bad.
Thanks!
I agree in general, but while I don't want to see *everybody* I do want to see who my people are talking to. The edge effect leads me to people that my friends find interesting and that gives me a much more qualified statement of who to follow. “Hey, my friend/fave author/movie star says interesting things to @x a lot, I want to follow them.”
Though I do wish I could have it on a per user basis, rather than all or nothing.
If someone I follow is important/interesting enough for me to check out their page then I will check out the conversations they are having. I like less chatter and more conversations.
“per user basis”
That's a cool idea! So you'd be able to pick who you saw everything from and who you see only broadcast tweets from? Nice.
I tried something new this morning. I asked my followers to take a moment and introduce me to a favorite Twitter user I probably hadn't met yet. The responses were warm, insightful, and offered some very creative suggestions. I followed 95% of the users suggested. My Twitter network has expanded and I'll now see both sides of the conversation that happen between my followers and the people they find most interesting. A win!
Thanks Sunil!
Personally, less noise is good in my book (and I take the statement literally). Having to listen to assistive software read the replies to people I don't follow only made the intake more like white-water rapids rather than the Mississippi. I focus more on who I follow and enjoy the conversations that take place within the niches I'm in (podcasting, blogging, music, writing, and voice-over). Sure, it can be frustrating at first but as someone who has had to adapt to many things over my 25-years in existence, this is a welcome opportunity. Great post! Now, if there were a way we could rate links given to us, it might reduce the number of unuseful or uninteresting links tossed our way. (Also, it would give feedback to those who do give the occasional link as to what his or her followers enjoy. Teaching people to be better Twitter users? What a thought!)
100% yes. That's why I'm a fan of the changes. If I'd been using a 3rd party filter it probably wouldn't have mattered so much.
The ability to rate links would be very handy. Right now, we only have 3rd party trackers of the links that are retweeted the most. That's not very helpful because a mass of RT's doesn't mean something is actually valuable.
I think the social bookmarking sites are in a better position for the link-ranking. I've had some luck with Stumbleupon so far. I like that it allows me to click through only the links my friends like, if I so desire.
Less noise is nice. We have hordes of experts telling people to “jump in and create content!” which only exacerbates the issue. I suppose the solution is to simply find better earplugs. =)
Thanks Allen!
Thanks for this perspective. Only been on Twitter 3 mos., so not much to compare the new policy to. But I'm all for cleaner, simpler. And we can still “outwit” the policy by throwing a word in front of the twitter name, as in “Hey @sethsimonds”, correct?
Like Jessica_L, I often check the profiles/streams of the people I like to see what's up. Another great way to following conversations you've missed (and see the threads): http://search.twitter.com/
All good points Seth,
But -
It was better when Twitter gave users a choice, i.e. the party line wasn't mandated. I could choose to follow just the people I follow or the people I follow and their conversations with other people.
I tried that for awhile and came away with a lot of noise. Netter used it consistently and added new people to follow – including @sethsimonds who she saw me conversing with on a fairly regular basis.
The new change makes that impossible to happen.
I must admit, I wasn't even aware I had a choice with @replies until the big curfuffle about it – so I can hardly say I miss it!
At the time (indeed I suppose at this time too), I was certainly on the side of wanting to protect the rights of users to have a choice, although I personally don't see any reason for wanting to see 50% of conversations.
I'm very happy with my stream just how it is. Everyone I follow is because I'm interested in what they have to say and it just works nicely. I feel I have plenty of ways to connect with people that I want to.
So I don't have any problem if Twitter chooses to bring the old choice back. I jsut won't be using it!
Yes, that's correct. Andrew would call that “crashtagging” and it works…I just find it annoying. That's me though. =)
Checking streams is a great way to discover conversations you've missed. Also gives you a chance to check out profiles and serves as a reminder to check out sites!
Heya Jim!
Yes, it makes that impossible but I don't think many people actually added others that way. RT'ing has turned into the new way of saying “I like this bit of a conversation” and it fits neatly into the current reply policy.
In the situation you mention, had I said something in one of our conversations that you liked, you could RT it and everybody following you would know that we were having an interesting conversation.
If your wife needed the @replies policy to be a certain way in order for her to find somebody you talk to regularly…you guys need to spend more face time together!–I kid, I kid. I'm still inspired every time I think of your love story. Awesome how good things can happen!
Yes, user choice is a must…except when it gets super-messy in the case of something like Twitter that is used in so many different ways by different people/businesses. I think it's worth the risk to make a change and hope the detractors come around. Progress is hard if you're always waiting for poll results.
You, sir, sound like a balanced social media participant. A pleasure!
=)
Personally I didn't bat an eye lid at the change. I didn't have masses of followers at that time so wasn't noticeably affected. Good points Seth, its nice to see the change explained clearly and critically against the screaming and shouting that went on initially.
In fact, I think most of that moaning was by the spammers anyway which is why it didn't last long as they had to get back to spamming?
I never took you for an eye lid-batter, Justin. =)
Yes…it's a bit late to the game. This is the problem of pushing posts up repeatedly because I have other things I'd like to discuss. Morale of the story? Unless it's an ageless topic, post immediately!
More changes are in the future. Of that we can all be sure. Let's just hope there isn't too much kicking and screaming on the next round, eh?
Thanks!
@ reply spammers should be castrated with contaminated dental floss.
seriously, what are these people thinking?
total disregard for the cool and powerful online tool they're using.
aaarrrggghhh! am i allowed to scream?
I like the new reply policy. For all the reasons you state. I don't know how anyone could have actually kept up with every conversation of everyone they follow. That's just too much. No one's that good at filtering. And when you respond to something, you're in chaos mode – it's like throwing as much sh*t against the wall to see what sticks.
Yes, yelling is encouraged, in fact. =)
That's pretty vicious. I hope no spammers run into you!
Naw , the screaming is knee jerk and I quite like to see it happening. Spammer or not it at least shows passion and value. At least that's how I look at resistance to change.
It just takes a little while for people to understand the reasoning behind things, although if twitter had wrote this post it might have made everyone's moaning a more moderate…burp?
Regarding spammers etc. Im educating clients as much as possible on how to benefit from twitter and also how to deal with spammers via these posts.
http://www.justinparks.com/twitter-follower-cou...
and to deal with spammers:
http://www.justinparks.com/dealing-twitter-auto...
Shhhh!
We're not supposed to talk about how impossible it is to interact in a value-added way with thousands of people at the same time! =P
An oily glass wall. Not even a nice dry concrete one. What a mess.
Valid points, but all of this was already possible. My final opinion on their new policy is “meh”. I used to have the show all replies option enabled, but eventually switched it off as it was 90% noise.
We'll use our good pal Chris Brogan as an example. Was following him, then switched to the show all @s option, then unfollowed him as his individual communications were overtaking my twitter stream (which did teach me a lot about the power of using twitter to communicate but also caused me to miss tweets from everyone else). Then I finally switched off the show all @'s option and refollowed Chris. At this point, bet he thinks I'm just a follow/unfollow spammer from all that!
If the policy change was truly to lower their server load, then I'm all for it. Otherwise, they should have left users with the choice, even though many would agree with your sentiments that it caused too much noise.
As for crashtagging, didn't realize there was a name for it but I utilize it very, very rarely for @'s that I think would be appreciated by a larger audience. Looking through my past 150 tweets, I used it twice. One was a tweet about how the Linksys WRT54GL router + DD-WRT firmware makes for the best sub-$100 router ever (figure lots of people would be interested in having a $600 quality router for $60). The other time was to thank people for reviewing me on scribnia.com to show that I do appreciate feedback and to help build buzz for the scribnia peeps, who've got a great site on their hands. Considering many of my followers are also bloggers, it's a potentially valuable tweet for them.
Is that spamming? Considering how rarely I actually “crashtag”, I'd say no but I'll leave it up to everyone else to decide.
One final note before I conclude my essay comment, if two people are engaged in a conversation at a party, I'm not going to go butt in and say “hey looks like yall are having fun, mind if I attach myself” (unless I already know them). If a group of people are, then yeah by all means. The new twitter policy matches that and makes sense for the vast majority of people out there.
It truly is a change for the better, as nothing is lost, just compartmentalized. You can still see everyone's tweets, when you want to, but don't have to tolerate the excessive noise that results from seeing everything in the main stream. It's all good, as they say!
Hi Adam!
I don't think that's spamming at all. You're selecting a specific message that you want to reach everybody who follows you. That sounds like good communication to me.
Next time I think about writing a post about Twitter, I think I'll just hit you up for a guest post. Your essay comment is thoughtful, welcome, and needed.
Thanks!
You, sir, know how to take things in stride. Hopefully more will begin to drink the same water you seem to have access to. =)
Glad the essay was useful and strategy is not spamming!
I'm game for a guest post. Hit me up whenever. I can shoot some ideas your way too.