Twitter Question - Re: Tweeting 'At'

[Lugnuts]

Hi, I'm pretty new to Twitter, right?

So last night I tweeted something US Open-related 'at' one of my favorite former pro golfers (now a commentator). Today I looked in my @ Connect and see that he responded. Awesome. So I was thinking I might get some new followers out of this. I go to his Twitter page, and his tweet to me is not there. Yet it appears on my page as part of our 'conversation.'

Is there a way to Tweet privately to someone so that it appears on her page but not yours?

 

[buckweaver]

Any tweet you make is going to appear on your page. The only way for it not to show up publicly is if you Direct Message somebody.

To do that, just start a message with "D" and then their handle. (They have to be following you in order to receive it, though.) For instance:

D @lugnuts message goes here message goes here ...

If you're both following each other, then you can have a private conversation through DMs that way.

The other way to tweet "at" someone is to start your message with an @ mention, like this:

@lugnuts message goes here message goes here ...

This will show up on your page and her feed. But nobody else will see it unless they're following BOTH of you.

If you want to @ mention someone but you want everyone to see it as if it's a normal tweet, you can start your message with a period, like this:

.@lugnuts message goes here message goes here ...

That's why you see people start their tweets with a period sometimes. Or you can rewrite it in such a way that you're not starting your message with the @ mention. But most people are too lazy to rewrite creatively in 140 characters.

 

[Lugnuts]

Sigh. Complicated.

Here's what happened. I said:

@USGA ... something something #Tiger something something, am I right, @former pro golfer?

So the former pro golfer responds:

@Lugnuts @USGA something something.

I see it when I expand conversation on my page, but I don't see it on his.

HOW AM I EVER GOING TO GET FOLLOWERS THIS WAY? ;D ;D ;D

 

[LongTimeListener]

HOW AM I EVER GOING TO GET FOLLOWERS THIS WAY? ;D ;D ;D

Sex tape.

 

[Lugnuts]

;D I was really hoping to avoid that.

 

[buckweaver]

I see it when I expand conversation on my page, but I don't see it on his.

Oh. In that case, go to their page and under Tweets, click to show "All" instead of "No replies."

https://twitter.com/USGA/with_replies

Most people don't want to see replies, because it clogs up the timeline. So the default is no replies.

 

[wicked]

Also, when replying to someone, make sure you put a period before the @ symbol at the beginning of the tweet. I don't want to confuse you or myself in explaining why, but just do it.

 

[NDJournalist]

Also, when replying to someone, make sure you put a period before the @ symbol at the beginning of the tweet. I don't want to confuse you or myself in explaining why, but just do it.

If you do that, people following you can't see the tweet on their timeline unless they're following the person you're tweeting at.

 

[Lugnuts]

I see it when I expand conversation on my page, but I don't see it on his.

Oh. In that case, go to their page and under Tweets, click to show "All" instead of "No replies."

https://twitter.com/USGA/with_replies

Most people don't want to see replies, because it clogs up the timeline. So the default is no replies.

@buckweaver you're so smart. You figured it out. I do appear on his page. Hot diggity!

 

[Lugnuts]

So just to clarify:

If I want the whole world to see my tweet at somebody, I start with a .@ ?

Or if I DON'T want the whole world to see my tweet at somebody, I start with a .@ ?

 

[imjustagirl]

When in doubt, take buckweaver's and wicked's words over NDJ.

Actually, even when not in doubt.

 

[Lugnuts]

Would it be tacky for me to retweet this guy's response to me?

 

[buckweaver]

Would it be tacky for me to retweet this guy's response to me?

Not if it's interesting or funny.

But the "act like you've been here before" rule applies in most cases. That said, there's a cottage industry of star-****ers on Twitter who do nothing except tweet to celebrities and retweet the responses.

 

[wicked]

When in doubt, take buckweaver's and wicked's words over NDJ.

I think that's the first time you ever come close to endorsing a comment of mine. #hellfreezingover

 

[imjustagirl]

When in doubt, take buckweaver's and wicked's words over NDJ.

I think that's the first time you ever come close to endorsing a comment of mine. #hellfreezingover

Oh bull****.

 

[pressboxer]

Now can someone please explain the hashtag # and when it is/is not applicable?

 

[NDJournalist]

Now can someone please explain the hashtag # and when it is/is not applicable?

It's technically supposed to be a means to search something because it is clickable. If you click on #NBAFinals, you can presumably find everybody else discussing the NBA Finals with that hashtag.

What it has evolved into is teenagers stringing words together without spaces and making the sequence a hashtag.

 

[wicked]

Hashtags are overrated. If you enter #NBAFinals as a string, you'll also find folks who just type "NBA Finals." I'm assuming Twitter's search function has improved over time. (I'm a more recent Twitter convert.)

 

[Football_Bat]

Yep, hashtags are overrated because of the search function. You can search for Lumineers and not have to worry about #lumineers.

 

[Versatile]

Yep, hashtags are overrated because of the search function. You can search for Lumineers and not have to worry about #lumineers.

There goes your hipster cred.