Twitter has rolled out a feature update that is useful for users who use Twitter to communicate both publicly and privately.
The 140 characters microblog is now giving users the option to receive direct messages (DMs) from any other Twitter user, first announced by a tweet from marketing blogger Jim Connolly.
Before, DMs on Twitter are restrictive. Users can't just send messages to others without being "invited". Users are required to follow the person they want to send the message in order for the message to be sent. However, the new option, which appears in a user's Twitter account settings, lifts this requirement.
Connolly sees the option as giving benefits for brands and businesses rather than individual users. "People complain all the time about bad customer service experiences over Twitter," he said. "Now, those grievances can be dealt with privately from the business end."
Twitter had rolled out the feature exclusively to verified accounts in 2011, a move that let brands and celebrities receive direct messages from their users without first following them back.
Though there are some cases when individuals may find it useful, Connolly sees the option as made specifically to businesses. "Pretty much every sizeable brand has a social media team," he said. "They now have a tool that they couldn't have dreamed of before to help them."
Recent policy changes concerning privacy and identity at Google and Facebook have stirred up some ill will among users. Unlike Google and Facebook that had their new policy changes concerning privacy stirred up, Twitter has made it so users need to opt in to the feature to receive DMs rather than toggling it off after receiving DMs from people they don't know.
"If it had been an opt out option, it would have been mayhem," said Connolly.
Twitter had limited DMs to serve a couple of purposes: It encouraged network growth, and limiting spam. DMs were kept spotless
Enabling this option could potentially mean spam messages sent to Twitter inboxes, and that's why its default setting is off. But if dealing with a potential influx of spam is worth opening up a new channel of communication, then this is a welcome change indeed.
DMs are private interactions between Twitter users, more like instant messages than typical Twitter @replies, which appear publicly on users' timelines and are open to the world. DMs, however was more private.
By making DM less exclusive and easier to use, can create a new gateway for Twitter to open a potential avenue for advertising.
Twitter recently partnered with media outlets to expand advertising partnerships and enable Twitter users to access and control television viewing from their tweets. The new feature in DM is an additional opportunity for businesses to target potential consumers and will give users the ability to interact directly with brands.
Update November 19, 2013:
Twitter appears to have backtracked on an option that expanded its personal messaging service by allowing users to receive direct messages even from people they were not following.
Reports said that the check box to opt into the new feature, is no longer available to users. Twitter's direct message service, one of its oldest features, typically allows only users who are following each other to exchange messages privately.