The Fail Whale is back at Twitter and so is some strange behavior that will have a serious impact on Twitter users and especially Social Media Marketers. The largest concern is that some @ Tweets are NOT appearing in the timelines of Twitter users who do not follow you.
QUICK SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TWITTER TIP:
Search on your username to see ALL Tweets
Do NOT rely on Twitter to show them to you!!!
Here are some screen captures showing some tests I just did this morning. The first image shows my Tweets to Dennis. Notice that he is not yet following me.
Search results for GrowMap Tweets to DennisEdell
The second image (below) shows that the Tweet never appeared on the Twitter page that others can see. Note that it also did not appear where HE could see it.
He would have never known I sent it if I had not asked him.
Dennis was not following me yet; my Tweet to him never appeared.
When Dennis followed me my Tweets suddenly appeared (retroactively) in his timeline but never appeared on his page where I could see them.
The third image below shows that he is now following me and his reply to me but not my Tweets to him.
Dennis is now following me. He CAN now see my Tweets but I can't see them on his page.
Neither the Tweets from before he followed me nor after he followed me are appearing on his home page but he CAN see them himself.
Dennis then unfollowed me and the Tweets from me disappeared from his page. He thought it might just be his account so I did some further testing.
My Tweet to Tamar was never visible on her home page at Twitter. Apparently, incoming Tweets can NOT be seen by others looking at our home page.
Tweet to Tamar from GrowMap
We only see others’ outgoing Tweets on their home pages.
We do NOT see the Tweets are sent from others TO them.
We can only HOPE they see our incoming Tweets or ask them if they received them using another method as we can not confirm they appear on their home page.
Tweet to @Tamar not visible
Tamar DID receive my test Tweet as confirmed by this reply from her:
Tamar did receive and reply to my Tweet (Click this image to visit her excellent Social Media Marketing blog)
I also did a test and unfollowed GoodMillwork to see if their Tweets to me disappeared. They did not.
GoodMillwork Tweets Still Visible - Click this image to visit their blog
I had a Tweet sent from @GoodMillwork while I was not following them to see what would happen and it appeared on my @GrowMap page:
Tweet from @GoodMillwork to @GrowMap is visible
Conclusion? We are left with these possibilities:
- New Twitter accounts work differently than older Twitter accounts
- Dennis Edell’s new account is not working correctly
- How Twitter works is inconsistent either by design or by technical error (bugs)
No matter what the reason, one thing is imperative for Twitter users and especially for businesses using Twitter for Social Media Marketing: you need to ensure that you are viewing ALL of your Tweets. Do not trust Twitter to show them to you. This is easily done.
Set up and save a search for your UserName without the @ symbol using the built in Twitter search.
Have you noticed any missing Tweets in your account? That is a commonly reported issue that Twitter support is still working on and seems to frequently be challenged to fix. If you have any other unusual Twitter behavior, insights into Twitter, or any other tips you would like to share please leave them in the comments.
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Hey don’t know how come you’re facing such a serious problem but I never face any kind of stuff like that. May be there would have been some technical error on the website which made you feel such a problem.
I even did not realized it until you post it on your blog….Thanks for telling us
.-= Rinto@Finance Zone´s last blog ..Special Treatment in DIRECTV =-.
Hi Gail,
This is very interesting and the first I’ve heard of this happening. But how many people check their tweets to make sure people are seeing them? A very good catch on your part. I heard Twitter is talking about a cost per tweet marketing program. I don’t know anything about it just read a quick post somewhere (can’t rememnber where). This would really suck if you’re paying for tweets and they are not showing like they should.
Thanks,
Tim
.-= Tim S @ Classic Car Auto Insurance´s last blog ..Insurance for American Muscle Cars =-.
Nice catch! You did find a big glitch in Twitter I guess. But on the other hand I feel Twitter might be doing some beta testing for the switch between the old and new accounts. Not all of us are so keen in observing the updates on the profile of our followers; this makes it easy for Twitter to test experiments and check the success rate before making permanent changes. Anyways, thanks for the information.
.-= Brian@movers in richmond ´s last blog ..Welcome to Budget City Movers, the Best Choice for your Relocation Needs =-.
Twitter: DennisEdell
April 27, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Twitter: @DennisEdell
Not a hard thing to catch when you;re fresh with no stream to speak of. LOL
Man was I pissed though, almost deleted account again right there and then.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Theme Customization 5- New Pages, Tabs, and More! =-.
Twitter: erenmckay
April 26, 2010 at 3:38 am
Twitter: @erenmckay
Hi Gail,
.
This is very good to know. One might mistakenly interpret that someone else didn’t answer their tweet and in fact it was due to a glitch. When you really need to communicate something I believe that using more than one venue to get your message out is essential. For example emailing them. Thanks for testing this and letting us know. Will tweet it out
All the best,
Eren
.-= Eren Mckay´s last blog ..Inspirational Parenting Quotes – How I See My Calling =-.
Twitter: robsellen
April 23, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Twitter: @robsellen
Hi Gail,
Not seen this issue myself “as it happens” but sometimes I click the replies tab and nothing happens, in them cases I always just do as you mentioned, a search with @robsellen in it… then later on when the replies tab is ok, I have spotted one or two tweets missing that did show in the earlier search… and this has happened a few times going back well over 6 or 7 months ago, so I don’t think it’s a recent issue, much more likely a glitch.
.-= rob sellen@portland bill´s last blog ..Portland community, Portland Bill, you and me =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 24, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Rob,
Try comparing searches for @RobSellen and RobSellen without the @ as there can be differences. I always search without the @ because I have often seen Tweets that way that did not appear for @GrowMap with the @ sign in front or using the link in my account.
Twitter is going to always have glitched because they are always testing new things and they are likely to continually have scalability issues.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Who Can You Benefit by Sharing GrowMap? =-.
Twitter: robsellen
April 25, 2010 at 7:13 am
Twitter: @robsellen
That’s a good point, didn’t think about that.
.-= rob sellen@internet marketing´s last blog ..The Portland Bill site and what’s next =-.
Twitter: archigators
April 20, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Twitter: @archigators
It’s good to know this issue, actually I never mention people who are not following me. So, it’s not big problem for me.
.-= TheArchitect´s last blog ..Nice Floor Decor for Modern Interior =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 22, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello and welcome Archigator,
Love your blog. Would you be interested in collaborating? I see you are studying architecture and Good Millwork blogs about many related topics such as what is architecture and architectural moldings and famous architects.
Their blog is also part of the DoFollow CommentLuv KeywordLuv community. There are two other things there you might want to see
1) Their architects who Twitter lists.
2) The free moldings search tool that allows you to download free 3D CAD drawings for use in architectural drawings. Those might come in handy for your projects.
The reason this issue might concern you is that architects or other architecture students who are not following you might be trying to reach you and you will never know it if their Tweets are not visible to you and you’re not searching for your own username. That is why I recommend everyone who uses Twitter save and use that search.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Keyword Tags, MetaTags, Tags: How Many Are Best? =-.
Twitter: karenswim
April 20, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Twitter: @karenswim
Thank you so much for testing this issue and sharing your findings. Yes, in fact I have noticed this odd behavior. I manage a few client Twitter accounts and one is less than 90 days old, and I have been missing tweets. Twitter in general has been unstable since last week, and like the last big fallout a few years ago, I am noticing a wave of new subscriptions to alternate social media platforms. I hope these issues get resolved soon.
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..Child’s Play? =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 22, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Karen,
You’re welcome. I am in a better position to see strange behaviors because I collaborate with so many people and have access to many Twitter accounts.
It is not too surprising that Twitter has periodic scalability issues.
What is unfortunate is that they do not choose to communicate openly with their users. Reminds me of many other large companies.
Have you considered being a part of the DoFollow CommentLuv KeywordLuv community? That is where I spend my time and those bloggers are who I link to most as you can see in the post I’ll feature in CommentLuv.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Affiliate Tips Tuesday: Holiday Promotions =-.
Twitter: webduck
April 20, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Twitter: @webduck
Thanks for taking on the editor in chief job for Andy Bailey!
Twitter: GrowMap
April 21, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Thank you Carol. I’m thrilled to be working with Andy. Do be sure to share any requests you have with me. Andy has already made several improvements and we have much more in the works.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Social Media Marketing Monday – SMM Overview =-.
Did you TWEET to TWITTER and tell them LOL cuz if you did, they might not have gotten it LOL again. Actually I always love glitches because I find it interesting when people discover them and more interesting to see if people fix them, and in this case if Twitter even acknowledges you for it. GOOD POST!! Keep on GROWING grow map
Twitter: DennisEdell
April 21, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Twitter: @DennisEdell
Yep I did…no response. I’m not shocked…
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..SpyShelter Giveaway Contest on Dragon Blogger! =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 24, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
LOL
Twitter: ExtremeEzine
April 20, 2010 at 5:56 am
Twitter: @ExtremeEzine
I wonder if it could have anything to do with the new advertising we keep hearing about. It’s way above my head but it kind of makes sense if they were working on certain ads only seen by certain accounts. Perhaps they were playing with live accounts while testing something.
.-= Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Why You Don’t Know Your REAL Email Open Rate =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 20, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Brian,
Few people realize that testing new features in a small percentage of accounts IS the usual way to roll out changes. It makes sense to test in new accounts if you don’t want anyone to figure out what you’re doing.
Testing in power users accounts makes sense if you want to get feedback and find out how it will affect those who understand your system the most.
I have no doubt that Twitter tests things all the time and know for a fact that they roll out changes to limited numbers of users at a time. We saw that clearly when they introduced Twitter lists.
What concerns those of us who pay attention to these things is how easy it would be for major sites to censor activities. April recently identified an issue with bit.ly hijacking links from other shortener services and displaying a harmful site warning instead of taking you to the intended page directly.
April correctly recognized that allowing bit.ly to behave in that manner unfairly damages other legitimate shortener services but also the online reputations of those sharing their links and the destination sites.
We can all encourage bit.ly to compete more fairly by increasing the visibility of that issue. We as users must hold companies accountable and not allow monopolistic practices to eliminate our alternatives. I hope more bloggers will spread the word based on the information in April’s post.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Social Media Marketing Monday – SMM Overview =-.
Twitter: DennisEdell
April 20, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Twitter: @DennisEdell
An interesting thought Brian, and may make sense. But isn’t the new advertising still ONLY in search?
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Do You Have 5 BURNING Questions? =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 24, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Dennis,
Have you seen anything you know was advertising? It won’t be that easy to tell if the company writing the Tweets is good at making them seem natural.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..How to Turn Visual Editor on in WordPress =-.
Twitter: DennisEdell
April 26, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Twitter: @DennisEdell
I’d like to see someone slip an ad past me at 140 characters or less, not looking like an ad.
Either way, I don’t see what that has to do with it?
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Comment Contest: 5 Days Left! =-.
Wow.. tweets to non-followers.. really its a new technique.. almost twitter is being a giant in its report.. it spreads drastically and should be on the top of microblogging
Twitter: GrowMap
April 20, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello,
Your comment is very challenging to decipher. We have always been able to send @Tweets to any Twitter user whether they follow us or not. Usually they WILL see them but Dennis is not seeing Tweets from anyone he doesn’t follow. That IS different.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..New Weekly SMM, WOMM, Affiliate Columns =-.
Twitter: LaJollaHomesPro
April 20, 2010 at 1:21 am
Twitter: @LaJollaHomesPro
Sometimes I think we all get a little too preoccupied with exactly which tweets are placing where, or which backlinks are showing up on the search engines. I know that watching the Google indexing and serps has driven me a little crazy at times. But the big picture is to just keep doing what you’re doing and don’t lose track of the forest due to the trees. Slow and steady wins the race every time!
.-= Geoff@San Diego Homes´s last blog ..Pre Foreclosure Sale In Point Loma =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 20, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Geoff,
You’re right that we can’t really worry about what ends up where; however, it does make sense to be aware what doesn’t work so we don’t waste ANY time doing it.
Regular Twitter users would consider it strange behavior if Twitter doesn’t show us all Tweets that are sent SPECIFICALLY to us and that IS what is happening in Dennis’ new account.
There are two major takeaways from this post:
1) Search for your Username without the @ symbol to see (hopefully) all your posts. I have been doing this a long time because clicking on the @GrowMap function was not displaying all the Tweets that included @GrowMap in them. I keep my username saved as a search and recommend all Twitter users do too.
2) We can never assume that our communications are being received regardless of whether they are on Social Networks, email, voicemail or text messages. ALWAYS use closed loop communications to avoid damaged relationships.
I can just imagine all the people who reach out once, receive no reply and assume they are being ignored when the truth is their intended recipient never even saw what they sent.
Did I ever mention that getting your free listings submitted to Local Search Directories is a high priority activity? Those directories can be very high traffic sites with high PR so the links are valuable. On top of that it just makes sense to make sure your business is VERY easy to find online, in cell phones and in GPS systems.
The post I’ve featured in CommentLuv contains all the details.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Free Business Listings in Local Search Directories =-.
I think conclusion 1 and 3 are most likely the reasons on why they are having these problems, Maybe Twitter wants a new system for the accounts they have but they are not using it yet for the old accounts, or it is because of technical error, I haven’t experienced it though but good thing I read it here then I will not be surprised if that will happen to my Twitter Account. Thank you for sharing.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 24, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Kay,
The thing is we usually do not know if we never see them.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Social Media Marketing Monday – SMM Overview =-.
I cant believe that new twitter accounts work differently than the old ones. I guess this could be because of some glitch. I guess they give equal rights to accounts irrespective of creation date. I wish twitter quickly fix these issues, otherwise they have to bear the consequences.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Ben,
It is not uncommon for changes to be introduced in either a portion of all accounts or only to new accounts. Twitter does not quickly fix anything as can be seen by the links near the end of this post showing that they have been working on one issue for over a year.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..New Weekly SMM, WOMM, Affiliate Columns =-.
Twitter: virtuosoblogger
April 19, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Twitter: @virtuosoblogger
I have seen this bug a lot. Along with that some people keep on unfollowing even though they are my friends and are contsantly interacting with me.
But these bugs can occur due to the apps we use. I hope twitter fixes this asap.
.-= Gautam Hans @ Blog Godown´s last blog ..Why you Should Become a Niche Blogger =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Gautam,
You’re saying that your followers are getting unfollowed by something; that they are NOT unfollowing you on purpose?
There are Twitter apps that have unfollow functions so you would need to find out what apps each follower users to diagnose whether the issue is on Twitter itself or with one or more of those apps.
Since you already rank for Blog GoDown you might want to start targeting additional anchor text such as Blogging Tips or Social Media. How to research and decide on your best anchor text is explained in my building traffic post.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Keyword Tags, MetaTags, Tags: How Many Are Best? =-.
Twitter: exde601e
April 19, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Twitter: @exde601e
This could be a temporary Twitter glitch, nothing more.
This happened to me several times, I did not see some of my @-replies for 2-3 days, then they magically reappeared.
.-= gxg´s last blog ..Kurt Vonnegut – Sirenele de pe Titan =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello George,
Yes it could be; however, since it would be extremely difficult for any of us to really know if Tweets never arrived the main takeaway from this post is to get in the habit of searching for our own usernames without the @ symbol in front to make sure we see them (as much as is possible – Twitter could make them disappear even then if they wished; however, if they did we could tell our own Tweets were missing and make that known).
Twitter has been having technical challenges today and this particular issue off and on for at least a year (based on the two links I included in this post).
LOL at “Artificial intelligence cannot compensate human stupidity” (from your blog) . It also can not ever make the types of decisions wise humans can make.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..New Weekly SMM, WOMM, Affiliate Columns =-.
Twitter: kikolani
April 19, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Twitter: @kikolani
I have not had a problem with sending @replies to users who are not following me (nor I them), and I know because several of the people I have sent the messages to have @replied me in return (with no problems as well since I wasn’t following them). It may be a newer account thing, or possibly (and this is a stretch) accounts that have been reported once or twice as spam. It could be anything from newer accounts, accounts with a certain number of followers, or the kind of @replies that you send. Considering Twitter does not let you DM someone who is not following you, it seems they should allow the @replies to anyone regardless of following, otherwise you would never be able to communicate with those who are not following you at all.
.-= Kristi@Blogging Tips´s last blog ..8 Ways Businesses Should Use Social Media =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Kristi,
I tested this between established accounts and did not see that behavior. Dennis’ account is brand new. It is very possible that my primary Twitter account may have been reported for spam because I often test new tools and they don’t always behave as expected.
That reminds me that I should probably not run tests from my primary account. Do you know if there is any way to tell if your account has been reported? It may be irrelevant since there is probably nothing we can do about it anyway.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Social Media Marketing Monday – SMM Overview =-.
Twitter: DennisEdell
April 19, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Twitter: @DennisEdell
“otherwise you would never be able to communicate with those who are not following you at all.”
Exactly right although I think you have it backwards. If you tweeted to me right now I would not see it as I am not currently following you.
Nice huh.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..The Official DEDC Comment Policy =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for being part of discovering this issue. I take it you still can’t see @DennisEdell Tweets from anyone you aren’t following.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Merchant Affiliate Management Tips =-.
Twitter: DennisEdell
April 20, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Twitter: @DennisEdell
Actually I awoke this morning to see some sent to me from those unfollowed.
Now whether it’s only a couple out of many or all, I’ll never know, but some.
I’ve updated my post.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Do You Have 5 BURNING Questions? =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 24, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Dennis,
That is the problem: we probably will NOT ever know how many Tweets (or emails, voicemails, etc.) we never see. That is why it is unwise to assume that someone received anything we have sent. We only know for sure when they respond.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Who Can You Benefit by Sharing GrowMap? =-.
Twitter: jsinkeywest
April 19, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Twitter: @jsinkeywest
Here’s some more data from twitter
´s last blog ..Who’s really got your back ? =-.
people that like you (EVEN though they don’t really know you ) respond back quicker then people who don’t like you.
I know this because new people get back quick instantly and old timers if they even get back do at their leisure
I was wondering if we can conclude the new person is actually smarter then the older person ? LOL I saw your tweets earlier just having some FUN
With real facts people don’t mention
Thanks hope all is well
.-= John Sullivan @King of DO FOLLOW
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello King DoFollow,
Thank you for gracing this humble blog with your presence. You are absolutely correct: people who like you are far more likely to answer than those who don’t (or simply don’t care).
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Who Can You Benefit by Sharing GrowMap? =-.
Twitter: Ileane
April 19, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Twitter: @Ileane
Hi Gail, this is really interesting. I’m a HootSuite user and I’ve never had this problem (not that I know of anyway). Do you think this only happens on the Twitter site?
Thanks for the heads up.
.-= Ileane´s last blog ..HootSuite Tutorial Video =-.
Twitter: GrowMap
April 19, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
Welcome Ileane,
The big issue is that most people would never have any idea if this is affecting them. If Twitter chooses to they can censor Tweets from anyone for any reason and that could affect them regardless of where you view them.
It is very important that we all start using what I call closed loop communications. Few realize how frequently email gets missed or never even arrives or voicemail systems lose messages or get accidentally deleted before they’re heard.
We simply MUST stop assuming that someone received our message – whether that message was sent via a Social Network like Twitter or email or in a voicemail. (Some also need to learn to be more tolerant of follow-up inquiries – they are important.)
Even if the message does get received, people are so busy that it is easy for them to not get around to replying even if they ARE interested and had good intentions to respond. We should not be afraid to follow up and ensure that messages are received.
My personal policy is to NEVER assume a message was received until I have confirmation by a reply to it or some other means. Many an excellent or important relationship has been damaged when one party felt ignored after a message was never even received!
I notice that you did not add a dofollow anchor text link to your blog. Those types of links are very beneficial. You can read about why in my post about building traffic and how keywordluv benefits us all.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..Why Marketing is NOT Evil =-.
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