Types of Tweets and Where They Appear

Normal Tweets:

• Definition: Any message with fewer than 140 characters posted to Twitter. Also called a "Tweet." (Example above.)
• Where it appears for the sender: On the sender's Profile page.
• Where it appears for the recipient: In the home timeline view of anyone who is following the sender.
• Places it will never appear: In anyone else's Profile page, unless they retweeted the message.

@Mentions:

• Definition: A Tweet containing another user's Twitter username, preceded by the "@" symbol, like this: Hello @NeonGolden! What's up? (Example above.)
• Where it appears for the sender: On the sender's Profile page of public Tweets.
• Where it appears for the recipient: In the recipient's @Mentions tab, which is accessible only by them. Additionally, mentions will appear in the recipient's home timeline view (not Profile) if they are following the sender. Also not: anyone on all of Twitter who is following the sender and the recipient of a reply or mention will see the Tweet in their home view.
• Places it will never appear: On anyone's Profile page, unless they wrote the message.

@Replies:

• Definition: A Tweet that begins with another user's username and is in reply to one of their Tweets, like this: @NeonGolden I can't believe you thought that movie was cheesy--I loved it.(Example above.)
• Where it appears for the sender: On the sender's profile page.
• Where it appears for the recipient: In the recipient's @Mentions tab. Like mentions, replies will also appear in the recipient's home timeline view if they are following the sender. Anyone following the sender and the recipient of a reply or mention will see it in their home view.
• Places it will never appear: On anyone's Profile page, unless they wrote the message.

Messages (formerly "Direct Messages"):

• Definition: A private message sent directly to someone who follows you.
• Where it appears for the sender: In the sender's "Sent" folder. Will disappear if recipient deletes it.
• Where it appears for the recipient: In the recipient's private "Direct Messages" folder. Will disappear if sender deletes it.
• Places it will never appear: In any public timeline or public search

• Other Things You Might Want to Know:

  Where do people's @replies appear for other users?

  If you're not the sender or recipient of an @reply, will you ever see the message on Twitter? The answer is YES! Users will see @replies in their home timeline if they are following both the sender and recipient of the update. Otherwise, they won't see the reply unless the visit the sender's profile page
  
  
  

  What Is Retweet? (RT)

  Like a Tweet? Retweet! Sometimes you come across a Tweet that you just have to share. Twitter's retweet (otherwise known as "RT") feature helps you and others quickly share that Tweet with all of your followers.

  How to Retweet:

  1. Hover over a Tweet
  2. Click the retweet link, highlighted below
  3. The Tweet will then be forwarded to all of your followers

  

  Where to Find Retweets:

  Click the “Retweets” tab on your homepage to to see what you’ve retweeted, what’s been retweeted by people you follow, and who retweeted your Tweets! The following items appear in a drop-down menu. Click one of them to see results.

  • Retweets by others: read the retweets posted by people you follow under the first tab, 'Retweets by others.'
  • Retweets by you: read your own retweets- it's like the sent items in your email account. If others have also retweeted, you'll see their profile icons listed.
  • Your Tweets, retweeted: find out who retweets your tweets!

  Note: Please note that retweets, like regular tweets, from people you've blocked will not show up.

  

  How Can I see Who Retweeted my Tweets in new Twitter?

  Easy, just click on 'Your Tweets, Retweeted' in the Retweets tab, then click on the Tweet! The details pane will load to the right of the Tweet, complete with a tiled list of users who recently Retweeted your Tweet and the total number of times the Tweet has been Retweeted.

  

  Disabling Retweets:

  If a particular account that you follow retweets stuff that you don’t want to see in your home timeline, just visit their profile to turn off retweets from them. Here’s how:

  1. Open a user’s mini-profile by clicking their username anywhere on Twitter, or go to their full profile at http://www.twitter.com/username
  2. Next to the Following button, click the retweets icon as shown below. Grey = OFF, so anything that person retweets won’t show up in your timeline.
  3. To turn their retweets back on, click the button to turn it green. Green = ON.

  

  Keep in mind:

  • If you see a new face in your timeline, it's because someone you follow retweeted something they thought you should see. In the message, you’ll see the picture and username of the original user, who was retweeted by someone you follow. Turn off retweets for that person if you don’t like what they share.
  • Turning on or off retweets is NOT retroactive, meaning that retweets from someone you follow will be delivered to your home timeline while the retweet button for them is green; retweets will not be delivered while the button is grey.

  Recognizing Retweets in Timelines and Profiles

  • Retweets in all timelines and profiles are distinguished by the retweet iconfollowed by the name of the retweeter in the upper right-hand corner of the message.
  • To credit a Tweet's author, retweets show the profile picture, user name, and tweet of the original author, with "retweeted by" information appended at bottom.
  • If you see a message from a stranger in your timeline, look for the retweet icon – the retweeter should be someone you follow.

  

  Frequently Asked Questions

  People often wonder:

  1. Can I turn off ALL retweets? Nope! You can unfollow a user who retweets things you don't like, but you can't turn off retweets completely.
  2. When people visit my profile, can they view my retweets in a tab, like favorites? Nope. People can view the retweets posted in your profile by scrolling through the your tweets and looking for the ones with retweet icons. Only you can see your retweet archives.
  3. What if I retweet from apps like Tweetie, twhirl, etc? Retweets, like regular tweets, will appear differently in different applications. All retweets from third party apps (like Tweetie and twhirl) will show up in your retweet tab IF they're using Twitter's retweet API. (Not sure? Try retweeting from your favorite app, and then check the "retweets by you" tab on the web.) Many apps have built in their own version of retweeting; retweets sent from apps that don't use the official feature will not appear in your retweet tab.
  4. Are there limits on retweets? There's no limit to the number of times a tweet can be retweeted, but Twitter will only show the most recent 100 retweeters for any public tweet.