Tweet Tweet…Mute: Twitter has a New Feature

Alyssa Evans | @lyssevans  Is someone having a rough day and blowing up your Twitter newsfeed? Are you sick of the same advertisements? There is a solution to this problem! Twitter gives users the ability to mute people on their newsfeed.

Sometimes users on Twitter have the tendency to go on rants about what is going on in their lives. Yes, sometimes this proves entertaining. Other times a user’s “tweetstorm” can be ruining your newsfeed and overtaking the tweets that you are actually interested in viewing.

Twitter muting involves taking a person’s tweets and retweets off of your newsfeed. Once a user mutes another user, they still have the ability to turn off the mute action in the future. Twitter just put more control in the user’s hands. This can change one’s newsfeed without blocking or unfollowing anyone.

What does this mean for companies? Since user’s have the power to mute, companies need to make sure they don’t become obsessive on Twitter. If user’s are interested in a company, then they usually follow the company's Twitter account. However, company's that become a nuisance risk being muted or blocked altogether. The companies that can suffer the most are the ones that put the advertisements directly into people’s newsfeeds without being followed. Users may choose to mute this company due to their ads, possibly eliminating future contact.

How does it Twitter mute work? With access to Twitter on the web, an IOS device or Android, user’s can use the mute button. Once a handle has been muted, they can still follow you and mention you in tweets, but you can only view these mentions in your notifications tab if you also follow them back. The thing to remember about the mute is that it’s reversible, which can offer you temporary relief from an account that floods your newsfeed.

Overall, Twitter is updating their platform to make the application more user friendly. It is giving the user power to control what they see in their newsfeed, so companies should stay updated on these changes and how they can effect online branding and marketing.