What are @replies and mentions?

You can join the conversation on Twitter by @replying to others and by mentioning them in your own Tweets. For information on how to post @replies and mentions, click here.

What is an @reply?

• An @reply is any update posted by clicking the Reply button on a Tweet.
• Any Tweet that is an @reply to you begins with your username and will show up in your Mentions tab on the Connect page.

What is a mention?

• A mention is any Twitter update that contains "@username" anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that @replies are also considered mentions.)
• We collect these messages, as well as all your @replies, in the Mentions tab on the Connect page.
• If you include more than one person's name in your Tweet and you use the @username format, all of those people will see the Tweet in their Mentions tab.

If I see an @reply in my timeline, how do I know what Tweet they replied to?

• Click on the Tweet and it will expand to display the Tweet they @replied to. 
• You'll also see other content related to the Tweet.

Things to note:

• Visiting another user's profile page on Twitter will not display Tweets that mention them. However, you can search for all Tweets mentioning their username in the search box. Search for "@username" to view results.
• People will only see others' @replies in their home timeline if they are following both the sender and recipient of the @reply.
• People will see any mentions posted by someone they follow (all mentions are treated like regular Tweets).
• People with protected Tweets can only send @replies to their approved followers.
• If someone sends you an @reply and you are not following the user, the reply will not appear on your Tweets timeline. Instead, the reply will appear in your Mentions tab.