Twitter reply works differently in the context of a conversation and how it is viewed by your followers.

1. @Replying on Twitter
How conversations work
By Colin Wong
http://twitter.com/colinwong

2. Keep this default
Your Twitter settings. setting. Essential to
making sense of
conversations.

3. Ben and Colin follow each other.
Colin
Ben
follow each other

4. Colin
Ben
follow each other
Both have followers.
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal

5. Colin
Ben
follow each other
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
Ben sends a message to Colin.
@colinwong How are you doing?

6. Colin
Ben
follow each other
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
Colin replies to Ben.
@colinwong How are you doing?
@benting Doing real good. Yourself?

7. Colin
Ben
follow each other
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
Who will see this conversation?
@colinwong How are you doing?
@benting Doing real good. Yourself?

8. Colin
Ben
follow each other
Only me! I
follow both
followers followers
Ben and Colin
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
@colinwong How are you doing?
@benting Doing real good. Yourself?

9. Colin
Ben
follow each other
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
The rest are not subscribed to both.

10. Why Does Twitter Do This?

11. Colin
Ben
follow each other
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
@colinwong How are you doing?
Jin and Griff can
only see Ben’s
replies.

12. Colin
Ben
follow each other
followers followers
Jason
Jin Jason Griff Kevin Kamal
Kevin and Kamal
can only see
Colin’s replies.
@benting Doing real good. Yourself?

13. Twitter removes @reply messages from
your feed unless you follow both the
sender and the receiver.

14. This helps you make more sense
of conversations.

15. For more information on how @Reply works:
http://tr.im/jdk1