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- Feb 11, 2006
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Now You Can Follow Twitter Users Without an Account!
Twitter has introduced a new feature called "Fast Follow" that makes it easy to follow anyone via SMS, even if you don't have a Twitter account (if you're located in the U.S. at least).
To use it, all you need to do is text "follow [username]" to Twittter's shortcode of 40404. From there, you'll start receiving all of that user's updates via text message.
Twitter seems to envision Fast Follow being used largely in advertising. The company encourages people to, "Try it out the next time you see a Twitter @username at a restaurant or store, on a billboard or on TV, or if you hear one mentioned on the radio."
While a fairly simple feature, it's an interesting twist that could ultimately bring Twitter to the tens of millions of passive users who occasionally consume tweets from their favorite people or brands but don't care to tweet themselves. Essentially, the service can simply act as a text message-based newsletter of sorts.
Twitter's blog has some more details on the feature and a few other text message features being made available with the service.
Twitter has introduced a new feature called "Fast Follow" that makes it easy to follow anyone via SMS, even if you don't have a Twitter account (if you're located in the U.S. at least).
To use it, all you need to do is text "follow [username]" to Twittter's shortcode of 40404. From there, you'll start receiving all of that user's updates via text message.
Twitter seems to envision Fast Follow being used largely in advertising. The company encourages people to, "Try it out the next time you see a Twitter @username at a restaurant or store, on a billboard or on TV, or if you hear one mentioned on the radio."
While a fairly simple feature, it's an interesting twist that could ultimately bring Twitter to the tens of millions of passive users who occasionally consume tweets from their favorite people or brands but don't care to tweet themselves. Essentially, the service can simply act as a text message-based newsletter of sorts.
Twitter's blog has some more details on the feature and a few other text message features being made available with the service.
