Twitter is set to show you only the @messages between people you're following. For example, if you're following Jane but not Joe, you won't see any @messages between Jane and Joe. Conversely, if you're following both Jane and Pete, you'll see the @messages between them.
Hardly anyone is aware of this setting, but it's hugely important. Because it means that when you start a message with the @ symbol, the vast majority of people won't see it. Which may be fine by you if you're sending somebody an @reply, but it's probably the opposite of what you want if you're trying to refer to somebody.
For instance, imagine you're followed by 3,500 people, ten of whom are also following Kermit the Frog. When you twitter, "@kermie's new book is amazing; get a copy at http://bit.ly/kerm," only the ten people following both of you will see your message. Which is almost certainly not your intention.
The solution is easy: unless you're sending an @message, don't start your posts with the @ symbol. Instead, rewrite your sentence, or start with something like, "Wow," "Cool," "This just in." You get the idea.
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