For months now we’ve been hearing about how Twitter is trying to get around the 140 character rule that they themselves set for the micro blogging network, without necessarily losing its essence. Now reports are going around that by September 19, they will be making an announcement that may change the way tweets work. The 140 character rule will still be in place, but what type of content will count as part of that limit will be changed.
Things like media attachments (pictures, GIFs, videos, polls, etc) will not be counted anymore as part of the 140 characters. This intention was actually announced a few months back, but they did not say when it will be implemented. Quoted tweets will also not be included in the count, as well as usernames that are placed at the beginning of replies. These adjustments will allow Twitter users to express themselves more and make their message itself the focus of the tweet and not all the other items.
While Twitter originally planned to do away with the character limit, they must have had a change of heart as CEO Jack Dorsey started talking about how the social network has imposed that “beautiful restraint” and that they will “never lose” that sense of creativity and brevity. If these reports are true, then they have at least found a way to get around that limit without sacrificing what has made them “unique”.
Now the question is whether this move would get them more users or just make their existing base happy. The former has been Twitter’s problem for the past few years, and investors have been less than happy with the lack of growth in that area. As for changes they’ve introduced in an effort to get more new users, it has been a hit and miss, as it is with apps and services that bring a lot of changes.
VIA: The Verge
