Twitter to Expand 140-Character Limit With New Product

[MacRumors]

Twitter is planning to introduce a new solution that will allow users to create tweets that exceed 140 characters in length, reports Re/code. Twitter will implement longer tweets through a new product, but it is not yet clear what that product will look like or how it will work.

There are existing services designed to let users publish long-form content on Twitter, like TwitLonger, which directs users to a website to read a full tweet, or OneShot, which lets users post images of text, but Twitter may have a better solution in mind for its own product.

Twitter is also said to be considering removing links and usernames from character counts, which would also expand the allowed length of tweets.

In addition to the long-form product, execs have been openly discussing the idea of tweaking how Twitter measures its 140-character limit by removing things like links and user handles from the count, multiple sources say. In the past, Twitter has tinkered with the limit in other ways. Twitter Cards are still beholden to the 140-character limit but are intended to help people (and advertisers) share lots of information, and Twitter added a "retweet with comment" option in April to give people more room to comment on tweets they share.

Twitter has already been making moves towards expanding its signature limitations. Earlier this year, the company officially removed the 140-character limit from Direct Messages, allowing for unrestricted conversation much like other chat and messaging apps.

Article Link: Twitter to Expand 140-Character Limit With New Product

 

[jblagden]

"Twitter will implement longer tweets through a new product"

I wonder how much that will cost.

 

[KdParker]

Won't that just be twitter group messaging at that point?

 

[vjl323]

As badly as Twitter has treated the developers of 3rd party apps, I have to wonder if this new feature will only be allowed by official Twitter clients and not 3rd party [and superior] ones.

 

[Baklava]

Twitter Pro, 9.99$ / month, max. 160 characters per tweet, tons of profit

 

[AngerDanger]

I hope this new product is inexplicably an Amiibo-like figure of the Twitter logo that connects to your phone or computer through NFC or bluetooth. This blue canary sitting idly by your device could watch over your character limit and extend it when Tweets surpass it.

It'll only work when you @ your friends—well not only when you @ your friends, but it'll depend on where it's going then, and if they're actually your friends.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

I wish Apple had have bought Twitter back in the day. Twitter management is showing no restraint. Their leadership is awful.

 

[HackerJL]

Its called Medium.com

 

[alfm]

So long Twitter. It's been fun.

 

[milo]

Well at least it makes sense to exempt links and user names from the limit. But dumping it completely seems to defeat the whole purpose.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

As of Oct 1st we'll be losing 1 character in our tweets with links as Twitter is transitioning t.co to HTTPS.

This will also result in a loss of reporting on Twitter referral traffic for sites that don't utilize HTTPS as referral headers are stripped in the HTTPS to HTTP transition. Expect a loss around 10%.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

As badly as Twitter has treated the developers of 3rd party apps, I have to wonder if this new feature will only be allowed by official Twitter clients and not 3rd party [and superior] ones.

Thankfully we spend a lot of money with them and have the ability to make them do what we need in many cases. I've sat down with Twitter and other social networks on many occasions and said, "If you want these $3 million in ad dollars this quarter, here's what we need." This is why you see stuff like dark posts in LinkedIn now, when they weren't even on their roadmap before.

 

[coolfactor]

I think the character limit is a good thing. It forces you to curate what you're posting to the world.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I like the character limit but I'd really like it if usernames and links weren't included in the count. Maybe one hashtag could be excluded from the count too.

 

[jblagden]

I think the character limit is a good thing. It forces you to curate what you're posting to the world.

But that has the side-effect of forcing you to toss grammar, and sometimes coherence, to the wayside just to be able to make your message fit within the 140 character limit.

Just that one sentence is 173 characters. Maybe 200 characters would be a semi-reasonable limit. Though, I'd really prefer 500-600 characters, which is why I prefer Facebook, though I rarely use social networks.

 

[rhoydotp]

I like the character limit but I'd really like it if usernames and links weren't included in the count. Maybe one hashtag could be excluded from the count too.

I agree but I think links are already not counted, at least the first one. But having to exclude twitter handles and hashtags would help solve this problem.

 

[macintologist]

I just think the 140 limit is silly, and it should be 200. That's what Yik Yak uses and it's far more reasonable for trying to get a complete thought out.

^^ that above thought right there was 154 characters. Wouldn't fit on Twitter. Twitter is horrible for any kind of conversation except cute one-liners.

 

[Elbon]

I think the character limit is a good thing. It forces you to curate what you're posting to the world.

I agree, though 140 characters is not enough. I've always thought that 256, 512, or even 1024 would be a better limit.

But it really doesn't matter that much to me. I still don't really "get" Twitter. I've tried a bunch of times but I just don't see the draw. There are better ways to get news and better ways to stay in touch with people.

 

[JackANSI]

I agree, though 140 characters is not enough. I've always thought that 256, 512, or even 1024 would be a better limit.

But it really doesn't matter that much to me. I still don't really "get" Twitter. I've tried a bunch of times but I just don't see the draw. There are better ways to get news and better ways to stay in touch with people.

I thought I was the only one that didn't "get" twitter.

 

[joueboy]

It is called Twitter Pro. For $.99 a month you you can twit longer, no ads and unlimited followers. You heard it from me first!

 

[ipedro]

I don't think that Twitter will eliminate the character count completely. That defeats the purpose. I like how it challenges you to shorten your expressions to convey a thought. It's entirely possible to write meaningful thoughts in 140 characters or less.

The one limitation that makes no sense is including links and images towards that count. Eliminate those and 140 characters will be sufficient. If it has to be increased, do it for simplicity sake. 200 characters is still short enough while moving to a nice round number that's easy to remember.

 

[garirry]

I think they should just expand the character limit to 400 or something like that, that way people won't write their entire diary on a single Tweet, but will give much more space to write stuff. It's really difficult writing something with the 140 char limit.

 

[friedmud]

I don't think that Twitter will eliminate the character count completely. That defeats the purpose. I like how it challenges you to shorten your expressions to convey a thought. It's entirely possible to write meaningful thoughts in 140 characters or less.

The one limitation that makes no sense is including links and images towards that count. Eliminate those and 140 characters will be sufficient. If it has to be increased, do it for simplicity sake. 200 characters is still short enough while moving to a nice round number that's easy to remember.

http://hey.guys/i/found/a/way/to/get/around/the/twitter/tweet/length/limit?this=is&really&awesome

 

[jblagden]

I don't think that Twitter will eliminate the character count completely. That defeats the purpose. I like how it challenges you to shorten your expressions to convey a thought. It's entirely possible to write meaningful thoughts in 140 characters or less.

So you're saying that Twitter is just a glorified group text message.

That's why I use Facebook instead. I only use Twitter when I want to contact someone who isn't on Facebook.

 

[jpgr15]

Could be good, could be bad. I would lean towards bad. The character limit forces a clear and concise message which inherently reduces long, wordy, rambling posts - similar to the one I just posted.