Since its initial rollout, Twitter has been a rather unique social network, limiting the number of characters usable in a single tweet. This feature resulted in compressed posts and as a consequence, content distributed on the platform is in a concise, and minimal form.
According to re/code, Twitter is now considering increasing the character limit in public tweets, as stated by individuals familiar with company plans. Sources have stated that interim CEO Jack Dorsey has once again revisited the possibility of an alteration after large numbers of users have contacted the company irritated by the tight restrictions currently imposed.
Other methods of increasing the character count are supposedly being investigated, such as omitting hashtags, usernames and links from character counts, as part of an adjustment to how the total is calculated. This may be the wise approach, by keeping the core values of the service intact, while still expanding the allowance. Dorsey is currently searching for a permanent CEO, however rumors have suggested that he is likely to take the position himself. Despite this, he is still looking to innovate on the existing offerings, without changing the philosophy of the company.
Twitter are undoubtedly looking to introduce new concepts, without drastically altering the features that make the service unique. Until recently, this limit has been spread across the entire platform, with private messages also seeing a restriction of 140 characters per message. Earlier in the year this was dropped from the messaging tool, increasing the limit to 10,000 characters – large enough for the needs of a majority of users. Recently, we reported that Twitter may also be introducing a 'Like' button, and if this deems true, could be part of a range of undergoing changes being suggested internally to broaden the site's user base.
Source: re/code
27 Comments - Add comment