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Rob Carter

Senior Marketing Executive

Is Twitter trying to build character?

Related post categories Digital marketing Social media
1 min read

A little birdy has told the world that within the next 'couple of weeks' Twitter will at long last exclude multimedia (photos, links and videos) from its infamous 140 character count. This 'little birdy' just happens to be Bloomberg.

Find Your Limit

Twitter’s 140 character limit is a feature which the world has adopted and grown to love. It has been present since Twitter launched in 2006 and was introduced to allow tweets to fit into text messages (Nokia 3310 anyone?). 

Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, has previously described the 140 character limit as a "beautiful constraint" that "inspires creativity and brevity". 

So news of the extended character limit has come as a surprise to some. Or has it? 

Earlier this year, Twitter were said to be upping the character limit to 10,000 characters. This caused a lot of ripples within the Twitter community, with many turning to Twitter to air their concerns.

Twitter

Tweet from @staychad

Twitter

Tweet from @GMPaiella

Even though this feature never came into play, the latest announcement has been warmly welcomed by Twitter users, implying that Twitter has got the right approach this time around.

Twitter

Tweet from @mrjakehumphrey

Considering URLs eat up to 23 Twitter characters, I personally welcome this new feature with open arms. At the end of the day, it’s 23 more characters to inspire creativity and brevity.

More to Come

Twitter are likely to be announcing a series of tweaks over the coming weeks as the company seeks to boost its community engagement amidst their widely reported struggle to attract new users.

What these changes could be is anyone's guess. An ‘Edit’ button perhaps? I wouldn't hold your breath.