It was recently announced that Twitter was exploring the possibility of expanding the character limit of tweets. Users have been able to tweet 140 characters since Twitter’s inception. According to Re/Code, interim CEO Jack Dorsey hinted at a possible future product that would allow users to tweet more than 140 characters.
The specifics are unknown, but it would allow “Twitter users to publish long-form content to the service.” Sources state that 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.”
This looks to be an effort to increase Twitter’s user base. Up until recently, the social media platform had not changed much over the years. In April, Twitter added a “retweet with comment” option giving people more room to comment on tweets they share. In June, they lifted the 140-character limit on private messages.
While an exact character limit has been confirmed, there have been rumblings that the limit could be 10,000! This seems a bit much to me, as it did to a number of users on Twitter.
Ugh, 140 characters is what differentiates Twitter and is one of its best features. #SayNoTo10000Characters https://t.co/pZGfQdG81Q
— Colette Weintraub (@rockisagirlsbff) January 6, 2016
The day @twitter changes its iconic 140 characters limit will be the day #Twitter kills Twitter. pic.twitter.com/D5EdHK8IVZ
— Khalil (pilgrim) (@sehnaoui) January 5, 2016
It’s not an easy job to tolerate someone with 140 Characters limit, Just imagine with 10000 Characters. #Twitter10k pic.twitter.com/B5mgEWpdS0
— Hasnain Iqbal Butt (@Hasnain_Iqbal) January 6, 2016
Other users had fun with the idea:
Just read somewhere Twitter are set to expand the character limit from 140 characters to 10,000. About time. Waste so much time trying to fi
— Jamie S (@JamieLoudkidz) January 6, 2016
I don’t see the purpose of a 10,000 character limit on Twitter when you can EASILY explain how fire melts steal in just under 140 characters
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) January 6, 2016
While 10,000 seems too high in my opinion, I do think increasing it is a good idea. Any social media platform that does not change will become stagnant and users will become bored. This is not to say that change for the sake of change is a good idea either. There are a number of instances when I have to abbreviate or continue my thoughts on the next tweet. To me, this practice is rather annoying. I follow so many people that it is hard to keep track of what someone is saying at times. I would much rather see a character limit twice the amount of the current 140. That would allow for longer-form communication. Another aspect that would help would be to not include links or images as part of the 140 characters.
If Twitter is making changes to their service, I would much rather have the ability to edit my tweets. No one is perfect and mistakes are bound to happen so it would be wonderful to have the chance to edit your tweets when a mistake occurs.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of the 140-character limit increasing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.