Going Beyond 140 – Twitter Loosens Character Limit
First we heard of Facebook’s new live video feature, then it was Instagram’s new algorithm. We knew it wouldn’t be long until another social media platform had news to share. Enter Twitter’s series of changes to make it easier for people to communicate on the platform.
The latest modifications will allow users to expand the content of a 140-character tweet without expanding number of characters. To do this, Twitter will no longer count tagging users by their handles at the beginning of replies and adding photos, GIFs and videos towards the 140-character limit. This lets users post longer messages with more interactive content without exceeding the character allotment.
Here’s a breakdown of how it will work:
- Replies: When replying to a tweet, Twitter handles (@names) will no longer count as part of your 140 characters.
- Visuals: Photos, GIFs and videos will no longer count as characters.
- Personal retweeting: Twitter will allow users to retweet their own tweets. Basically, users can easily retweet or quote tweet their own content when they feel the need to share a new reflection or feel like a really good post didn’t receive the attention it deserved.
- No more “.@” needed: Formerly, tweets that started with someone’s Twitter handle, say a tweet from @StephenCurry30 to @Buzzfeed, would only be seen by those who follow both users. Now, with Twitter’s update, tweets that begin with a username will reach all your followers. (This means users can say goodbye to the “.@” convention, which is what they currently have been using to get around the limitation of starting a tweet with someone else’s username.)
All in all, Twitter’s character limit changes appear to be beneficial to users. While the changes won’t take place immediately, here at Largemouth, we’re excited about the opportunity to post more interactive and expressive content in the coming months.
