Twitter have started the New Year off with a bang by being surrounded with speculation that the 140-character limit will be increased to 10,000. Of course since this was suggested, Twitter users have been discussing what they think about this possible change. Is it a good or bad choice?
The news first broke when the website Re/Code reported that the idea is being developed and was followed by a tweet from Twitter CEO and Co-Founder Jack Dorsey.
— Jack (@jack) January 5, 2016
The responses were interesting to say the least…
. @jack Please. Twitter is all I have. Don’t do this to me.
— Gabriella Paiella (@GMPaiella) January 5, 2016
Dear Twitter, From 140 to 10,000 characters… #Twitter10k pic.twitter.com/Q3Ro7EYWxK
— Ramel (@itsRamel) January 6, 2016
The outrage at #Twitter10k is hilarious. I’d rather post a tweet with a read more button after 140, than screenshot text or link offsite. — Philip DeFranco (@PhillyD) January 6, 2016
So, on the whole the responses seem to be mainly negative, with many assuming the platform will become a second Facebook. While Zuckerberg’s first born’s success is enviable to most platforms, users don’t seem to want it. A lot of users say that the 140-character limit is the reason that they continue to use Twitter as it encourages them to be smart with what they say. They like that the main concept behind Twitter is to keep things short and sweet. It provides a change to what was seen on social media sites before its launch. Users have also voiced that they don’t want Twitter to ‘sell out’, with one of the main reasons for this potential change will be to help target more advertisers.
Given the generally negative feedback, hopefully Twitter will take this on board. Although there has been no official statement to say that the character limit will be increased, there has been talk that feeds will still only show the first 140-characters with the option to read more if you so choose, which would help to ensure timelines are not overloaded with spam. Perhaps the best option would be to increase the character limit, but perhaps a much smaller increase. Many users also suggest for username mentions and links for pictures etc. to not be included in this count.
With Twitter’s constant strive to compete, we have no doubt that an official statement will be released soon!
Share your thoughts! What do you think of rumours that #Twitter will scrap the 140 character limit? #Twitter10k
— Parachute (@ThisIsParachute) January 7, 2016
Image Credit: David Roberts via Vox