Reports from multiple sources familiar with Twitter and its plans are reporting that Twitter is currently working on a new product that will allow Tweets longer than its signature 140-character limit.
So far there are no visuals detailing what this new product will look like, but sources are saying that Twitter users will be able to publish long-form content to Twitter.
Currently, using the app OneShot, Twitter users can take screen shot blocks of text and Tweet them to their account, but these are images with text, not actual text published in the Tweet.
Though scrutinized for years now, the 140-character Tweet limit has been a trademark feature. There have been many calling for the limit to be lengthened. “It has also been a topic of discussion internally at Twitter for years, according to multiple sources, and has resurfaced in recent months under interim CEO Jack Dorsey as the company has been exploring new ways to grow its user base.” (re/code)
Twitter executives have been openly discussing tweaking how the 140-character limit is measured, suggesting to remove links and user handles from the count. In April Twitter started to allow users to retweet with a comment, which gave more room to write in a comment on the Tweets.
In June the 140-character limit was removed from private messages, allowing users a longer format for messages.
“Twitter is desperate to find new ways to attract users to the product. On his first earnings call as CEO, Dorsey was critical of some of the company’s most recent product changes and expressed the need for Twitter to reach a more mainstream audience.” (re/code)
Allowing for longer Tweets is a great way to attempt to do this. It may also encourage publishers to share directly on Twitter more often, but time will tell if increasing the character count from 140 will entice more users.
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Twitter May Allow Tweets Longer than 140 Characters
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