Yes, you heard it. Twitter is upping their character limit and I’m not sure how I feel about it.
Twitter Love
Twitter was my first love (errr in regards to social media), it’s where I met so many people (that I still tweet with 10 years later!) and is my go to when I need help, have content to share, etc. So, I mean, any changes to the platform make me nervous.
My first tweet:
Yay stoked! Twitter is schweet, possibly better than Crackbook status updates. Hrrrrrmmmmm. Get it bitches!
— Beverley Theresa ? (@hellobeverley) August 22, 2008
WWJD – What Would Jack Do
When I’m not sure about something that Twitter is doing, I turn to Jack and see why they’re making these choices.
This is a small change, but a big move for us. 140 was an arbitrary choice based on the 160 character SMS limit. Proud of how thoughtful the team has been in solving a real problem people have when trying to tweet. And at the same time maintaining our brevity, speed, and essence! https://t.co/TuHj51MsTu
— jack (@jack) September 26, 2017
Then I saw this:
139 characters pic.twitter.com/WkfdXL8oLh
— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly) September 26, 2017
The reason why I like the 140 character limit is that it’s quick, concise, no filler. I also like the challenge that comes with trying to condense copy into that short of space.
Me when I’m writing tweets too long:
Okay, I need to condense this shit.
Should I put an ampersand where the “and” is?
Should I abbreviate more words?
No, abbreviating is so annoying.
Should I just not include the link?
But I need the link.
Maybe if I switch around this sentence.
Should I remove that hashtag?
Blah blah blah…
Skeptical About The Twitter Character Limit Change
I guess it will be refreshing to not have to struggle anymore? In the future though, I can see people still struggling to fit within the 280 character limit. Being used to 280 characters will be weird.
Social Media Automation Tools
Also I wonder how social media tools are going to keep up with this change. Will they update their Twitter automation to include 280 characters, or will they be slow on adapting? Will they impact my clients’ opportunities to schedule 280 character tweets?
Great question! Once the 280 character limit is rolled out to all Twitter users, we’ll update Buffer to allow for longer tweets too! -Kelly
— Buffer (@buffer) November 2, 2017
Twitter Hashtag Apocalypse
Does 280 = ALL THE HASHTAGS? It’s bad enough when you see people, but even worse, when you see brands hashtag the crap out of their tweets: #hashtag #every #single #word #not #strategic.
Attention Span
Can our attention spans handle the 280 characters? I know, 280 characters is NOT a lot, but when it comes to Twitter, it’s legit giving room for people to double the length of their tweets. Our average attention span is now 8 seconds. We like to skim read. Will we skim read Tweets or read the entire tweet moving forward?
Response From Twitter Users On The 280 Character Limit Change
I found some tweets about the character limit change and because it’s me, I’m only putting in funny ones.
My fucking private twitter has 280 characters now. My fucking. private. one. What the fuck. I am disgusted and it has eight followers
— Finn ❄ (@finntonabbey) November 2, 2017
When will twitter give me 280 characters so that I can make you all suffer twice as much when I say cursed shit? Life’s too short come on pic.twitter.com/waBwxAswzt
— ✨?✨ (@VanigliaGhia) November 2, 2017
‘Carrot’: ? a thing we didn’t have enough room for in that last tweet
It’s a vegetable.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 2, 2017
Marvel confirm they requested Twitter increase the limit to 280 characters to accommodate #Avengers4. pic.twitter.com/5kTtar10TR
— What The Craggus Saw (@TheCraggus) November 2, 2017
Your Turn!
What are your thoughts on the 280 change? TWEET ME (in 140 characters or 280) and let me know.
