According to The Wall Street Journal, Twitter is going to expand its 140-character limit on tweets to 10,000 characters.
Many Twitter users were quick to criticize the company after hearing of this, as much of the site’s appeal is due to its fast snippets of current events, minus all the detail found on traditional websites. Critics stated that the change would transform the site into a blogging platform, something most users wouldn’t like.
The person who broke the news to The Wall Street Journal said, however, that Twitter plans to “retain the look and feel of the timeline.†To read tweets that are longer than the 140-character traditional length, users will be prompted to click and read the rest of the lengthy tweet. Additionally, users will be informed when their tweets are longer than 140 characters.
Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, tweeted a screenshot of text on Tuesday explaining his reason behind the change. While many users are quick to complain, I believe this change is a smart one for Twitter. Longer tweets have been a requested feature for some time, and I, personally, have gotten into situations in which 140 characters isn’t enough. Those worried about seeing mini-essays on their timelines should fret not, as these longer tweets will have to be clicked-on to be expanded.
Sources: WSJ, Jack Dorsey
