Twitter tests new character limit of 280 characters
Twitter has doubled the text limit on its micro-blogging platform to 280 characters for a select few users as part of a trial run that could be extended across the service.
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Twitter Inc
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11:00 08/03/24
The doubling of the existing 140-character limit was enabled for 5% of Twitter's 328m monthly active users, with the company eager to see how the select few would use the longer character limit.
The San-Francisco-based social media company, which was launched in 2006, has recently been experiencing slow growth and is pinning its hopes on the shift to widen its appeal and attract new users, after noting that the current character limit was "a major cause of frustration" for some users.
However Twitter acknowledged that some users had an "emotional attachment" to the current limit.
Twitter product manager Aliza Rosen said the longer limit was being tested in all languages except Japanese, Chinese and Korean which she said could convey more information in a single character.
"We understand since many of you have been tweeting for years, there may be an emotional attachment to 140 characters - we felt it, too.
"But we tried this, saw the power of what it will do, and fell in love with this new, still brief, constraint," said Rosen.
One notable user who's tweet character limit has not been extended is US President Donald Trump, whose tweets last weekend have been alleged by North Korea to have been tantamount to a declaration of war.
The 280-character limit is a terrible idea. The whole beauty of Twitter is that it forces you to express your ideas concisely (1/47)
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) September 26, 2017
Speaking as one of the small group of people who've been selected to test the 280 character limit, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please change it back you dreadful people.
— Mike Bird (@Birdyword) September 27, 2017
you, a fool: must keep all tweets underneath a 140 character limit or else you are cut off
— Ali (@Azniac) September 27, 2017
me, an intellectual: capable of tweets longer than youve ever imagined. can fit twice the amount of words in a single tweet. my power has no limits. twitter can not cage me. i am unstoppab