Brevity was the bedrock of Twitter’s brave new world of online talk. That’s gone. On Wednesday, Twitter announced a test-run of 280 character tweets — double the current character limit of 140.
In an official blog post an- nouncing the move, Twitter said only a “small group” of people would get the 280 character tweet feature before it makes “a decision to launch to everyone.”
Some users expressed elation, while others felt it would rob the micro-blogging site of pithiness, the very feature that made it unique among social networks. #280characters was among the top 10 worldwide trends.
“This is a small change, but abig 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!” said Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey in a tweet, among the first in the 280 format.
Twitter’s bold move comes at the back of a consistently low user growth rate and widening losses.
In the quarter ended July this year, the 11-year-old Twitter recorded a flat monthly active user growth. The year-on-year figure for the same stood at 5% to reach 328 million global users. The July numbers also show an annual revenue decline of 4.7%, and losses widening by 8%. Advertising revenue too dropped 8% year on year. Twitter made its stock market debut in 2013, and has battled to ensure investor confidence since.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, CNBC said shares of Twitter rose more than 1% in extended trading after declining more than 2% during the regular session.
Congress member Shashi Tharoor reacted positively. “I welcome it. So many of my tweets had to be cut down to 140 from longer drafts. Obliged to use less felicitous words to fit within the limit,” he tweeted on Wednesday. Dorsey took it all in good spirit, saying Twitter anticipated the “snark and critique” for the new move. “What matters now is we clearly show why this change is important, and prove to you all it’s better. Give us some time to learn and confirm (or challenge!) our ideas,” he tweeted.
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