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Late yesterday Twitter announced<\/a> the unthinkable for time-pressed journalists everywhere by revealing it is testing doubling the character length of tweets.<\/p>\n Farewell sweet brevity of 140chars. Hello pointless extra blah-blah-blah #280.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s do this! https:\/\/t.co\/JUT8oemc9g<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ed Ho (@mrdonut) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n But why oh why is Twitter doing this?<\/p>\n \u201cIn all markets, when people don\u2019t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people tweeting,\u201d wrote product manager, Aliza Rosen, in a rather wordy blog post explainer<\/a>\u00a0about the move \u2014 which even included a graph!<\/p>\n Though not a graph of Twitter\u2019s user growth not growing.<\/p>\n (Here, I fixed Rosen\u2019s explanation to fit it in far fewer characters: \u2018We\u2019re trying to fix our\u00a0growth problem<\/a>.\u2019)<\/p>\n While Rosen talked about Twitter wanting \u201cevery person around the world to easily express themselves on Twitter\u201d, there was no specific discussion about how Twitter\u2019s 140 constraint might be exacerbating problematic speech in the public domain.<\/p>\n By, for example, turning nuanced discussion into polarized arguments and irascible abuse. Or \u201cshouty crap\u201d as a colleague more concisely put it.<\/p>\n (Also not in Rosen\u2019s post: Any graphs detailing\u00a0Twitter\u2019s problem with abusive behavior<\/a> on its platform.)<\/p>\n But even if Twitter didn\u2019t want to explicitly<\/em> discuss the problem of trolls and bullies on its platform, it may be hoping the expansion to 280 characters encourages people to tweet less, well, \u201cshouty crap\u201d.<\/p>\n Which is indeed a possibility. Though there is also the flip-side possibility that \u2014 for example \u2014\u00a0the current president of the U.S. will just get double the amount of newsworthy<\/a> tweet space with which to threaten nuclear annihilation.<\/p>\n Or, to put it another way\u2026<\/p>\n TWITTER USERS: It would be nice if you stopped people making death threats.<\/p>\n TWITTER: OK, but what if those death threats could be LONGER?<\/p>\n \u2014 Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Whether Trump, with 280 characters locked and loaded, will suddenly lose the urge to tweet at \u201cRocket Boy\u201d (10chars) \u2014 and instead feel moved to address the \u201cChairman of the Workers\u2019 Party of Korea and supreme leader of the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea\u201d (103chars) does seem rather unlikely though.<\/p>\n So sure, the case for<\/em> 280 posits there\u2019s at least an opportunity for nuance to exist inside a (double-sized) tweet. But the con says that really depends on who\u2019s doing the tweeting.<\/p>\n (Or the \u2018ttwweeeettiinngg\u2019 as it should really now be termed.)<\/p>\n Here\u2019s my TC colleague Josh Constine demonstrating how it\u2019s perfectly possible to fit a lot of high quality information into Twitter\u2019s existing 140 character limit without shouting and\/or being otherwise tactless\/impolite.<\/p>\n 280 character count means less confusing abbreviations more nuance, lower skimability. But at least it’s easier for Twitter rookies<\/p>\n \u2014 Josh Constine (@JoshConstine) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Ergo, it ain\u2019t tweet size that matters Twitter \u2014 it\u2019s what you do with the characters that counts.<\/p>\n But regardless of whether 280 characters leads to a wider evolution of tone on Twitter \u2014 and in the case of Trump, when\/if he gets handed the nuclear codes to #280, to a new deal on diplomacy and a less destablized geopolitical world (we can but hope!) \u2014\u00a0@Jack<\/a> co<\/a> can at least console themselves that advertisers will find plenty of uses for all the extra marketing real estate Twitter is going to be giving them.<\/p>\n See for e.g.<\/p>\n What do you plan to share with 280 characters on Twitter?<\/p>\n \u2014 Mi (@xiaomi) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n So, from Twitter\u2019s point of view at least, there are a fair few potential pros stacking up under the \u2018let\u2019s kill the tweet\u2019 nuclear option, alongside their main concern here: Trying to assuage investors.<\/p>\n Pros like being less likely to be blamed for an overly concise tweet triggering nuclear war.<\/p>\n While disrupting the workflow of the (small) hardcore of users who rely on Twitter to be a reliably dense and largely self-manageable digital information network in an increasingly misinformation saturated and algorithmically controlled world is clearly a lesser consideration.<\/p>\n And at this point in the rapidly escalating story of\u00a0social media\u2019s impact on democracy and society<\/a> who, indeed, can blame them.<\/p>\n Even if more social media doesn\u2019t necessary sound like a great solution to problems being exacerbated by social media. Whatever the social media giants say<\/a>.<\/p>\n Below is a flavor of opinions on Twitter\u2019s #280 experiment surfaced from the tech space \u2014 which runs a pretty full gamut of views on mega tweets \u2014 from supportive (and\/or sarcastic) to indifferent to excited to horrified to snarky to creative to critical to navel-gazing to, well, hopeful that the change might finally break the addictive spell of Twitter\u2026<\/p>\n Can\u2019t wait for #bringback140.<\/p>\n We expected (and \u2764\ufe0f!) all the snark critique for #280characters<\/a>. Comes with the job. What matters now is we clearly show why this change is important, and prove to you all it\u2019s better. Give us some time to learn and confirm (or challenge!) our ideas. https:\/\/t.co\/qJrzzIluMw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 jack (@jack) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Can’t wait for 280.<\/p>\n \u2014 Bill Gurley (@bgurley) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n I have so many things I’ve saved up over the past year that are really only expressable in 280 character chunks. We live in amazing times.<\/p>\n \u2014 John Lilly (@johnolilly) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n I actually don’t have strong feelings about the move from 140 to 280. <\/p>\n But that doesn’t make the Tweet below any less hilarious\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/sms7rpm2WA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Sacca (@sacca) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Close your eyes. <\/p>\n Imagine Trump using Twitter.<\/p>\n Now imagine Trump using Twitter with 280 characters.<\/p>\n Now close Twitter.<\/p>\n \u2014 M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Quite a lot of the rancor on twitter is driven by misunderstanding: no room for nuance or sub clauses. A little more room might help that.<\/p>\n \u2014 Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n I may not be a fan of the 280 idea, but I’m a big fan of companies trying new stuff. Give Twitter a break for the moment\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Twitter just disrupted the entire cropped screenshot of text industry. Brutal.<\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Levie (@levie) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n So, the new Twitter character limit is\u2026 280 + (420*4) = 1960<\/p>\n Go nuts!<\/p>\n \u2014 \ua9c1Terence Eden\ua9c2 \u23fb (@edent) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n omg tweets are now long enough for signatures!<\/p>\n best regards,<\/p>\n isaac<\/p>\n \u2014 \u2014 Isaac Hepworth (@isaach) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n New 280 character limit from Twitter? Me: pic.twitter.com\/zQq4bILv0n<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Shen Ye (@shen) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n 280 characters on a mobile device is going to look like reading a book on a Kindle. Welcome to twindle, @twitter<\/a> users.<\/p>\n \u2014 Dr. Chao (@evangelinechao) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The good thing about going from 140 to 280 is that it may ruin the information density of twitter severely enough to break my twitter habit<\/p>\n \u2014 Alex Bowles (@alexqgb) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The negativity on 280 characters on @twitter<\/a> is yet another proof that\u2019s Silicon Valley hates change despite being \u201cchange agents.\u201d ?<\/p>\n \u2014 OM (@om) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n If this 280 character thing happens I\u2019m changing this Twitter feed to just 24\/7 science fiction erotica. You literally can\u2019t stop me.<\/p>\n \u2014 SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Instead of 280 characters, why not allow people to write longer tweets, then auto-Tweet Storm them (numbered and auto-strung together).<\/p>\n \u2014 Nick Bilton (@nickbilton) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Pray for the studiousness and patience to wade through others’ 280 character twitter-novellas, and the wisdom to never write them yourself.<\/p>\n \u2014 Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n As a bay area tech company, Twitter only had two options to arrive at a selection of the new character limit: either 101 or 280<\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Haughey \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f? (@mathowie) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Twitter is doing a 2x hardfork and doubling the character limit to 280 chars. First, it segregated the of reply-to’s. Just like Bitcoin. ? https:\/\/t.co\/HhtNnkXwAS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Charlie Lee (@SatoshiLite) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n “let me explain why the new 280 character limit is bad by threading together 20 tweets” \u2014 MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) September 26, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Maybe 280 character long tweets were a bad idea after all. https:\/\/t.co\/d5sWqlyCgv<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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Tech tweets on #280<\/h2>\n
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280 in text.
420 in `alt` text *per image*.
Up to 4 images per post.<\/p>\n\n
Isaac Hepworth
Product Manager, Google
+1 303 555 4787<\/p>\n\n
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-Twitter<\/p>\n\n