Recently, Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey announced that the company might abandon its 140-character per post limit. Many users have applauded the plan while others objected it as they opined that the fun of tweeting might be neutralised if the scheduled change takes place.
In the history of twitter, many changes have been recorded with a view to either adjusting to the latest technology or keeping track with new trends and competition, but the 140 character per post limit has been sustained, making the social media a unique one.
Users have distinguished some attractive features in twitter as follows:
1. Tweets are received in real-time thereby making it useful in times of emergency, warnings and breaking news.
The concise nature of message goes straight to the point in events where information urgently needs to be broadcast among users (thanks to the cap)
2. Tweets are mostly short and very sweet.
Tweets are straight to the point and easy to comprehend at a glance, making it convenient for both busy executives and frequent social media users.
3. The cap allows users to view multiple tweets by minutes;
Tweets can only be appreciated when they are brief, considering the frequency and number of tweets that one receives per minute.
4. The fun thing about twitter is the pressure created by the 140 cap which force all users to be concise
The 140 character per post limit creates that urgency; which makes you fast, brief, and the experience the feeling called tweeting.
5. Most users use it to direct traffic to a site.
Most Twitter users make use of the platform to direct traffic to sites with links. If the anticipated change comes, will site owners be bringing their content to their handle or will they duplicate it together with their site?
CONCLUSION
The existence and survival of any social media platform depends on the users; removing the 140-character per post limit will be left for twitter users to embrace or reject. Only time will tell if the scheduled change will be to twitter’s advantage or disadvantage. We look forward to test-running the new twitter features. I would be glad to have your honest view in the comment section please.
Originally published at iykmezu.blogspot.com.ng on January 9, 2016.
