Social media giant Twitter just rolled out a new feature that doubles down on the typical Tweet limit. Long known for the short byte, 140-character limit, and “microcontent” approach, Twitter is now allowing some users to double up. You'll get twice the letters, twice the hashtags and twice the fun - and your image still won't count against your overall character limit.
Twitter allows some users 280 characters
Rolling out right now is a new feature that allows some users to max out at 280 characters instead of 140; this new approach is part of Twitters “Tweet More” initiative.
Hoping to get users to Tweet longer and more often, the social media giant rolled this new feature out today to a "select group" of targeted users. The rollout is based on how the user Tweets -- if you often run over your limit, have to backtrack or even end up trailing off before you finish, you could be in the new 280 club. #280Twitter and #280characters hashtags began trending within minutes of Twitter's Tuesday afternoon announcement.
Want to see if you’re one of the lucky 280 club members?
According to Twitter, you have a better chance if you are an English-speaking user; about 9% of all English speakers typically go over the limit and have to backtrack. Contrast that with only 0.4% of Japanese users and it's easy to see why the change has arrived for some talkative folks.
The site feels that users in some languages, including Japanese, Korean and Chinese, are far less wordy than their English, Spanish, and French-speaking peers.
If you're feeling chatty, there are still ways around that 140 character limit; cramming your thoughts into an image or tweeting in a stream will get the point across.
An additional 140 characters should be enough to share more links, add more hashtags and really tell a story, for those who made it to 280 characters, that is. Brands and social media marketers are already celebrating this unexpected boost.
Finding out if you're still trapped at 140 characters is pretty easy; simply log into Twitter and start posting – you’ll see if you still have the 140-character limit, or if you’ve been the beneficiary of a surprise upgrade.
Want to spot which of the users you follow received the bonus characters? Just use one of the trending hashtags or watch for the tweets of joy as the chosen ones share their latest news.
While the original rollout is only for a “small group”, the brand could roll out this feature to all over time. There is no stated timeline for the full rollout, or even if one is forthcoming; Twitter's dreams of creating more Tweets per day are already coming true, thanks to the buzz surrounding the latest news. Now, did anyone tell Donald Trump?
