In this brief, solo episode (yeah, it’s just me) I share my thoughts on the new expanded tweets. It’s an excerpt from my recent post, What Will Happen To Twitter’s Brevity With Expanded Tweet Count?
I’d love to know your thoughts about this big change to Twitter. Feel free to comment at the bottom of the page.
It’s official. Twitter has expanded its character length from 140 to 280 characters.
They did a test launch back in September that received a lot of criticism because let’s face it, 140 characters is what made Twitter, Twitter. Many users argued that increasing the tweet size would make Twitter less readable as longer tweets filled up the feeds. And as I mentioned in a previous blog post, Twitter does not need to become another Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.
Twitter Releases 280
Twitter decided to go ahead and roll out longer tweets on November 7. They did this everywhere except for those using Japanese, Korean and Chinese, because character length is not an issue for those languages.
Twitter says it’s easier to tweet when given more space. And that with more room to tweet, there’s room for higher engagement, more followers and more time spent on the platform. That remains to be seen.
My Take on the 280
I was granted access to Twitter’s new update right in the middle of the #SocialROI chat that I host every Tuesday at 5pm ET. I watched some participants post tweets that were definitely longer. I didn’t like it. It seems odd and out of place. Especially during a fast-paced chat. It’s hard enough to keep up, but now trying to wade through longer tweets would become nightmare. Luckily only a few people tried longer form tweets during that chat.
Later that evening, I experimented. I tried a few longer tweets. At first it seemed weird. But what was even weirder is that Twitter does not give you the number of character spaces at the onset. As a matter of fact, you don’t know how many characters you’ve tweeted until you come upon the last 20 out of 280 characters. I found myself easily typing up longer tweets. Was this a ploy to get us to write out longer thoughts? Hmm, I wondered.
Accepting the 280
So it didn’t take long. A few nights ago I was busy prepping and promoting the #TwitterSmarter chat that I host every Thursday at 1pm ET. I came up with a really great tweet. I got creative with the space. It’s more compelling and attention grabbing.
What Will Happen To Brevity?
Twitter’s best asset is its brevity. Sharing concise information is what drew me to Twitter, as I’m sure most of you. But I can also see beyond the 140 and that this change is not so bad after all. There will be times where we need that extra character space, or two or ten. But I am worried about spammers being more spammy. And Twitter chats being difficult to wade through. Twitter says that the excitement should wear off soon and people will go back to the concise. It will be interesting to see what happens.
What Does This Mean For You?
More space which gives you room to be creative. You can now share an expanded thought on Twitter and go far beyond what you were used to with just 140 characters. Many are on the fence about this new move, as I was. But as I spent more time experimenting, I realized there will be times where some extra space will come in handy.
My Twitter Poll Says…
I posted a Twitter poll to get an idea as to what people in my community thought about this major change. In just 24 hours, I received 566 votes! The results are quite interesting.
27% love it 29% hate it 44% are on the fence
Your Call-to-Action:
Your call-to-action for this episode is to experiment with your tweets. Try posting longer ones. See what the fuss is about! Send me a tweet @MadalynSklar and let me know what you think of it. I want to hear from you!
Shout Out to My Patrons!
I would like to personally thank my patrons who support this podcast. Thank you Alesia, Samantha, Jim, ViviMar, Courtney, Marilyn, Tomas, Lina, Brandi, Donna, Kim, Emma, Juli, Echo Twelve, Rick. Find out how you can support this podcast too.
Ask Me Anything!
I want to answer your questions about Twitter. Leave me a voicemail at MadalynSklar.com/speakpipe and I will pick a few to answer on the show. Don’t be shy. I want to hear from you.
Share Your Love For This Podcast:
Want an easy “one-click” way to Share Your Love for this podcast? Go here: www.madalynsklar.com/love to tweet out your love.
Show Notes
We take the notes for you during the episode. Get the show notes at www.madalynsklar.com/twittersmarter49.
