Twitterverse atwitter over the expanded 280-character limit

Twitter’s test of an expanded 280-character limit is aimed at luring newusers, but some of the social network’s passionate loyalists fear thechange will strip it of its unique appeal.If implemented broadly, the longer tweets could profoundly change thenature of the one-to-many messaging platform which is popular withjournalists and politicians but has struggled to boost its broader userbase.Twitter says the change may draw in more users and reduce thefrustration faced by those who struggle to encapsulate their wit andwisdom within the 140-character limit.But some members of the “Twitterverse” argue it would not be Twitter anymore if users are allowed to ramble.“The 140-character limit has been a defining feature, forcing brevityand making streams of tweets very easy to consume,” Jan Dawson ofJackdaw Research said in a blog post.“Even just looking at the first few 280-character tweets I’ve seen fromTwitter executives has broken up my feed and forced a mental shift in myconsumption.”Writing in The Guardian, Australian novelist and commentator DominicKnight said, “Brevity is the soul of Twitter. We don’t need 280characters to say that.”Many Twitter users – already notoriously sceptical of previous updates to the platform – heaped scorn on the idea.“Twitter can’t shorten my attention span for 8 years, then expect me tostart paying attention to #280character tweets,” one user wrote.Another tweeter commented: “The world is fighting enough warsalready.@Twitter should not add a war between brevity and verbosity intothe mix, please no.”Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey offered his defence of the move in a series of tweets.Twitter expects and appreciates “all the snark & critique....Comes with the job,” Dorsey wrote.“What matters now is we clearly show why this change is important, andprove to you all it’s better. Give us some time to learn and confirm (orchallenge!) our ideas.”Many comments focused on US President Donald Trump, who uses theplatform for policy announcements and for spontaneous remarks on manytopics.Twitter indicated Trump won’t be part of the test group.“Do not give Donald Trump an excuse to tweet more nonsense,” one user tweeted.Another user wrote: “This new Twitter 280 character thing is huge –especially for Trump. Now he can say stupider things more bigly.”Some users said the change could have a positive impact by allowing for more detailed and complex messages.“I find the character expansion on Twitter to be a great plus for thepublic sphere and activism,” said Zeynep Tufekci, a University of NorthCarolina sociologist who studies Twitter as a tool for social change.“While the brevity has its advantages, 140 characters was too little,and often lent itself to needless misunderstandings as people could notput in more nuance and context.”A “small group” of users will see the new limits before Twitter decideson rolling out the changes more broadly, the company said.Some analysts said the change was unlikely to provide a major boost forTwitter, which has seen its user base stagnate and has failed to keep upwith faster-growing social networks like Facebook and Facebook-ownedInstagram.