Twitter is working on a product that would allow users to tweet more than 140 characters at a time, according to a report in Recode today.
Such a move would be a major departure from Twitter’s founding days, when its 140-character limit was a necessary nod to the 160-character maximum in SMS messages. Since then Twitter has clung to its signature 140 characters, while users have adjusted by tweeting out blocks of text using screenshots attached as photos.
The Recode report, citing “multiple people familiar with the company’s plans,” said the new product would allow people to post long-form content, but the sources didn’t say what that would look like. Multiple sources have told Recode that the character limit has been a point of discussion in recent months under interim CEO Jack Dorsey, who is apparently supportive of the proposed change. The company, which is searching for a permanent CEO, has been struggling to find ways to increase its user base.
Also under discussion, according to Recode, is changing the way the service counts characters, perhaps excluding links and user handles from the count.
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