Twitter said this week that user names and attachments such as photos and videos will no longer count towards the length of a tweet, however the 140-character limit will stay in place for the moment.
The company said the change, part of its efforts to simplify its microblogging service, will come into effect in the next few months.
“A few simple changes to make conversations on Twitter easier! And no more removing characters for images or videos!”, said Chief Executive Jack Dorsey.
The firm’s stock fell to a record low of just $13.72 on Tuesday, while investor sentiment around the stock fell on social media, according to data reported by Reuters.
The 140-character limit of tweets was originally intended to include a user name and still fit in the 160-character SMS format used by mobile phones.
Further changes announced include the ability to retweet and quote-tweet a person’s own posts.
Dorsey has said that the company, whose user growth has been stagnating, plans to simplify its product to attract new users.
Web links currently take up to 23 characters of a tweet, limiting the amount of commentary that users can include when they share articles and other content.
SOURCE: Reuters.
Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.