Jack Dorsey confirms Twitter is exploring removing the 140 character limit
One of Twitter’s standout features may soon be a thing of the past, but investors weren’t wowed by chief exec Jack Dorsey confirming the firm is toying with removing the 140 character limit.
Rumours from Silicon Valley hinting at Twitter plans to expand to a 10,000 character limit sent users into headspin. But it wasn’t until late Tuesday evening that Dorsey spoke up, confirming the ailing social media giant would be “exploring” the possibility of removing the limit.
In a message posted on Twitter (where else?), he wrote: “We’re not going to be shy about building more utility and power into twitter for people. As long as it’s consistent with what people want to do, we’re going to explore it.”
Twitter’s long-suffering shareholders were hardly overjoyed by the news however, which sent the stock plunging nearly three per cent to close at an all-time low of 21.89.
Users were similarly disenchanted with the proposed removal of what many consider one of Twitter’s core features, with many venting their frustration on the platform itself.
https://twitter.com/markhoppus/status/684471435612426240
https://twitter.com/adders/status/684419061766303745
Dorsey acknowledged that the 140 character restriction was a “beautiful constraint”.
“It inspires creativity and brevity. And a sense of speed. We will never lose that feeling,” he wrote, but argued that this would remain even if the character limit was removed:
“What makes Twitter, Twitter is its fast, public, live conversational nature.”