Social media giant Twitter is set to make a sweeping change to its character limit, in which characters reserved for photos and links won’t be counted.
We’ve previously heard rumblings that Twitter might be looking to expand its character limit up to 10,000 or do away with the restriction altogether, but the company is now set to exclude text reserved for photos and links from the limit.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey elaborated on the change, which is set to take place in the next few weeks. The amendment will finally allow users to share 140 character updates alongside other media, such as videos or photos.
Read: Twitter launches Connect tab to help you follow accounts
Dorsey stated that the move comes as a result of Twitter attempting to become more flexible to the needs of its users; the site’s famous 140 character limit was first set in place as it was the same length a normal text message would support.
Before the expansion of smartphones into everyday life, one of the most common means of sending a tweet was to issue one via text message.
According to Bloomberg, Twitter executives decided against upping the limit to 1,000 characters, as it was concluded that the social network’s brevity is what set it apart from its competitors.
Now, in addition to recently testing out Periscope live-streaming, Twitter is in a better space than ever to begin its push towards live events with images and video content now set apart from a contextual message.
According to inside sources, the social network is presently investigating content deals for “streaming sports, political events, and entertainment”.
Read: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey elaborates on impending shakeups
What are your thoughts on the removal of images, links and video from Twitter’s 140 character limit? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
Source: Bloomberg
