Twitter Updates will Allow for More in the Allotted 140 Characters

Shanine Dorta - June 16, 2016

In an effort to simplify tweets, Twitter recently announced changes which will include what actually counts toward the 140 character limit. Following is an overview of the updates.

Replies

When replying to a Tweet, @names will no longer count toward the 140-character count. This is aimed at making conversations on Twitter easier and more straightforward. No more penny-pinching words to ensure they reach the whole group.

Media Attachments

Attachments such as photos, GIFs, videos, polls, or Quote Tweets, will no longer count as characters within your Tweet. This give you more room in your actual tweet.

Retweet and Quote Tweet Yourself

Twitter will be enabling the Retweet button on your own Tweets, so you can easily Retweet or Quote Tweet yourself when you want to share a new reflection or feel like a really good one went unnoticed.

Goodbye, @

These changes will help to simplify the rules around Tweets that start with a username. Tweets that begin with a username will reach all your followers. This means you no longer have to use the ”.@” convention, which is currently used to broadcast Tweets. If you want a reply to be seen by all your followers, you will be able to Retweet it to indicate that you want it broadcast to a wider audience.

In addition to these updates, Twitter continues to look for new and exciting ways to broaden the way users communicate with one another. Visit our Social Media blog for continued updates!