Twitter Removes Photo and URL Characters from Its 140 Char Limit

Did you get the notice? Images and URLs will no longer count towards Twitter’s 140 char limit. What does this really mean?

Images and URLs will no longer count towards Twitter’s 140 char limit. What does this really mean?

There’s been so much talk this year about Twitter considering expanding the 140 character limit. The possibility has been met with much chatter on both sides.

• a 140 character limit makes it difficult to get your message across.
• a 140 character limit is micro-blogging and has become a distinctive form of online communication.

Think of Twitter as the present tense. Whatever is happening in the world, with your friends, families or colleagues, it is happening right now on Twitter, and you can watch it unfold in real time. Old mediums like television or radio are no longer the place to find breaking stories. Facebook may still be the all-time favorite social platform, but much of your newsfeed is older news that Facebook chooses to show you. Twitter is always real time.

Do you know this frustration? How many times have you reworded and reworked a tweet because you needed just – 1 – more – character – space?! 🙂

Short content is what makes Twitter great, and it shows. Shorter tweets tend to reach farther and receive more retweets than full-length tweets.

• Short and sweet
• Get to the point
• Least time spent
• Hook them, then redirect them to a longer post

There are only two real changes:

• Post an image link now and no characters dedicated to that image will count towards your 140 Twitter limit.

• Post a URL link (shortened anyway) and now no characters dedicated to that link will count towards your 140 Twitter limit.

Enjoy the extra few characters. If you require more, throw your words on an image and spend time thinking of a compelling title instead.

Why Authors / Writers / Everyone Should Use Twitter Lists

The more people you follow, the denser your Twitter home feed becomes. You may lose perspective when your feed is flooded with multiple random posts.

Separate all those voices into logical groups so you can focus on 1 theme at a time. Use the built-in Twitter lists, which can be public or private. You’ll be surprised how the smaller groups will help you gain clarity and have a better idea what to support that group, join the conversations, and post relevant content.

For example:  If you view a feed of only local authors, and many tweet and converse about a writing event in town, isn’t that an event you should inquire about and join this conversation?

1) Create Lists

Read through your feed and find those you are most interested in watching. Create lists for your many groups.

Here is a suggested author’s starter-list:

 

FamilyFriends

Work/Co-workers

[My city]

Local authors

[Same genre] authors

Top [genre] authors

Author Support

Publishing

Bloggers

Top idea generators

Social Media gurus

 

• Assign people you are interested in following more closely to their Lists. The same person can occupy more than 1 list.

 

• Every time you meet and follow a new person, immediately add them to a Twitter list. If you don’t, you will lose them to the chaotic, overrun, Twitter home feed.

 

• It’s fine to view your Twitter home feed. Also choose

 

Bonus: You can subscribe to other’s public lists. If a good one already exists you can view it too.

 

Learn to love lists!

 

Don’t worry; it is unlikely that you’ll run out of lists. They are currently capped at a limit of 1000, with 5000 tagged in each, but don’t do that. Keep your lists small. If you have too many then you risk repeating the original problem, too many chaotic voices.

 

Do you have a favorite list that others should start using?

 

Rejoice! Twitter Removes 140-Character Limit from Direct Messages

Did you notice it?

Sometime yesterday (August 12, 2015) Twitter removed the 140-character limit from Direct Messages (DM).

Shout it from the rooftops. This is great news!!!

Unfortunately, this does not affect regular tweets. Tweets retain their 140-character limit.

Why this is good news:

Twitter DMs are no longer limited to the 140-character length.

It means that you no longer have to send multiple DMs to get your message across. You can type your whole message into 1, single DM. No more reviewing and cutting back to make the old 140-character limit.

It appears that you now have 9999 characters in a DM. Use them well and wisely.

Why this is bad news:

Those whom you don’t know, don’t care about you, and only want to sell you stuff will take advantage with a longer sales pitch.

However, it’s not-that-bad. You may still delete a single DM just as easily as before.

Happy DMing!