Twitter: Changes to 140-character limit allows users to post longer tweets

TWITTER has announced several new updates to the social media platform that will allow users to post longer tweets without having to worry about links or images affecting the 140-character limit.

The new changes are part of a response by the company to encourage the evolution of Twitter from a text-heavy microblogging platform to a “rich canvas for creative expression” which includes audio and visual attachments.

SEE ALSO: Twitter tipped to stop counting links, photos in character limits

They also appear to be in line with Twitter’s shift towards being more of a news feed than a blogging platform.

The announcement on Tuesday includes:

Replies
Tagging a person’s handle on Twitter to reply or mention them will no longer count towards the character limit.

Media attachments
Attachments such a photos, GIFs, videos, polls, or Quote Tweets will also no longer affect the character limit.

Retweet and Quote Tweet yourself
Users can now Retweet or Quote Tweet themselves to bring up a tweet from the past, or to expand on a story too long for just one tweet.

“.@” is no longer a thing
In order to make a reply to someone with no mutual followers, users used to have to include a period before tagging the person in a tweet. However, users can now simply Retweet the tweet for all their followers to see without having to prefix them with a period.

The changes, which many people saw coming, are expected to be implemented in the coming days and weeks.

However, much to the disappointment of many news organizations, links to webpages will still affect the character limit.

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