Dental practices will soon be able to squeeze a few extra precious characters into some of their tweets.
The social network is adjusting the rules surrounding its 140-character limit so that images, polls and user names won’t count against the site’s famous (or perhaps infamous) restriction. The changes are expected to roll out to Twitter’s apps and website “over the coming months.”
Though not technically an expansion of its character limit, the updates will allow users to create tweets that are slightly longer than what was previously allowed. Photos, videos, GIFs, polls and quoted tweets will no longer count toward a tweet’s character limit. For example, photos currently take up 24 characters, so users will now be able to squeeze in an extra word or two into those tweets.
User handles in replies will also be excluded from a tweet’s character limit. This means that replies will look a little different once the changes roll out, as user handles will no longer appear ahead of replies. Instead, Twitter will surface contextual details about the conversation outside of the tweet itself.
Replies will also surface in timelines the same way as other tweets — meaning users will no longer need to preface replies with a full stop or other characters in order for their followers to see it.
Twitter’s senior product manager Todd Sherman hinted in the company’s official blog post that even bigger changes could be on the way.
“In addition to the changes outlined above, we have plans to help you get even more from your Tweets,” he wrote. “We’re exploring ways to make existing uses easier and enable new ones, all without compromising the unique brevity and speed that make Twitter the best place for live commentary, connections, and conversations.”
If you would like further information about how your dental practice could use twitter and other social networks, speak to a member of our team on 01202 677 277 who will be happy to help you.
Inspiration for this post taken from mashable