Twitter is testing longer tweets up to 280 characters

We've all been there. You leave out a crucial word or resort to "bc" or simply don't send a tweet because you can't get the nuance of your message across in 140 characters. The character limit has been a major sticking point for Twitter and its users, but today, that changes. Sort of.

Twitter has announced that it's running a small test in which the character limit of tweets will expand from 140 to 280. That's double the characters users have up until now been afforded.

The reason for the change, Twitter explains in a blog post, is that in some languages, namely Chinese, Japanese and Korean, users are able to convey meaning with fewer characters. In other languages, such as English, it often takes more characters to express the same message. 

Twitter has found that just 0.4% of tweets in Japanese hit the 140-character limit. By contrast, 9% of tweets in English do. Most tweets in Japanese are 15 characters long, Twitter said, while in English, tweets average 34 characters.

Twitter's change is about giving users around the world ample room to tweet, which should lead to an increase in tweets overall.

"Our research shows us that the character limit is a major cause of frustration for people Tweeting in English, but it is not for those Tweeting in Japanese," Twitter said. "Also, in all markets, when people don’t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people Tweeting – which is awesome!"

The extended character limit is being tested in all languages "impacted by cramming", Twitter said, which won't include Chinese, Japanese or Korean.

Twitter maintains it is still about brevity, and that a 280-character limit allows it to stay within the realm of quick information delivery.

It seems all but a given that Twitter will roll the longer character limit out as an official feature to all users, but it's, wisely, taking the time to test it out with a small group, gather feedback and data, and go from there. 

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted about the change, calling it "a big move" that still maintains the spirit of Twitter.

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