Twitter Is More Valuable As Chat - Not Writing An Essay
You might have heard all the chatter recently about Twitter increasing their character count from 140 characters to 10,000 characters. Yes, you read that correct.
140 to 10,000 characters per tweet!
That is like going from a little chat to writing an essay! Is that what Twitter wants to become? The rumor is that this may happen sometime before the end of March 2016. 10,000 characters is like a 3 full page Microsoft Word document and maybe another half page. ( Depends on how long your words are). Twitter was founded on short messaging and micro blogging. Will making this possible change, change Twitter dramatically?
As you know Twitter has been making many changes lately. The last recent Twitter change was taking away the API to no longer show our Twitter share counts. Many bloggers and website owners were not happy with this change. Luckily there were some developers of plugins that allowed us to show our counts back on our websites and blogs again.
The chat on Twitter really grew this past week after the CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey tweeted this out last week:
pic.twitter.com/bc5RwqPcAX- Jack (@jack) January 5, 2016
Note: That Jack said IF we decide to ship what we explore....So it's not written in stone just yet. Don't get out your long forms just yet for tweeting. Twitter is more valuable as chat and I think Jack knows that too according to his own tweet. It will be very interesting to see where this exploration of Twitter character count goes.
What Else Is Twitter Up To?
Twitter Drones - Did you know Twitter applied for a Drone patent last month? This drone would be used for taking photos and videos. These could be streamed through users Twitter stream! It could also be piloted via tweets. It could get interesting at a live event. Imagine tweeting to a drone to give it directions?
Twitter Algorithm Changes - Has anyone noticed their Twitter feed looking a little different these days? Twitter has been playing with these since December. You may not be seeing everyone's tweets that you follow. Or they may appear in at different times than previously shown. The tweets may be ordered by relevance rather than reverse chronogical order. Another thing Twitter is experimenting with. Will they end up doing like Facebook and require marketers to pay for promoted post for them to be seen in the stream? We sure hope not on Twitter!
Hashtag Ads - This just came out days ago from Twitter. It is still in beta testing and not available to all yet. It will be an exclusive ad format that will include a call to action buttons with several hashtags. You will be able to pick between the hashtags under the tweet and then retweet it as well. A consumer can add their own message to it when they retweet the advertisers message. These are also called Conversational Ads. A great way to include consumers in a brand's advertising message. Here is an example from Samsung Canada:
It's Sunday, and you have no plans. Is it #TimeToStay or #TimeToGo? https://t.co/1f5q8IFqrb
- Samsung Canada (@SamsungCanada) December 19, 2015
For me, Sunday is totally #TimeToStay. A new twist on time. #GearS2 https://t.co/XwPM3u48xg
- Donald Pule (@puledo) January 5, 2016
Streaming Periscope Videos Now in Twitter Feed - This is starting NOW on IOS and will reach all apps and desktop soon. You will be able to view live streaming videos from Periscope right in your Twitter feed! How easy is that now? No switching back and forth. I think this may be Twitter's answer to video as Snapchat and Facebook are close in their video view counts. Twitter is staying in the social media game by adding this to their latest updates.
Do you like the latest changes Twitter is making? Which of the above do you like the best? Do you feel Twitter is more valuable as chat vs using 10,000 characters per tweet?Periscope broadcasts now come alive within Twitter https://t.co/R346R1lgZb
- Periscope (@periscopeco) January 12, 2016
Top Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Drone Image courtesy of Victor Habbick at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
