Should Twitter Go Longer than 140 Characters

I have been watching a thread at TweetDeck Support about adding Twitlonger access as a feature on TweetDeck ever since I commented that I thought it should not be added.  You would be amazed at the backlash I got for my thoughts on that.

To add more length to what is allowed for Tweets or to even encourage longer tweeting by using a service that allows you to post a Tweet as long as you want and then post that shortened link to your Twitter account is defeating the purpose.

There are other means to communicate longer thoughts – maybe an email or a blog post.

I mainly use TweetDeck to read Twitter and occasionally via the web interface.  If I can not see your thoughts or tweet on my screen then I am not going to click on a link to open another window.  I am only going to do that to check out links to stories others are sharing with the Twitter Stream.

Some will say what is the difference between clicking on a story link or clicking on a link to go see the rest of a Tweet that exceeds 140 characters. I say the difference is that I know I am following a link to read more about a subject but I opt to not follow extended Tweets. 

Now if you put those thoughts in a blog post then I will follow and read about it.

Agree, Disagree or does it matter?

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Richard Hay  (3349 Posts)

Richard is the Owner of WindowsObserver.com and has been involved in tech for over 25 years. His first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then he used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and what you see here today is the result of the work he has continued on the site since 1995. In January 2010 his community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when he was awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for Windows Desktop Experience. In January 2011 he was renewed as a Microsoft MVP but in a new category called Windows Expert - Consumer and in January 2012 he received the award for the third time.