Twitter is reportedly thinking about finally allowing its users to send out tweets containing over 140 characters, according to several sources that are familiar with the plans of the social network.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and interim CEO of Twitter, is leading a project named "140 Plus" that is looking at various ways to extend the 140-character limit of tweets, which is one of the signature and fundamental features of Twitter.
What the final product of 140 Plus, however, has not yet been finalized, as debate within the company continues on what to do with the 140-character cap. The limit on Twitter has made the social network unique, with users having created lingo and different ways of stating thoughts and information within 140 characters. While there have been constraints, users have figured out means to get around the limit through methods such as attaching images where text is written out or by sending out a series of linked tweets that is now known as a "tweetstorm."
One of the major topics of discussion for Twitter is how much the limit should be extended and how it would look on the website, as these decisions will be changing the user experience for Twitter. While some have agreed to extend the limit by about 10 characters, some have voiced out that the company should instead be focusing on developing a publishing platform that could be monetized in the future.
In addition to the extension of the character limit, some executives have talked about changing how Twitter measures the 140 characters in the limit, with proposals of removing links and account handles from the character count.
Dorsey has been said to be supportive of potential changes to Twitter as he takes on the CEO role in the interim.
"People have been very precious at Twitter about what Twitter can be and how much it can be evolved," said a senior employee at Twitter. "Having Jack come in and say it's okay makes all the difference in the world."
It should be noted, however, that 140 Plus is still an early product, which means that there is still the chance that the removal or extension of the 140-character limit will not happen. However, if Twitter is looking to attract more users to its service, changing up the character limit will certainly draw interest to the social network.
