Twitter modifies 140-character tweet length rules

The famed 140-character limit for a tweet has been finally modified. Twitter’s announcement on Tuesday that photos, videos and other multi-media attachments will not be counted as characters means this: The limit will only apply to text and links. You could type at length, giving grammar its due!

Twitter users could also in due course stop worrying about @names in reply to tweets using up space. Here’s what Twitter said in its blog, “When replying to a tweet, @names will no longer count toward the 140-character count. This will make having conversations on Twitter easier and more straightforward, no more penny-pinching your words to ensure they reach the whole group.”

Also on the Twitter agenda is a feature that enables retweet button on your own tweets.

“You can easily retweet or quote tweet yourself when you want to share a new reflection or when you feel a really good one went unnoticed,” explained the blog. However, these changes are not immediate. Twitter indicated that the updates will be available over the coming months. “Today, we’re notifying you and our developers, so that everything works as it should when we roll out these changes.”

Twitter users who wanted all their followers to see what they tweeted to a particular person had to use a full stop before the @ sign. Tuesday’s announcement implies this “.@) convention will go. New tweets that begin with a username will reach all your followers.