Pardon my plain English, Twitter, but can’t we just Keep It Simple, Silly?!
There. I said it. And I said it concisely. It’s the KISS marketing principle and it’s an oldie but a goodie – just like Twitter’s original idea of limiting posts to 140 characters… to keep it simple. But it looks like we have to kiss that goodbye.
Twitter is all about brevity, with a zing. An unforgettable word smooch, shall we say? That’s the whole point of Twitter. *Short and to the point* is what Twitter was built on. It’s the essence of its brand!
Now Twitter is experimenting with giving people more space. Double the space, actually. Like 280 characters of space. Okay, I understand wanting more space in your life, your office, maybe even in a relationship, but giving people more space to write a tweet is not necessarily a good thing.
The truth? I hate it.
Was that short and simple enough?
But this is not Twitter; it’s my blog. So I’m giving myself more space to talk about this. I am a diehard Twitter fan, so I want to be fair.
Let’s chirp about the pros and cons of this idea.
The *Pros* of Twitter expanding to 280 characters: (I’m trying to see the bright side here)
- More words. Twitter says this will help people worldwide get their message out more effectively, because some languages take up more characters by default (like English). Japanese, for instance, can get the message out with only a few characters. Research says it’s about 15, while English usually takes about 34.
- Less editing. Sometimes you have a few more words to complete your thought and it ends up being a chore to edit the tweet. Now you don’t need to.
- More of a platform. Some people just have more to say and 140 characters offers too little room. Perhaps 280 may be their “just right.” Let’s ask Goldilocks.
- Just better? The Twitter gods say that *280* gives that comfortable expansion without overdoing it.
I disagree. The expansion makes it less Twitter. No, it makes it not Twitter. Yes, as a social media fanatic who has been in love with Twitter for almost a decade, I’ve become attached to the old 140.
So, here are the *Cons* of the expanded Twitter (or the *Pros* of Twitter AS IS)
- Brevity. Period.
- Shorter makes us brighter. The briefer you need to be, the more you learn to be concise and effective in your message. Period.
- Quick and dirty. In publishing, sometimes they call the concept of brevity “quick and dirty.” Get to the point, say it with a punch and people will read it. More people. Period.
- Engagement. Research shows that shorter posts on every network are the most engaged. Shorter. Even shorter than 140 characters. So why would you make it longer?
- Easy Peasy. It’s all about making the business of social networking easier for YOU. No need to brainstorm long thoughts, like this diatribe. Call it a little quick word improv. Have a thought? Write a tweet.
- Creativity! Needing to say something in a very short space makes you ultra-creative. Ahhh, the feeling I get when I edit my thought from 312 characters to under 140 without losing any of the essence of what I’m trying to say. It’s exhilarating!
Twitter, I beg you. Stay short and sweet. Just like me.
What do you think? Do you want more space in your tweets? Or are you attached to the original Twitter? Please let me know in 140 characters or less @NikaStewart.
