LOOK: Netizens’ best use for Twitter’s 280-character count

Twitter

Image: INQUIRER.net stock photo

In response to what seemed to be a very restrictive number of characters, Twitter rolled out a 280-character trial for a few users.

Reception was mixed, and might just make Twitter reconsider their decision.

There were some who thought brevity was what made tweets appealing, like Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@JamesMartinSJ

Others poked fun at people—and ultimately, themselves—for being challenged by the 140-character limit:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@DannyCalidonia

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@geekontheloose

Some weren’t sure about what to do with twice the characters to type:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@existentialcomics

Others saw the opportunity for correct punctuation:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@itsaprilaquino

Some found it overwhelming:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@toursuits

And that there was too much to unlearn, especially for Twitter Queen Chrissy Teigen:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@chrissyteigen

There were attempts to protect Twitter’s sometimes awkward and tedious thread format:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@jamesponiewozik

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@shaun505

But more characters still didn’t protect users from cliffhangers:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@khinsider

It was pointed out that Twitter had bigger issues to fix, like cyberbullying:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@chriswarcraft

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@pahtch

Ultimately, the Filipino language benefits the most with the new format:

Image: Screen grab via Twitter/@juan_luuu

In a statement, the micro-blogging company said that the update is for English-speaking users since words in English were too long to fit into a tweet.

“We understand since many of you have been Tweeting for years, there may be an emotional attachment to 140 characters – we felt it, too. But we tried this, saw the power of what it will do, and fell in love with this new, still brief, constraint,” the statement read. JB

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