After two months of market testing, Twitter finally extended to all users the 280 character limit expansion it first rolled out on a limited basis back in September.
While not everyone applauded an end to the 140 character maximum that has defined the service since 2006, those that did went all out — cramming as much content as possible into tweets both to demonstrate what’s possible, and to make fun of the newly-available verbosity.
Some genuinely fun and often hilarious #content ensued.
Read on for a sample.
Here’s Ben Schwartz with the world’s most famous mathematical constant:
Pi=3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196442881097566593344612847564823378678316527120190914564856692346034861045432
— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) November 8, 2017
Here’s Jake Tapper proving that reading is fundamental, first with the opening of “The Great Gatsby.”
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
#280— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 8, 2017
Followed by the beginning of “The Catcher in the Rye”:
If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap.
#280— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 8, 2017
Next up, Genesis:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
#280— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 8, 2017
If you don’t know this classic from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” by now:
https://twitter.com/JonahGreen/status/928059528360239104
An excerpt from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”:
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say
that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last
people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious,
because they just didn't hold with such nonsense… #280characters— Tessa Netting Moses (@tessanetting) November 7, 2017
For some reason this Smashmouth song became a meme and here is possibly that meme’s greatest form:
Okay honestly the point I was trying to make is that with 280 characters, etiquette is going to become far more important on Twitter as the years START
COMING
AND
THEY
DONT
STOP
COMING
FED
TO
THE
RULES
AND
I
HIT
THE
GROUND
RUNNING
DIDN'T
MAKE
SENSE
NOT
TO
LIVE
FOR
FUN— Sean O'Kane (@sokane1) September 27, 2017
“Official” Twitter accounts got in on it too.
“LANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” #ArcherFXX #280characters
— Archer (@archerfxx) November 7, 2017
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. *DUN DUN*
— ??? & ????? (@lawandordertv) November 7, 2017
But before you enjoy it too much, here’s Lin-Manuel Miranda with the rebuttal:
Nah even shorter F this
#280— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 8, 2017
Oh, in case you’re wondering, Trump has a 280 character limit too. Here’s his first tweet after Twitter extended the limit to everyone:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/928064591665467393