Which brings us back to Trump and the new 280-character limit. Until yesterday, tweets were so short that even tedious ones could be swallowed in a single eye-grab without risking boredom unless the user was daring enough to issue a threaded tweetstorm. Like the 15-second commercials the TV business has pushed onto us, regular tweets weren’t long enough to skip, no matter how inconsequential. How will the new order affect Trump? Will he continue to abide the space constraints that have served him so well, or will he stretch into the new space the way he often does during Hour 2 of his public addresses, when the drama stalls and the throng turns restless?
I say bring on the full 280 in all its grandiose glory: Fun-size Twitter threatens to reveal Trump’s rhetorical and cognitive weaknesses and expose him as the bore he is. Unable to think very far beyond 140 characters at a time, he might start sounding as doddering as he does when speaking in public. By the time @Jack gives him the keys to the new format, he might be hollering for the NFL to stop players from protesting and demanding that Twitter go back to 140.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member