Culture / Social Media

A Thread for Auld Lang Syne

On Twitter's new 280-character limit.

by Yoni Appelbaum via Twitter on September 26, 2017

President John F. Kennedy, his wife, Jackie, and their son John Jr. on his Christening day, Dec. 8, 1960.

Twitter logo.

...A thread for auld lang syne, before the new character limit renders the form utterly obsolete. 2. People tend to write to fit constraints—give them 140 characters, they may tend to find ways to use them all: https://twitter.com/robinsloan/status/912790746952081411

3. Initially, telegrams included 10 words at a flat fee, then charged per word. Most telegrams used 10 or less; almost all fewer than 15.

4. Telegrams evolved into a new genre—clipped, abbreviated language valuing economy of prose over flowery expression.