It’s not been long since Twitter doubled tweets’ character limit from 140 to 280. Twitter is back again in the headlines, though, and this time, it is the character limit of the display, which is extended to 50 characters.
Now, people often get confused between the display name and the username. The username appears in the profile URL of the user. It is unique to the user and is used for logging in, replies, and direct messages. On the other hand, the display name is more like a personal identifier. It may be a business name or a real name. It is displayed on the user’s profile page. Its purpose is to get the user identified to his or her friends, especially if one’s username is different from the actual name or business name.
After the introduction of the new character, the username can be up to 15 characters long, whereas the display name can be up to 50 characters.
This extension is obviously way less impacting than the 280-character expansion. It’s probably not going to create much of a controversy like the previous extension. It can, though, be really useful for people with longer names. Users who like to add emojis or change their names to witty statements regularly can also take advantage of this extension.
Any sort of modification in the display name doesn’t affect the user’s existing followers, Direct Messages, or replies. When the display name is updated, the followers would simply see a new username next to the profile photo.
A section of critics, though believes that the company has chosen to focus on cosmetic changes to divert people from the ongoing disappointments regarding the long-standing problems such as abuse on the platform and other security-related issues.
What do you think about this latest extension? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments section below.