May 24--Get ready for slightly longer tweets and the ability to retweet yourself.
Twitter Inc. said Tuesday that it was making a number of minor changes to its microblogging service over the next few months.
* Media -- including images, videos, polls and GIFs -- will no longer count against a tweet's 140-character limit, nor will usernames included in replies.
* Users can now retweet themselves or quote their own tweets.
* Twitter's ".@" convention is going away. Users had long embraced this workaround to tweet at individual accounts while ensuring their messages were seen by all followers. Starting soon, even tweets that start with another user's handle will reach all followers.
In a tweet, the San Francisco tech company said the changes were designed to allow users to "express even more with a tweet."
Facing stagnating user growth and questions about whether its product is too unwelcoming to new users, Twitter has made some tweaks to its service -- most noticeably changing its favorites icon from a star to a heart.
But it hasn't embraced other features that users have been clamoring for, such as the ability to edit tweets.
And in March, Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey quashed speculation that the company he co-founded would eliminate its signature feature: that 140-character limit.
MORE FROM BUSINESS
Google's Paris office raided in tax fraud investigation
Venture capital firm March Capital Partners debuts with $240-million fund
Drama, Sex and Millions at Stake: Key players in the Sumner Redstone Saga
samantha.masunaga@latimes.com
For more business news, follow me @smasunaga
