Why the row over Twitter #280characters is a storm in a flat white

For those of us who like playing with literary constraints, a lot of the fun will go too, says the author

There was an almighty twittering in the social media dovecote this week when Twitter rolled out its new #280characters – doubling its previous limit of 140. According to JK Rowling: “Twitter’s destroyed its USP. The whole point, for me, was how inventive people could be within that concise framework.”
 

Twitter’s destroyed its USP. The whole point, for me, was how inventive people could be within that concise framework. #Twitter280characters

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 8, 2017

My own reaction was similar. I’ve always seen the strict character limit as the social