140 characters also allowed Twitter to fit a tweet into an SMS text message, which was a USP. The brevity (which is the soul of wit) was an attractive by-produc

140 characters also allowed Twitter to fit a tweet into an SMS text message, which was a USP. The brevity (which is the soul of wit) was an attractive by-product. The problem now is that whatever Twitter does to its system will probably -- yet again -- make it more like Facebook. And while I understand the HN audience's hostility to Facebook, that looks to me like a losing strategy.