Instructable-in-a-Tweet: How to Completely Bypass the Twitter Character Limit
Intro: Instructable-in-a-Tweet: How to Completely Bypass the Twitter Character Limit
Sometimes, you want to say something that exceeds Twitter’s 140 character limit.
You could post online somewhere, and include a link, or break the text into a number of separate tweets, but both options risk a lack of follow-through, since readers may miss one or more of the broken-up tweets, or not feel the urge to follow a link.
To get all the text into one tweet – you can subvert the limit by using a screen-shot.
For the text you are reading now, I typed the text in a word processor, inserted the image of my iPod note, zoomed to make the text as large and clear as possible, then took a screen-shot by pressing PrtScr.
I then opened an image editor (just the basic “Paint”), pasted in the screen-shot, cropped off all the extra bits, like the buttons and excess white space, and saved it as a JPG file.
After that, it was a simple matter to open Twitter in my browser, write a tweet, and attach the image of this text.
OK, so it’s a little cramped, but you are also more likely to get your comment passed on in one piece, without editing, because it’s easier to simply re-tweet the image than to type out all the writing again from scratch, and you are also more likely to be identified as the author of the text if you include some sort of signature in the image. In this case, I have added a text-box that contains my Instructables member page URL, and the date upon which I authored the text.
An extra idea from darus67; If you tweet an opening line, or summary, followed by a link to the image, and folk might be more likely to open the link than if you just post a naked link.
If you want to tweet this onwards yourself, you can find this project, and my other Tweets, at https://twitter.com/KitemanX
>K<
You could post online somewhere, and include a link, or break the text into a number of separate tweets, but both options risk a lack of follow-through, since readers may miss one or more of the broken-up tweets, or not feel the urge to follow a link.
To get all the text into one tweet – you can subvert the limit by using a screen-shot.
For the text you are reading now, I typed the text in a word processor, inserted the image of my iPod note, zoomed to make the text as large and clear as possible, then took a screen-shot by pressing PrtScr.
I then opened an image editor (just the basic “Paint”), pasted in the screen-shot, cropped off all the extra bits, like the buttons and excess white space, and saved it as a JPG file.
After that, it was a simple matter to open Twitter in my browser, write a tweet, and attach the image of this text.
OK, so it’s a little cramped, but you are also more likely to get your comment passed on in one piece, without editing, because it’s easier to simply re-tweet the image than to type out all the writing again from scratch, and you are also more likely to be identified as the author of the text if you include some sort of signature in the image. In this case, I have added a text-box that contains my Instructables member page URL, and the date upon which I authored the text.
An extra idea from darus67; If you tweet an opening line, or summary, followed by a link to the image, and folk might be more likely to open the link than if you just post a naked link.
If you want to tweet this onwards yourself, you can find this project, and my other Tweets, at https://twitter.com/KitemanX
>K<
9 Comments
darus67 11 years ago
I used to follow a celebrity who started making every tweet a link to a picture of a hand written note. He got un-followed.
Kiteman 11 years ago
fungus amungus 11 years ago
Kiteman 11 years ago
[Edits]
underdesign 11 years ago
Kiteman 11 years ago
You will have noticed, I hope, the very first word of the write-up; sometimes.
Maybe folk want their words protected from the furtlings of google? Or to avoid the attention of tweetbots and censors? And nobody is ever obliged to read my tweets.
However, as for blind readers, I will admit that I did not consider that aspect. Sorry, folks.
However, I am glad that my project stimulated enough interest in you that it receives the first comment you make in your entire three and a half year membership of Instructables!
WriterChick 11 years ago
Kiteman 11 years ago
GummiBear 11 years ago