Brevity is the soul of wit

"Brevity is the soul of wit" has become a Standard English proverb, based on the words of Polonius in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Twitter’s 140 characters for the “tweet”, designed as a technical restriction has become the single most famous aspect of the service. This compels one to become a better writer by being concise in expressions as you have to say in 140 characters. So you have say anything in as few words as possible. In a way, this is a challenge. Users will be forced to use shorter words and express creatively in a clear and concise manner and use one’s vocabulary tactfully. This could be difficult for some people in the beginning, as it compels to hone your editing skills as well. As they say, shorter is better in Twitter.

A well-written tweet increases memorability and functions same as a newspaper headline or good old telegraphic messages. The exercise of shortening the message is good, as the recipient’s span of attention is also less. As a result, very interesting contractions and abbreviations are the innovations due to the restriction. There has been novel use of punctuation and symbols too. Users are adept with word count while keeping communication clear.

In fact, many innovative attempts have been made to write a novel or resume in 140 characters. Photographs, hash tags, and links have added to the content experience. The combined efforts of over 300 million monthly active users of this micro blogging service have contributed to the emergence of a distinct social communication.

For communicators, the challenge is to make the message stand out and get noticed amidst millions of tweets circulating on daily basis. There are many pitfalls of poorly written tweets and could be a costly mistake, because rule of good grammar and correct spelling matter very much. Grabbing the attention and to keeping the interest in the entire copy content can be quite daunting. It could be decisive factor in creating traffic or conversion to your website. The chief aims of a good tweet are to make it “Re-tweetable” and readability. This is essential to promote a product, service or a brand. The shortened link using bit.ly could link up to a photo, video, article or a blog post. Tweets as a social messaging has emotional and personal touch giving out your personality attributes. Your professionalism gets communicated in tweets.

It is a craft. Reviewing before you tweet and exercising a bit of extra care on the usage will go a long way in getting followers and also to generate quality traffic. Well written tweets with all right elements can make wonders and creates a great impression. The benefits are immense, but to be handled professionally. Hence, brevity is the soul of wit is still relevant.