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Twitter Looks At New Ways To Make Tweets More Compelling

Twitter ( TWTR ) will soon stop counting photos and links in its 140-character limit for tweets, a change that could happen in the next two weeks, a news report says. As reported by Bloomberg , citing a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named, the idea is to give users more flexibility on the site. It’s one of several steps being pondered by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as he looks for ways to rejuvenate the company, which is struggling to recharge user growth and to gain online ad sales vs. leaders Facebook ( FB ) and Alphabet’s Google ( GOOGL ). Reports surfaced in January that Twitter was looking to allow tweets longer than the traditional 140 character limit, perhaps to as many as 10,000 characters. Many core Twitter users complained that such a move would turn the short-messaging service into a Facebook clone. The photo/link tweak offers a way to increase the effective character count without changing Twitter’s character. According to Bloomberg, executives have spent the last few months emphasizing how Twitter is a destination for live events and discussion. Removing the character requirement for links and photos might encourage users to add more media to their posts. Twitter stock rose 1.4% in the stock market today , to 14.29. Shares touched an all-time low of 13.90 on May 3 and are down 38% this year. After the market close, Twitter announced that Debra Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET Networks, will join its board of directors. Twitter has been criticized for its lack of diversity on its board.

Microsoft Stock Rated Hold, Seen Near Full Value In Choppy Market

Investment bank Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage of Microsoft ( MSFT ) on Monday with a hold rating, saying the short-term risk-reward looks balanced for the software giant. Canaccord analyst Richard Davis set a price target of 55 on Microsoft stock. Shares rose 1.5%, to 51.83, on the stock market today . Microsoft stock hit a record high of 56.85 on Dec. 29. Microsoft has “attractive long-term prospects,” Davis said in a research report. “We believe Microsoft will continue to make a significant transformation into a much better firm. “We are quite optimistic that most of Microsoft’s growth initiatives will succeed, thereby propelling the stock ahead faster than the overall market.” In the best-case scenario, Microsoft’s renaissance could be similar to IBM ’s ( IBM ) in the 1990s or perhaps even Apple ’s ( AAPL ) in the 2000s, he said. Microsoft is moving from licensing desktop and server software to providing cloud computing services. Davis said he is optimistic about the direction Microsoft is headed, but said he’s cautious because of the choppy market of late. After dropping coverage of Microsoft more than a decade ago, Davis said he wrestled for the appropriate rating in resuming coverage. “We were ready to put a buy on MSFT,” Davis said. “Instead, we took pause after last month’s adequate quarter and slightly disappointing guide. Product and business model transitions are never as linear as analysts project and investors hope, so last quarter could be just a wiggle in fundamentals.” Microsoft stock could go sideways for the next one to three quarters, he said. RELATED: Microsoft Stock Plummets On March-Quarter Miss, Weak Guidance Windows 10 Adoption Slows As PC Users Resist Upgrade Push

Fitbit, Apple Lead In Wearables, But Other Brands Gaining Fast

Fitbit ( FIT ) continues to lead in wearable fitness devices and Apple ( AAPL ) remains atop the smartwatch market, but a host of little-known brands are rapidly taking market share, research firm IDC reported Monday . San Francisco-based Fitbit grabbed 29.4% of the basic wearables market in Q1, with worldwide shipments of 4.8 million devices. It grew unit shipments by 25.4% year over year, but the overall market jumped 65.1%, IDC said. Fitbit’s market share fell from 38.7% in Q1 2015. China-based Xiaomi came in second in basic wearables with a 22.8% market share, followed by Garmin ( GRMN ) with 5%. But both of those companies lost market share compared with Q1 2015, IDC said. Jumping into the top five for basic wearables in Q1 were China-based BBK and Lifesense, each with about 4% market share, up from nothing a year earlier. BBK sells devices under the XTC brand. Meanwhile, all other vendors in the basic wearables market grew unit shipments by 98.2% and increased their collective market share to 34.5% in Q1 from 28.7% a year earlier. In the smartwatch market, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple took the top spot with worldwide shipments of 1.5 million Apple Watch units in Q1, giving it 46% market share. It launched the Apple Watch in Q2 2015. Samsung came in second with 700,000 units shipped and 20.9% market share, followed by Motorola with 400,000 units and 10.9% market share. China-based Huawei jumped into fourth place with 200,000 units and 4.7% market share. Garmin placed fifth with 100,000 smartwatches shipped and 3% market share. Unlike the basic wearables market, the ranks of other vendors in smartwatches dwindled in Q1. Other vendors accounted for 14.5% market share in the first quarter, vs. 52% in the same period a year ago. Unit shipments among the other smartwatch vendors dropped 44.2%. The overall smartwatch market grew unit shipments by 100.2% to 3.2 million units in Q1, from 1.6 million units in Q1 2015. “There’s a clear bifurcation … within the wearables market,” IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement . “Smart watches attempt to offer holistic experiences by being everything to everyone, while basic wearables like fitness bands, connected clothing, or hearables (smart headphones) have a focused approach and often offer specialized use cases.” RELATED: Apple Watch Still Preferred By Dudes; Fitbit Liked By Ladies Fitbit Fails Q1 Physical, Stock Collapses On Q2 Guidance How Many Watches Did Apple Sell Last Quarter?