Twitter's main feature is the 140 character limit. But I could see the service add some sort of additional metadata features (say commenting). - phil baumann

Now, I won't say Twitter will = FriendFeed (the 140 character limit is a key thing that Twitter shouldn't toy with - not anytime soon at least). - phil baumann

But what if Twitter kept the core feature (the 140 limit on tweets) and added a platform for FF-like discussion? - phil baumann

Twitter already has pseudo-comment-threading with the "in reply to ..." links at the bottom of @ replies. - John (bird whisperer)

I'm thinking now, that perhaps FF didn't get mainstream because it lacked that "social-easy" feature which Twitter provides - the instant notification (@ reply). FF required some time to play with to fully appreciate. - phil baumann

John - Yes, but what if they provided a context to see the threads more easily and instantly? Not saying they should, but what effect could that have on the future of the service? - phil baumann

Allowing those to be seen as complete discussion threads would be a big improvement. - John (bird whisperer)

Or at least, it would be a big improvement for people who want to have conversations there... - John (bird whisperer)

Twitter chats demonstrate that you can have ordered (sorta) discussions on Twitter but right now you need a client like TweetChat to get the most out of them. I'm wondering if Twitter enabled such a service on its own real estate if that would provide the right balance between enabling deeper discussion & the simplicity of the @ reply. - phil baumann

John - exactly. It could just be an option so that the basic "Twitterness" of @ replies aren't interfered with. - phil baumann