Haven't seen it discussed much on the forums, but there's a new Twit site, http://www.twitlonger[dot]com that allows you a little breathing room for your messages.
They say "It's like twitpic for text" I tried it. The result was kind of nice http://www.twitlonger.com/show/7c6dor I signed in with twitter and wrote my tweet (an ad) then posted it. I also used 'addthis' to put in friendfeed. It's like getting your own free do follow link for whatever site you want to promote. It's got a PR5 too - sweet!
Think I'll start putting in more work on it myself. In fact, you just gave me an idea for a morning post.
The latest Google algorithm update said that social mentions WILL have an effect on SEO. So it kind of does...