For most people, choosing a user name on Twitter isn’t something they put too much thought into when they first sign up. They just want to get on the site and see for themselves what all the fuss is about. But did you know that you can change the username on your account and keep all your followers? Just go into the settings tab, and type in the new name. As long as it’s still available and under 15 characters long, you can have a brand new identity (or a new Brand Identity).
Why would you want to do that? Maybe you have a blog and realize that it would be a good idea to use the same name for your Twitter name. Or maybe you have had a name on Facebook, Myspace, or your favorite forum for a long time, and are thinking it’s a good idea to be one person, instead of multiple personalities. You’ll be instantly recognizable by your friends on those other social networking sites.
A few Tips for Choosing a Good Twitter Name
1. Keep it short. Shorter is good because it is easy to type and remember, of course, but also because it leaves more room for the actual message of your tweet. This is important when people try to reply to or retweet your message, since the 140 character limit will become 140 minus however many letters are in your name, minus the “rt @” that goes before your name.
2. Use your user name to say something about who you are. This can be especially helpful if you are using the account for business purposes. For example, if you are the top caterering service in Vancouver, grabbing the user name VancouverCaterer would be great, if it’s still available. It doesn’t have to be all about business, though. How about becoming tangoMan if you like to dance, or MsGlam if you’re a ‘70’s glam rock fanatic?
3. When entering your user name for the first time, the case of the letters, upper or lower, will matter. But for people typing in your name to find you or reply to you, it won’t. For example, if you fill out your user name as StephenKing, it will appear in your profile and tweets as “StephenKing”, but if someone replies to you by typing “@stephenking” it will still get to you. So for the first time filling out the form, just type in whichever one you think looks cooler or more official or more whatever.
4. Avoid numbers, dashes and underscores. This looks like the real name you wanted wasn’t available, and you were too unimaginative or lazy to come up with something unique. Who wants to be a friend of CoolChick_9703, when they could be following IceIceBaby?
5. Obviously, if you represent a big company, you’ll want your username to match it. HomeDepot, Starbucks and NYTimes are a few well known examples. But what if it’s already taken? Don’t worry, if you have a trademarked brand name, and can prove ownership, then sending an email to Twitter, from your corporate email account, at support@twitter.com, and they will transfer the hijacked account to you, usually within 24 hours. Some of these so-called twitter account squatters have used theier user names for what is called brand jacking, using the notoriety of the brand to further their own agenda, or just to get attention, though this is not as big a problem now as in the early days of Twitter (which weren’t all that long ago).
6. Should you use your real name? This is entirely a personal choice. Some people argue that it is better to use your real life name, since Twitter is all about transparency, getting a feel for other people’s day to day lives, and letting yourself be known, warts and all. Plus, if you go to a lot of offline conferences and meetings, it can save a lot of confusion and explanation.
On the other hand, some people are uncomfortable with exposing their lives to millions of other people, and there is some wisdom in this. You can conjure up any number of paranoid scenarios to support this view, like a potential employer seeing your spontaneous tweet about what a jerk the interviewer was. And would you want your 16 year old daughter publicly broadcasting information like what school she is at, what time she goes there, which classroom she is in at the moment, and more, all while signing her real name? No, no and no. I’ve chosen the username twelper, so obviously I am in the second camp here. Also keep in mind that other users can also see your real name, which you filled in when you first registered, on your profile page and in their own list of Followers and Following.
7. You could opt for a cryptic pseudo-military type handle, using the NATO radiotelephone standard words to denote letters of the alphabet (Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whiskey XRay Yankee Zulu). Take the initals of your first and last name and substitute for the letters in the list. For example, John Wilson would be JulietWhiskey, George Bush would be GolfBravo, and Avril Lavigne could use the name AlphaLimo.
8. You disgruntled and argumentative types may wish to use the “X Sucks” method to choose a name. A good way to get attention and possible retweets, but not necessarily lots of followers. Ex- ShaqSucks, google_hater, iphoneSucks, etc.
9. Make up a nickname out of your last name. For instance, let’s say your name is Jeremy Shoemaker- change it to Shoemoney. It helps if the nickname is related to your area of expertise. So if your are a bail bondsmen and your real name is Mike Wolfe, then you could make your user name BailWolf.
10. It’s best to have a user name that is easy to remember, pronounce and spell. But going against the crowd on that point just might make you stand out. How many tweets do you think come across from users with names like p9s50W5k4GUD2c6? Yet, someone with this name on the social site Digg.com has built up a substantial following,
So have fun, and remember you can always change your name later without causing too much of a diaster. Just don’t neglect to tell your freinds about your new name so they know it’s you.
Photo by David Sim, Creative Commons Attribution License
Comments on this entry are closed.