Why you should NOT use your real name as your Twitter username? |

Why you should NOT use your real name as your Twitter username?

July 1, 2010 by B T

I’m no social media expert. Not even a twitter expert (not sure anyone is). But I am writing just to share what I have understood from being on Twitter for 2 years.

Here are 5 reasons why you should NOT be using your real name as your Twitter username:

1. Your real name has little or no significance to the content you share

My twitter handle is fashion_noble. This is because I believe in fashion for a noble cause. If you are following me on Twitter its either because you like “fashion” or “noble” and dont necessarily care that my name is Bhakti Talreja. How does that matter anyway? Content is king on Twitter, isn’t it?

2. Your real name is NOT a common noun for all to remember easily

If you wanna write to me on Twitter and my twitter username is TzeLyePuah (thats the name of a dear friend), would you remember my name or its spelling or would you have to look it up and doublecheck? You dont wanna be writing to someone else, do you?

3.Twitter has a separate place for your real name username both, for a good reason

You MUST tell us your real name on your profile, share your picture and even feel free to share your blog/webaddress. But you can do that where you HAVE to, why would you want to use your real name in two places (Unless you really want to). Have a nice universal and generic username that gives us a clear (first impression) of who you are and maybe even give us an idea of what you tweet about. (When you look at @StyleMelbourne- you do know that this person tweets about style or Melbourne or both)

4. You are not on Twitter for YOU

You maybe on twitter to make a brand impression/presence or you maybe a person representing a brand. Why then would you want to use your real name as the handle? (Heard of @Telstra, haven’t you?)

5. Because you don’t “feel like”

Yup! You got that right. If you dont feel like using your real name as the username on Twitter, DONT! Nobody is an expert on Twitter and there ARE no rules to follow. Feel free to be in your own comfort zone and interact with the people who are happy to talk to you just as you are. Be yourself 🙂

I have parked a username bhaktitalreja for myself (just in case I “feel like” using it someday). But the reason I am fashion_noble is NOT because I dont like my name, not even because I have anything to hide. But only because I want our interaction on Twitter to be easier for YOU 🙂

See you on Twitter!

@fashion_noble

Posted in Life's musings, Social Media | Tagged choosing a twitter username, Real name on Twitter, Twitter, Why you should NOT use your real name as your Twitter username? | 2 Comments

2 Responses

on November 13, 2011 at 23:09 | Reply Pranab

So basically you are saying that the Twitter handle should not be my name, but you are not advocating anonymous tweeting, right? In any case I think its easier to spell my name than my Twitter handle.

P.S.: Thanks for subbing to my blog!
- on November 14, 2011 at 21:30 | Reply Bhakti
  
  Hello Pranab,
  
  Thanks for dropping by. What I am saying here is that there are 2 options on your Twitter account- One for your real name and another for a username which may or may not be your name. May as well use the options given to you and have your real name displayed where it is supposed to be. Of course, you can choose to use your name as a Twitter handle but that’s just duplicating information. Just my two cents there.
  Cheers!
  B