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I want to share a quick pet peeve. And who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to explain it to me.
Seriously, what is up with people constantly changing their Twitter handles? I get it if someone’s handle is outdated in some way and they update it. But others change it every few weeks or every few months, and as a follower I find precious little more obnoxious.
I check my recent feed and see names I know I didn’t follow. At least tweet to let us know when and why you changed your handle so we know immediately who you are, please.
Is there any real need for the constant name-changing though? I don’t think so. You screw up any branding you already had going on, and you risk confusing followers. It seems to pretty contrary to both the community and marketing sides of social media, at least to me.
How many times does someone have to change their name before you get annoyed enough to stop following? How many times have you changed your own handle on Twitter, or elsewhere? Did you have a good reason for it, or do you toss out your branding on a whim? I’m curious.
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About the Author: Jennifer Mattern
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TAGS: branding, social media, social networks, twitter
I changed my personal Twitter handle after a few months because when I first signed up I didn’t take it too seriously. Then I realized that I used it all the time and I should get Twitter in line with the rest of my services. I also have an account for my blog, and if I was going to change the name (which I have considered) I would probably tweet about it for a week leading up to the change, and for a week after just so people wouldn’t get confused.
In that kind of situation, I think it really does make sense to change your handle. What bugs me as a follower is more the folks who do it repeatedly and for no real reason. I’ve seen people toss aside great branded handles for the most ridiculous things.
I agree with you completely – it is so confusing and unnecessary to change it constantly. I think that a lot of people think it’s a cute or clever way to take advantage of the name changing fe
I’ve changed my handle once, because when I signed up with Twitter I used a nickname, but I decided to use my real name instead. I’m really glad I made the change – it will obviously never become outdated or irrelevant so I should never have to change it!
… Sorry about cutting that word off. I meant “feature.”
Exactly. Picking a good handle is a part of doing business online. Sure, if you’re only tweeting for friends and family maybe no one cares. But when you’re heavily networked with clients, colleagues, etc. on Twitter, have some professional sense. Sometimes it feels like people are using their handles almost like status updates can be used with larger or “normal” social networks. Then again, Twitter’s nothing but status updates, so why bother? It just seems to silly to me.
I am totally guilty of changing my Twitter handle a gazillion times. Sorry for annoying you. I did it because I could do it instead of creating a new account.
What’s the reason though? I remember at one point you had a good one that was tied to your name — simple, professional, but still personal enough that you could tweet about just about anything under it. I don’t know what your primary purpose for using Twitter is. If it’s personal use, then any name is fine. If it’s being used for business networking though, I’d suggest keeping your namesake (not only for branding, but to stop someone else from registering and using it).
I have used the same Twitter name since I started with the service. In fact, I mostly keep my user names the same (eBay, Twitter, etc.) for exactly the reasons you discuss here. I did make one change across the board a few years ago when I went from using my shortened name (robwitham) to using my full name (robertwitham). I also changed my website URI, e-mail, etc. all at the same time.
I feel so out of the loop. I didn’t even realize you could change your Twitter handle.
With your name change, it doesn’t sound like it would have caused any confusion at least — followers would know who you were rather than thinking “who the hell is this person I know I didn’t follow?”
When it comes to an overall branding change, then it absolutely makes sense to change it for consistency’s sake.
I do think twitter is a killer app. A perfect complement to blogging. I tweet all the time and I’m pretty sure I’m addicted
I don’t really use my twitter account for anything business related. But I decided that if I ever went in that direction, it would be better to already be using my real name so that I wouldn’t have to change it, which would confuse my existing followers.
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I started using Twitter back in November, since then I’ve begun to love it. What started out as a hatred for Twitter it’s allowed me to network with people in my life alot easier. News and updates happen in right away which makes for a great social communication app.