Twitter Planning to Sell Usernames to Boost Revenue – According to a report from The New York Times, Twitter is considering selling usernames as a means of boosting revenue. Elon Musk, the owner of the social network, has reportedly been looking for ways to earn revenue for the company. According to the report, corporate engineers have pondered holding online auctions for user names, also known as handles. Since last December, the prospective new revenue stream has been a topic of discussion.
It is unknown whether the concept will be implemented, and if it does, it is unclear whether all usernames will be affected or merely a subset. Musk stated in a tweet last month that Twitter would soon begin freeing up 1.5 billion usernames by deleting dormant accounts. After acquiring the social network in October, Musk indicated via a reply to a tweet that he was interested in releasing accounts with desired usernames.
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The Twitter policy against username squatting prohibits the purchase and sale of usernames. People have been able to purchase popular Twitter usernames on the black market for years despite this rule. Historically, the practice of selling desirable usernames has also attracted hackers. A teenager was arrested in the year 2020 for hacking a social network and stealing prominent usernames with the intent of selling them.
The hacker compromised the accounts of multiple notable figures, including Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and others. The new report follows the announcement by the popular messaging app Telegram in October that it will host an auction for usernames for both individual accounts and channels through a marketplace built on the TON blockchain. Since Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter, the billionaire has endeavored to increase the company’s revenue despite a decline in ad revenue.
Reports indicate that since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, several advertisers have abandoned the network and the firm has reduced its internal income expectations. In order to increase revenue, the organization has made several adjustments over the previous few months. The business announced earlier this month that it will lift its ban on political ads in the “coming weeks.” In November, the social network announced a revamped Twitter Blue subscription that costs $7.99 and includes a blue checkmark indicating that the account is verified.
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