What’s Your Handle? I Mean, Twitter Username?

So you finally decide to jump into the deep end of social media and sign up for a Twitter account! And then you are asked what your username will be? Hmmm. There are so many possibilities! Should you use your actual name – or some variation thereof since there are probably already 1200 Hannah Smiths out there? Should you reference your hobby, like Beekeeper or Dancer? Should you proclaim that you have children – Mommyof4 or HappyDad? Should you go with something fun or sexy, like JokerMan or BootyBabe? 

Having been on Twitter for several months now, I find it interesting what usernames people choose as they tweet to the world their personal thoughts. What you choose says a lot about yourself!

I am old enough to remember CB radios (can anyone say Smokey & the Bandit?). Twitter usernames often remind me of CB handles. “Breaker, breaker 1-9. This is Sugar Puppy calling Book Reader. What’s your twenty?”

With both CB radios and Twitter accounts, people can get creative. I checked out a few Twitter usernames and found these curious ones:

Ilikesleep – I wonder how often this guy tweets if he’s snoozing all the time.

throatwarbler – Now that is an interesting hobby!

batgirl – And she isn’t the only one; there are several variations of Batgirl out there.

pizza_of_death – I didn’t click on this one because for some reason it creeped me out.

luckypluck – Guitar player maybe?

bug_girl – Hey, she’s apparently into entomology!

mylaundrystinks – I’m not sure I’d advertise that to the whole world.

 

As for me, I tweet under the fabulously imaginative moniker @Julie_Glover. Yep, that’s it. Despite the curiosity of quirky nicknames used on Twitter, there are a lot of people communicating under their real names as well. For an author or businessperson, your true identity is the way to go because it is your brand. (See Kristen Lamb’s post on the Cutesy Moniker Tweeter.)

But it is tempting to think up some wild nickname! Although I have to admit that I don’t know what few letters would encompass what I want to say to the world about myself. Would I focus on my attributes, my job, my family, or something else?

How did you choose your Twitter name? Do you like your tweeps using their real names or nicknames? What does your Twitter name say about you? Have you seen any other unusual usernames?