Twitter Debates Auctioning Off 1B Unused Usernames To The Masses

Twitter continues on its quest to generate revenue streams from interesting areas. Its latest venture is the possible auctioning off of unused usernames.
 
Avid Twitter users may be familiar with the gut-wrenching feeling of having the perfect username in mind only to find that it’s taken by someone else. And what’s worse is when it is linked to an inactive account.
 
Twitter’s policy has since barred people from selling their usernames. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that didn’t stop a black market for the handles to crop up where people would secretly pay for access to the names.
 
In a plot twist to Twitter’s story, this black market is now seeing the light of day as engineers in the company contemplate the idea of auctioning the names off.
 
Admittedly, this could be a fair and trusted way for people to acquire the handles. The only legal way to do so right now is to track the names and jump at the chance to use them when it becomes free.
 
The idea has been in the works since late December after CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the platform would release 1.5 billion inactive usernames to the public. Despite this, there isn’t any other information if it will take off or how the buying process will work.

Twitter will soon start freeing the name space of 1.5 billion accounts

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022

The selling of the handles comes after other revenue-generating activities have been employed by Musk, including launching its Blue Tick subscription, laying off scores of employees, and selling furniture from around the headquarters.
 
 
 
[via TechCrunch and Social Media Today, Photo 141719058 © Dimarik16 | Dreamstime.com]