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Reply All also did an episode about this a few years back. https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/v4he6k https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/v4he6k tl;dr

Reply All also did an episode about this a few years back. https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/v4he6k https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/v4he6k tl;dr There's underground marketplaces where shady people buy and sell OG usernames for money, which creates an incentive for shady people to steal them from the original owners.

pkrotich 5y ago
Perhaps incentives don't line up... but I'm wondering if social media sites like IG should make renting out usernames a thing - obviously there's a market for it. If I'm taking social media hiatus, for example, I wouldn't mind getting paid while away.
- malux85 5y ago
  Sooooo how does that work? I rent your username while you’re on holiday for a month and then spam your followers with crypto scams and viagra ads? Or they decouple followers from the username so the username becomes a transient thing, which then gets ignored, and becomes worthless?
  - pkrotich 5y ago
    I prefaced it with perhaps incentives don’t necessarily line up… maybe there’s a clever way to go about it. I was thinking it will be pre-approved category of content… there’s already such model with sponsored content influencers post.
  - pmlnr 5y ago
    That is basically how domains work, but there are grace periods for recovery.
boppo1 5y ago
How is my username made in the last 4 years different from an OG username?
- fragmede 5y ago
  Because all the good obvious ones are already taken. Simple ones like "kevin" or "a". Unless your name is super unique, your username from the last 4 years has some sort of quirky thing, like a weird spelling with extra letters or numbers to get around that.
- layer8 5y ago
  OG names are names that are (and always were) in high demand, and therefore were quickly taken. The fact that your name was still available means that it wasn’t in high demand. OG names are being pilfered because they are in high demand and therefore highly valuable.
- pkrotich 5y ago
  It’s like trying to register a .com domain - OG ones (short 2-4 letters) are only available in the aftermarket, and only if you have millions. You end up with along-ish name that’s also taken - so end up with domainhq or .io or whatever is popular now.

pkrotich 5y ago

Perhaps incentives don't line up... but I'm wondering if social media sites like IG should make renting out usernames a thing - obviously there's a market for it. If I'm taking social media hiatus, for example, I wouldn't mind getting paid while away.

malux85 5y ago
Sooooo how does that work? I rent your username while you’re on holiday for a month and then spam your followers with crypto scams and viagra ads? Or they decouple followers from the username so the username becomes a transient thing, which then gets ignored, and becomes worthless?
- pkrotich 5y ago
  I prefaced it with perhaps incentives don’t necessarily line up… maybe there’s a clever way to go about it. I was thinking it will be pre-approved category of content… there’s already such model with sponsored content influencers post.
- pmlnr 5y ago
  That is basically how domains work, but there are grace periods for recovery.

boppo1 5y ago

How is my username made in the last 4 years different from an OG username?

fragmede 5y ago
Because all the good obvious ones are already taken. Simple ones like "kevin" or "a". Unless your name is super unique, your username from the last 4 years has some sort of quirky thing, like a weird spelling with extra letters or numbers to get around that.
layer8 5y ago
OG names are names that are (and always were) in high demand, and therefore were quickly taken. The fact that your name was still available means that it wasn’t in high demand. OG names are being pilfered because they are in high demand and therefore highly valuable.
pkrotich 5y ago
It’s like trying to register a .com domain - OG ones (short 2-4 letters) are only available in the aftermarket, and only if you have millions. You end up with along-ish name that’s also taken - so end up with domainhq or .io or whatever is popular now.