Twitter Is Considering Selling Usernames to Boost Revenue, According to Reports
Chief Twit Elon Musk previously said the company would start “freeing” the namespace of 1.5 billion accounts that are “obvious account deletions with no tweets.”
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Twitter, which was acquired by Elon Musk in late October, is looking to boost revenue by selling usernames, according to a report from .
The outlet cited “two people with knowledge of the plan.”
The swaps of usernames (or handles) .
People will sometimes take to a social media network early and make an account with a certain handle so they can hassle brands or other large entities for thousands to obtain the coveted username. Handles are also sometimes bought and sold on black markets, the NYT reported.
Twitter has had a chaotic few months following Musk’s purchase in the fall. It has been sued for not paying rent and not , has faced reports that severance payouts for its thousands of laid-off staff , and launched new programs, like a revamped Twitter Blue.
Twitter reportedly owes $136,260 in unpaid rent, per a lawsuit.
The company’s New York City headquarters reportedly . Twitter has also seen a in advertising revenue.
Ninety-two percent of the company’s revenue came from advertising in Q1 2022, an April quarterly filing.
Musk previously raged about fake and “bot” accounts before buying the company, and in December , “Twitter will soon start freeing the name space of 1.5 billion accounts.”
“These are obvious account deletions with no tweets & no log in for years,” he added.
These are obvious account deletions with no tweets & no log in for years
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
It is also potentially planning to add processing payments from users, according to Treasury filings by the outlet.
The sources told the NYT that the company could auction off usernames. Twitter rules currently prevent the selling of usernames.
But it’s Musk’s company now.
At least one notable username swap has already occurred. The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, who was recently sworn in (again) as prime minister of Israel, initiated the country’s purchase of the handle @Israel, , some 12 years ago.
The outlet reported that, in 2010, when Netanyahu also held the prime minister post, his office contacted a man named Israel Meléndez, who had, in 2007, made an account with the handle “Israel.”
Meléndez said Netanyahu sent him direct messages and he sold the handle to the country for a “five zeroes” sum, despite being against the company’s policy.
Â鶹Éç has reached out to Twitter for comment.
Israel . The state’s bio says “yes, it’s really us.”
Twitter, which was acquired by Elon Musk in late October, is looking to boost revenue by selling usernames, according to a report from .
The outlet cited “two people with knowledge of the plan.”
The swaps of usernames (or handles) .
