Daniel Harrison Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Twitter, recently stated that the business would begin “freeing” the namespace of 1.5 billion accounts that have been “obviously deleted with no tweets.” The New York Times reported that Twitter, which Elon Musk bought in late October, is aiming to increase money by selling usernames. “Two persons with knowledge of the plot,” according to the outlet. Username (or handle) exchanges can be a lucrative business. Some people join social media platforms early and create accounts with certain handles so they may demand thousands of dollars from corporations or other major organisations in exchange for the desired username. According to the NYT, handles are occasionally bought and sold on underground markets.
Following Musk’s acquisition in the autumn, Twitter has had a turbulent few months. It has faced allegations that severance payments for its thousands of laid-off employees have not been as promised, been sued for failing to pay rent and a marketing firm, and introduced new initiatives including a redesigned Twitter Blue. According to a lawsuit, Twitter owes $136,260 in overdue rent. According to reports, the company’s New York City headquarters was last week without toilet paper. The revenue from advertisements on Twitter has also decreased.
According to a quarterly report filed in April, advertising generated 92% of the company’s income in the first quarter of 2022. Before purchasing the business, Musk was furious about “bot” and false accounts, and in December he tweeted, “Twitter will soon start liberating the name space of 1.5 billion accounts.” He continued, “These are clear account cancellations with no tweets and no log in for years.” According to Treasury files seen by the newspaper, it may also add user payment processing.
The corporation might sell usernames in an auction, the individuals told the NYT. The sale of usernames is currently prohibited by Twitter policies. But now Musk owns the business. At least one prominent username switch has already taken place. According to The Guardian, Israel’s acquisition of the handle @Israel was started by the office of Benjamin Netanyahu, who was recently sworn in (again) as prime minister. This was about 12 years ago.
The site claimed that in 2010, when Netanyahu was also serving as prime minister, his administration got in touch with a guy by the name of Israel Meléndez, who had created an account in 2007 under the username “Israel.” Despite being against the company’s regulations, Meléndez claimed that Netanyahu sent him personal messages and that he sold the handle to the nation for a price of “five zeroes.” Twitter has been contacted by Entrepreneur for comment.The handle is still in Israel. Yes, it’s truly us, the state’s bio declares.
