Most people choose a handle in a hurry, at the moment they open the account, and live with it for years. It is worth ten minutes of thought, because it ends up on cards, in shop windows, on the side of a van and in the mouths of people who have only heard it.
What a handle has to do
- Be easy to say aloud, so that someone can pass it on without spelling it.
- Be easy to spell, so that someone who hears it can type it correctly.
- Be the same, or nearly the same, on every network you may use.
Check before you fall in love with it
- 1Search for it on every network you might join, not only the one you are on today.
- 2Check that a matching web address is available, even if you will not use it yet.
- 3Look for businesses that already use something similar in your field, and for any registered name that could cause a dispute. Rules on this differ by country, so ask someone who knows yours if the name matters to you.
- 4Say it to a friend over the phone and ask them to type it. Whatever they get wrong, others will too.
What to avoid
- Numbers, underscores and doubled letters that nobody can hear.
- A name very close to a better-known brand.
- A name that ties you to a single product or place when you may grow beyond it.
Changing it later
Most networks let you change a handle, but links and mentions that used the old one may stop working, printed material stays wrong, and some networks limit how often you can change it. Treat a change as a small rebrand and plan it as one.
Write the handle on paper and hand it to a stranger to read aloud. If they hesitate anywhere, change it now, while it is cheap.