Let's Talk—How Did You Decide On Your Steemit Username?

in steemit •  7 years ago  (edited)

On social media people are often known and referred to by their usernames. Even if someone knows you by your real name, in practice they would call you only by your username. If a user wishes to remain publicly anonymous, and you know their real name, you never use it in public unless you want to dox them.

That my friends is the unspoken rule of the internet. Therefore, this ensures we end up calling people by their usernames while making conversation. Referring to users by their real names-even when you know them isn't preferable. They might even find it annoying if you use it constantly.

Any successful influencer will tell you that there are many things to remember when selecting a username. But few people actually give creating a username or online identity any real thought. The importance of a good brand name carries a lot of weight and importance, far more than most people think it might.

Importance of a good username?

In the world of marketing, the correct brand name can make all the difference between getting traction in the community and failing to make an impact or generating sufficient traction. On the internet, usernames need to be easy to remember but more importantly they need to sink into the minds of anyone you wish would remember it. If it really matters to you, then it needs to be in-line with what you are trying to accomplish.

Real name vs pseudo name

My real name isn't hard to remember or pronounce yet it's just easier for Steemians to call me by my username. Even at SteemFest, except for my friends and members of my crew, everyone referred to me as firepower or FP. As someone who loves observing what other people do, I found this situation quite interesting. Because Steemit isn't just an online content sharing platform, it has offline side to it where Steemians interact with one another on a regular basis, form real relationships and whatnot!

It was great because people have heard of the username Firepower, even if they didn't know me on a personal level. Most know me as the admin-mod of Steemit.Chat. If not, they knew that Firepower Crew is who they need to contact for any assistance during SteemFest etc. Admittedly, the username is also catchy!

For my @steepshot account I use @mnaik. This is where I share lot of pictures from my day-to-day life, travel and things I'm doing. The username is basically a combination of the initial of my first name and my surname brought together. It is easy for people to remember and has a personal touch to it.

Why Firepower?

When I first discovered Steemit I knew this is going to change lives for the better. I felt I can become part of that change and felt like I've found a new purpose in life where I could do something good for others and also benefit from doing something right.

This platform, for me infused a lot of positivity in it's character and foundation. Ergo, I felt that this is going to make a massive impact on the lives of most of it's users-which it is already!

However, I didn't just guess my username, use a name generator or flip a coin. The morning of the day I signed up, I was watching a few tank videos and that's how the name Firepower came to me. As a motorhead in my personal life, I love everything automotive and in particular I enjoy watching and reading about battle tanks and military aircrafts. I don't like war but I think these machines are awesome nevertheless.


Source

Now the real question I asked myself at the time was, 'Why should I use it?" and "What am I going to do on my account?"

I wanted my work on the platform to make a positive difference and the username Firepower was desirable. Because to me, this name packs a punch! From that perspective I suppose the username (luckily) fit me appropriately given my journey on this platform and a some of my accomplishments. These were my aspirations when I signed up!

Since hindsight is 20/20-this platform gave me an incredible opportunity to prove myself and the username I feel sometimes, turned out to be rather lucky for me!

Infact my friend @surfermarly has a very interesting question concerning our usernames in her video here! Be sure to check it out and answer it on her post!

So, Let's Talk!

How did you come up with your username and why? I'm sure many of you here are trying to create a brand of your own on Steemit. If so, does it tie-in with your future goals on this platform or any others that you are on?


If you like my work kindly resteem it to your friends. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:

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Life is an endless topic and I have been through many experiences just like others so I wanted to share my journey of life as my username

Well given the fact that statistically I have lived 2/3 of my life expectancy it just ocurred to me than I am on the way out...plus I had nothing else to do at the time.

Yes, usernames are important to brand your content in any way. As long as your content is appealing to people, your username will be known as well.

It was easy for me. : )

Haha! :-)

Me too ;)

Indeed! :D

I love the username firepower. Its so cool

Noticed am getting addicted to reading your blog @firepower. I always find it interesting.
My username came from who i am and what i am popularly know and called.
By my proffession as a pilot, i am refered to as 'captain'. My name is precious, friend call me Pee. So i am popularly called Capt Pee.
Now coming to steemit, I just change the 'Capt' to cee, hence the username Ceepee!!!

Awesome! Had no idea whatsoever as to the origin of your username. But now I know better .

That's actually pretty cool!

Cool that was lit...

That’s my first nickname since 2006, then in 2008 appeared an Italian wine with this name

I wanted something that was simple and rasy to remember. So I chose Dber.

It was only months later that I googled dber and found out it is an acronym for "Discipline Based Educational Research", which is what I've beeen trying to do with my mycology posts from the start. Pure chance.

What a fun topic! I work in TV production. One of the clever things producers who open their own companies do is have a catchy name for their production company. I don't have a production company but I always knew that, if that opportunity ever happened, I'd use a play on my last name. I kinda loved the idea of a title card saying Piece of Schmidt Productions. :) But, for Steemit, I didn't go with that idea. Instead I chose the other name I've always wanted to use for a production company, @schmidthappens.

Yours is definitely one of the coolest here on this platform! A+ :-)

When I joined Steemit, I knew that I wanted to write articles that will motivate and inspire others, very positive things and so I choose my username @positivesteem.

I kind of thought it was more like FB so I used my name.. I wish I could change it

Well, for me it's very simple: my name and the initial of my surname. (exactly opposite of your @mnaik logic 😁)
I use this since I want to be real to people. What I post here is about my music and my life. It's like my personal account and I have the same ID on other traditional social media like Instagram and Twitter. So it becomes easy for people to find me.
But I agree on the point that if you are going to do something bigger than yourself, you need a brand, an Idea like Nolan said in Batman Begins! Even if Batman dies, someone else can take the mantel and carry forward, so in essence, the idea lives forever.
So tomorrow you could handover the reigns of @firepower to someone else and none of us will be the wiser 🤣

I have been using the username vcelier (the initial of my first name Vincent followed by my last name Celier) for several years before Steemit.

My nick is usually the shortcut of my surname :D

EverNoticeThat came about as I was looking for a name that would pass what I call "'The phone call test." I wanted a name that could be easily remembered and spelled after just hearing it over the phone.

I was looking for a branded name and planned to start a Twitter account based on a Seinfeld-like "ever notice that xyz always does 123 in the rain?" etc. I kept seeing those three words and so I put them together, hence @EverNoticeThat

This logo took me THREE HOURS to create. No graphic designer here! :) At some point I'll have to hire someone to update it.


source

I was shocked no one had the domain name so bought that. All over the net I am EverNoticeThat with the "Big E" logo. Except on Facebook which recently shut down my account I had for YEARS just as I'd joined the @stackin FB group I guess for not using my real name.

Yet another reason I love Steemit!

I gave my daughter (12) her steemit account on Christmas day. her name is isa and she is very creative. So I had to think about a name.. and after some puzzling i came to : @creatisa (creative isa)
I hope you like it and off course look to her first posts she made 2 days ago.
THX

That's quite interesting to know! :)

I am from ceattle ;) 6’6, I do yoga daily, & I love to stretch my plants = ceattlestretch !

What an incredible post

I chose mine as it has been my user name in an offline role playing game many many years ago...

Your suggestion is followable.

Well... It's my name... Or rather, my fathers surname, and my own name. I just like the sound of it, and i wanted to present myself as myself. Maybe it was a bad idea. Never been good with finding good usernames, i have always wound up simply using my own name, even in online games :)

spent too much time on the danknet

I was a very active user of a PTC website called clixsense and when I created my youtube channel I've decided to choose something similar to clixsense it was my first earning website online, so I am online to earn money and I click to earn more, and a lot of people are clicking to earn money, so I am clixmoney. ☺

i like my username...but thanks for your nice article

My name is Jordan I am from Jordan so I my username is Jordanx2

I don’t decide anything. I just use my real name for people easier to remember me.

I play a lot of games and use this same name.... there's a retro game with a similar name spelled differently.

WilliamTangoFox WTF. My name is William. If you look at my posts, you might mutter WTF to yourself. Maybe not, but probably. Great post to pull people off the mouse and onto the keyboards. Bravo for the innovation. People love to talk about themselves given the opportunity. Note taken.

@livelifefullest ; Thats the goal, do as much as possible, enjoy life, travel, be good for others, have fun and making memories!

My Steemit username is my actual name.. Andre being my first name and Kweku being my middle African name.. Im good with that.. heheh

I came up with my name because I figured I went pretty hard when I started using Facebook then I started using Instagram more then Facebook and went pretty hard on the posting. So when I heard about Steemit I knew I would like it more then Facebook and Instgram and that I would probably be wanting to post all the time. So I figured @isteemithard would showcase the fact that I post a lot

When I was in the military people called me "Kirbs". This is a shorted version of my last name Kirby. It's normal in the military for people to be called by their last name. In the section where I worked a few coworkers would call out KIRBS! when I walked in... kinda like NORM on the show where "everybody knows your name" (yeah, you know the one).

When my wife had our third child I took a short leave and upon returning to work one of my buddies yelled out DADDYKIRBS! This kinda stuck and I adopted it as my online identity.

It's funny now that I've been using it for about 15 years online some people call me this in real life now too :)

I got my username from a book. Kinda sad that no one recognizes the book and only a cartoon though :/

I chose it off the top of my head, at random! Coming up with character names is one of the things I find difficult in writing, but I'm kind of pleased with where I ended up.

A good name is better than riches.

I think I did not even think about it.
My nickname is Steve and Crypto you all know it.
I love my name and I love cryptocurrencies as well.
I have a great passion for cryptocurrencies,, So I automatically linked Crypto to Steve and I loved it like that the first time and I still love it the same way.

It was so easy to identify with this post, as I am currently immersing through the very first minutes of my Steemit experience! Intrigued by the platform and curious to see where it could lead me, I decided to use the simple recipe for the username as well: a cupcake! endless variety of flavors and colors that allow you playfulness while making the life better in just few bites! Thats how I will approach my Steemit posts and this great opportunity to meet a wide network of interesting steemers :)

I didn't have to think too far before deciding cause I use my blog's domain name as my steemit username

I used my real name because just in case I forget my username, I can ask my wife :)

TipsyWisdom...because when you're brewing beers and getting drunk, whats that terrible unwanted advice called that you'll be forcing onto people after the 6th beer? Tipsy...Wisdom.

A.k.a. - The knowledge* and know how* released from liquid courage

its the username i user for almost everything. its based off what i like and my hobbies

Very delightful optional relationship, but posting since creation the account would have been enlarged, even after learning the subject. @firepower

I use my name as my username, because i believe my name is my identity, any one that know me can call me by username of which i believe i can do better with it any day any time.

I think my username has served me well. I may have to make a post on the reason for it.

@firepower you would find this funny because mine was actually from a cartoon called generator rex. So i just borrowed another 'x' to the rex and added it to my full name to make it "ronarexx"

Es complicado, pues casi siempre que pretendes colocar un nombre ya aparece registrado en mi caso me habia registrado inicialmente; pero de tonta no guarde la clave jajaj y luego no pude entrar...luego me registre nuevamente y coloque iniciales de mi nombre y la de mi hijo y en ese momento si guarde mi contraseña en un texto jajaj no me paso dos veces....y bueno acá estoy tratando de hacerlo bien

I didn't actually know what steemit it was, fully, when I signed up; I didn't know what I was going to use it for either. I thought it was going to be more like a reddit, where users want to be more Anon, but it turns out steemit is way more community driven. However, I had already chosen my name by then.
I have been living in South Korea for awhile, teaching English. Well, one of the idle groups, Twice, came with a song, TT - "Im like TT~" Anyway, I tried to explain to my students, that TT stands for Todd (my real name) Teacher. So, I'm like Todd Teacher. HA. They didn't believe me of course.
When I signed up, I wanted something more Anon, and also had the song stuck in my head, so thats what I ended up using.

Never thought this deep while writing my username.

i tried not to overthink it

This has been my username of choice for well over a decade. I came up with it as a teen, and frankly it's just stuck. I'm always disappointed when I can't get it on a platform, so I was very happy to get it on Steem!

I used my cat Greta's nickname.

mine was quite simple:
it was not taken and i can remember it. of course, "unicron" is a transformers-reference, but most people think its a typo... does it for me ;)

good blog
well wrote
thank you for your opinion

upvote for the photo!

Mine's not very creative and is my middle name but even so, I think it's a beautiful and unique name and so just went with it!

I initially wanted "MyLittlePony" but it was already taken, but thinking back, I'm happy with my chosen username :)

eheh cool topic!:) My real name is Andreia Lopes, but I thought that Loops would be catchier :P

Well @drtarts is my initials D R T and then are is semi self explanatory lol.
I'm an artist and have a small following on facebook and instagram with the same name so I try to be found across them all with a similar name.
:D

I heard about Steemit in one of the youtube videos and thought of giving it a try. So I just casually used my actual name as steemit username as I wasn't clear about what Steemit is all about and had no intention of being a part of it. After my account was registered I then randomly put a shit comment ie "good post" haha..on one of the posts from @onceuponatime and then the big guy upvoted with some $10 and I am like WTF !!! Then with time I fell in love with this community and started getting some response and Thanks to you for that :-)

The thought that went into creating my username was that since I am going to share my personal experiences and pictures, the username should give me sense of ownership of the account. I thought what better than my name!

life is full of struggle

i started a project that did'nt go anywhere called http://teamhumble.org for helping people who were digitally unconnected, had mental health issues or just needed friends. i'm gonna work on it more this year coming.

I came to Steemit thinking that I was going to write a simple blog where I highlighted different women who were in the direct sales business. I was going to introduce the women, share their company and product, and guide people to their website. It sounded like fun, and I was choosing the handle @directsales.

I figured it was easy to remember, would help with SEO and would make it clear what I did here.

BUT after I started reading posts here, I found out that I didn’t want to limit myself to directsales post AND that with my writing I could make as much as the “opportunities” I would be bragging about.

So I decided to make my handle Metzli, which means moon in Nahuatl and is the handle I already use on Etsy, Keen, and my website.

My name is actually pretty random; it started out as the name of one of my World of Warcraft characters many years ago, and I was for some reason inclined to use @valth when I made a user here. I don't really use this username anywhere else tho, but it's both short and pretty easy to spot in a crowd, or hopefully even remember and type, so I'm very happy with it.

Here's a funny one, we were originally considering using Lily Da Vine as a porn or webcam name....

I dunno'. I guess I just just finished binging Stranger Things. Instead of using the Upsidedown, I choose theInsideOut.

onceuponatime

I've been around and know the story :-)

Tibetan.jpg

There at the Beginning of the Stories You Love

I'm a doctor from Croatia, so @doctorcro. Pretty simple 😂

I thought long and hard about it and decided the best name would be my real name. I'm here as more of a consumer of information rather than a distributer. That might change one day, but I'm happy with my very un-original username for now.

Good Job bro :)

Welp, I love to code but I am far from a Genius ;-) So, "nocodinggenius" it was lol

I don't even know what I find more disturbing; that I don't know where I came up with the random numbers attached to my username or the fact that I could've done a much better job in picking a one lol

I just simply use my username to reach others & thanks a lot to share this content.

I didn't give my username much thought and I am stuck with it now.
I always recommend to people to think about it when they are joining, as you say, it's your brand and people will remember you easier if they can remember your name.

@firepower is such a catchy name and to have the reputation and SP to back it up makes all the more cooler.

My name is not creative at all. The state initials and the city initials I live in. The 07 is marked for 2007 when I move to the city. Cheesy huh? Easy to remember for myself. Got to many other things to remember. lol.

my username is my firstname initials, with the d being spelled out. I don't know, I just like how it sounds. XD then it's my birthday. hahaha.
basically, I use this username in every account I have, be it a gaming account or chatting account (like discord). It just kinda stuck. :3 It makes it easier to find me on different platforms. the only place I don't use it is on my personal social accounts where people use actual names rather than usernames.

Lol! I didn’t realize that my username would be the screen name or it would’ve been totally different 😬. It’s fine though.. it’s just my name and the acronym for make up artist and hairstylist.. my actual profession. Too bad that’s not my topic of interest for the blog! 😂

when it came time for me to choose a user name i automatically could only think about how i always thrive to make tomorrow better. that could mean i make someone smile, do a random act of kindness(which is every day). Or clear my mind to take the next day with a fresh outlook and see how i can make tomorrow better.

my favorite song. gets me thru every day. because there will always be a better tomorrow. Favorite line is " Im like my HAT i always SNAP back"

I choose dedicatedguy because it perfectly describes me, at least when something interests me.

When I found something I like, I can dedicate my time into this hobby, job, research, whatever it is. And become good at it.

So that’s why I am dedicatedguy :D

harry potter fan,,
and I wanted to use this name from along time..
but it is unavailable everywhere, but here it is not..

It was so easy for me bcz i used real name :p

From the website I own

Personally have often found myself awkwardly listening in on a horror story conversation about how someone got scammed by a Nigerian. So I figured, seeing as I have no intention of ever scamming anyone why not be that Nigerian guy who has a great online reputation. And it's a blog platform. So when someone wants to mention it, it'll be "thenigerianone is really nice". :D

Well, I like your work and upvoted and followed with my tiny power of newcomer. I learned something, that is important but my username is already chosen. I think you are right, the username is very important.

I just joined, and this is me sticking my first toe in the Steemy water!

I've used Lighteater for years. I don't think of it as a brand (perhaps I should) but it has deep meaning for me. Years ago, I read a book called Living on Light, that made the case that humans can learn to live without physical food, absorbing instead what the Indians call prana. The book was also a practical guide so, inspired, I embarked on a fast. I went the first 7 days without food or water, and then a further 32 days without food of any kind. It was one of the most beautiful, and deeply spiritual, experiences of my life.

Hence...Lighteater!

(I also particularly love the KLF line "Fishing in the Rivers of Light" I used to blog under that, many moons ago...)

Well
I am a professor at university in what call "Applied Boolean Algebra" (aka Computer Sciences) , so it was natural for me to pick DaProf.

my username for everything is usually conrepus.. as my name is connor and repus is my last name spelled backwards (super), but I wanted to change it up a little bit, so i went with @conradsuperb because I still feel as though this @ encompasses myself and defines who and what I wanted to bring to the community.

Awesome post, love your content man... keep up the solid work!! @firepower

I want to simplify life of people, this is the reason why @simplify :)

VapidVisions is a branded name i'm using for a mini production group of my friends and I.

The thought behind it was - I want something to reflect the idea that "everything has already been done". So I brainstormed for a while and, after a few less catchy names, I landed on this one!

Thus VapidVisions was born!

Actually by marchish next year, we'll be coming out of concept and be posting some of our own content for everyone to, hopefully, enjoy!

Funny story – thanks for asking! After converting my original FB profile to an artist 'page' in 2012, I opened a new, personal account under the nickname 'Zippy Lo'. My intention was to be less findable as I'd been receiving too many friend requests by fans of my work whom I'd never actually met. FB somehow discovered the half-truth of my moniker and made me change it to my full, legal name (including middle.) Regardless, many friends still call me 'zippylo', so I thought I'd revive it here. Unnnforrrrtunately, I made my account request in a rushed moment on my iPhone and managed to jumble the letters – just enough to butcher my name, but not enough to notice until it was too late. ooops! Soooo...I shall henceforth be known as 'zipplyo' on this platform – a constant reminder of my own infallibility – the wabi sabi present in my every single post, comment, reply and upvote. ;)

Using a captivating usernamw intrigues viewers to see what you have to offer.

My first name and my nick name were both available because steemit is so new. I went with my nickname because it's easy to remember. I'm so new to steemit (this is my first comment ever) I'm not sure if it was the right choice yet.

всё брать из жизни самого образа жизни))

My username is my name but in english ^^ my goals are to promote my country beautifull and touristique places with steem and it helped me alot

My first nickname was "roosje", which in Dutch means little rose and refers to my surname. However... that nickname is taken pretty often. Since I am also a bit geeky, it made sense to change it a little. Hence @r00sj3. I could have turned it into r005j3, but don't really like the esthetic of that.

my customers and assistants have called me this for years...I probably wouldn't recognize another name! lolol :D

How did you come up with your username and why? - My username is the abbrevation of my Full name and the number represents my birthday. It's not that I don't want to share my real name it's for me to make it look simplier in steemit but everytime I share some post I always end with my nickname :)

I have to say that when I started here I don't thought too much about my username, I just chose to use my real name (and it was the first time, because for many years I used different nicknames online ^^). After I signed here I start to think that it's a long username, not simple to remember and maybe it's more difficult for people in different countries (I'm italian). After one year here, I can say that I'm happy to use my name as username, it's not short or simple, but for sure it's unique ^^

My username is simply my name :)

Right next to being a fan of work steeped in horror, my next major craze, just like any other girl was make up & beauty related products. Sometimes people find it difficult to put both together.
A girl who could conjure up so many evil ideas and stories, could she really also be a girl whose knees go weak seeing a beauty store?
Back to answering the question here - I had always wanted to open a youtube beauty channel and the name that I had thought of, for it was - mydivathings. I never did get to doing that but when I started with Steemit, it was obvious what my username was to be:)
PS: Haven't given up on my dream of doing youtube videos, it's just that I know nothing about video editing that I fear it's gonna turn out horribly bad:P