Why I Changed My Twitter Handle | Momicon

By Maranda on May 23, 2012

I?ve been thinking about it for a while and last night I finally did it. I changed my Twitter handle to my real name.

When I first joined Twitter in May 2007, it wasn?t as mainstream as it is now and the people I connected with were other geeks like me, mostly online friends from my gaming?communities. It was before I joined Facebook, before I started blogging, and using a real name on the Internet just wasn?t done in any of the communities I belonged to. So like I did on forums, ICQ, Messenger and everywhere else I used my gaming handle HotelQueen. That?s the name I had been using online since the 90s, and it was a totally appropriate choice at the time. [For those curious, back when I started gaming online I was a hotel manager, and HotelQueen is just a fun play on that.]

But since then a whole lot has changed. Twitter has grown like crazy and I now use it to connect with all kinds of people for all different reasons. Facebook is the primary way I connect with everyone I know personally and professionally, and is obviously based on real identities. And of course I have this blog and other sites which are all under the umbrella of my actual name.?In short, the Internet has changed, I?ve changed and absolutely the way I use Twitter has changed. It was time to update my username to reflect that.

If you?re looking for me on Xbox Live or gaming sites you?ll always find me there as HotelQueen. But from now on, on Twitter you can call me MarandaCarvell.

I also wrote about:

1. New Sponsor Welcome: Lasting First Impressions
2. Reflexions of a 40 Year Old Gamer
3. 5 Reasons You Should Let Your Kids Play Video Games
4. What I'm Playing [May 6 2010]

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