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How to Choose a Strong, Unique Username

Member
By cadence
User-Submitted Article
(10 Ratings)
Choose a Strong, Unique Username
Choose a Strong, Unique Username
Image from www.clipartguide.com

Whether you're creating a brand or just in the mood to have a username that tons of other people don't already have, it's important to choose a unique and effective username. This list will help you choose that username - and be sure that it really is unique.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Choose a username that is easy to remember and reflects you or your brand. To make it unique, you may have to make up a word or use a combination of uncommon words. To make it strong, it will have to be recognizable and easy to remember.

  2. Step 2

    If you choose two or more words to create your username, make sure they sound good and make sense together. You don't want to have to say a tongue twister every time you tell someone your username.

  3. Step 3

    Consider using interesting (incorrect) spellings of words or numbers, but only if they make sense or are used in moderation. For example, too many misspellings will start looking ridiculous, like spelling special like speshial. A good rule of thumb is that if you can't recognize the misspelled word easily, it's not worth using. You might be able to use something simple like krazy for crazy, but going nuts and using lots of numbers instead of letters and weird misspellings won't work well.

  4. Step 4

    Realize the difference between good unique and bad unique. Good unique would be easy to spell and remember, but not common. Bad unique would be hard to spell, difficult to understand, and impossible to remember. Being unique is great, but if that uniqueness won't be memorable or create a strong brand or image, it's useless.

  5. Step 5

    Make sure that you're happy with the username that you choose. If you don't like it, you won't feel comfortable with it, so it will be useless.

  6. Step 6

    Go to http://www.usernamecheck.com/ and check if your username is taken on a number of sites. If it's free on most or all sites, you've got yourself a unique username.

Resources

Comments  

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on 2/8/2009 wow! thanks for the website! how very useful!! :D

ursaminor said

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on 11/20/2008 Very good advice. Everyone has trouble choosing a good username at one time or another in life, especially on the internet today. It's a global village, and a lot of us think alike. Thanks for some good pointers. 5 stars.

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on 11/17/2008 great article

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