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January 15, 2009

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How To Change Your Twitter Name Without Losing Followers

How To Change Your Twitter Name Without Losing Followers

I joined Twitter in October of 07 not really knowing what it had in store for me. Well one thing led to another and as I reached my 1000 follower milestone I began to regret my original naming decision. Then I received a tweet from Ari Herzog concerning my Twitter name and that was it, I had to change.

Here is how I changed my Twitter name without losing any followers.

First, make the name change. You can change your Twitter name at any time on the ‘settings’ page at Twitter.com.

Second, create a new account with your old Twitter name. You don’t have to do much with this account. Maybe add a URL to your new twitter account and post a single tweet notifying people that your name has changed.

Tweet about new account name

You won’t lose any of your followers and they’ll all see the name change as their Twitter clients refresh.

Notes

I seem to have missed a few @replys right after the switch. Most Twitter apps won’t update your existing tweets with your new name until they are restarted. As a result you are at risk of getting some @replys sent to your old account. This could also happen with people you talk to regularly. Be sure to continue to monitor your old account so you can catch missed replies and update your follower of the name change.

I also made it a point to run across all of the social networks that list my Twitter handle and update them. This included sites like MyBlogLog, FriendFeed assorted ning sites, etc. It may be awhile before my new Twitter account shows up on Google for Jon Bishop.

Don’t forget to update your Twitter link on your blog if you have one.

My TwitterGrade went down .9 points … oh well. I also had duplicate listings for awhile but this was solved by retrieving an updated grade for the old account. Other Twitter stats sites are showing decreased numbers but I’m sure this will even out over time.

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50 Comments Post a comment
  1. May 14 2012

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  3. Apr 25 2012

    Thanks for this. I really like what you’ve posted here and wish you the best of luck with this blog!

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  4. Daniel
    Apr 18 2012

    Changing the twitter account to a better name is a good idea, I did it but…

    So, I changed my twitter username but having trouble to change it on the wordpress website icon.

    The icon is still able to link to the old twitter name but still can’t figure out how to change it.

    Guidance would be appreciated.

    Reply
  5. is it change my user name with out loss my followers

    Reply
  6. Feb 26 2012

    Thank you for this much needed advice. This is exactly what I was looking for, and it worked perfectly!

    Reply
  7. Jan 28 2012

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  8. Jan 15 2012

    It keeps displaying user name already taken. I want to mach name with user name but doesn’t seem to be working out. If I enter @ and the name I want it brings it to my account so I dont get it.

    With all of that I want my name to be AutoDriveBuy and my user name to be @AutoDriveBuy

    Thanks good information.

    Reply
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  13. Aug 18 2011

    Our case was slightly complicated b/c we had two accounts, and two username changes to make at the same time

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  16. Jessica Benhamou
    Jul 30 2011

    How can I go from old twitter to new twitter without losing who I’m following?

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  26. May 24 2011

    I am really enjoying reading your well written articles. It looks like you spend a lot of effort and time on your blog. I have bookmarked it and I am looking forward to reading new articles. Keep up the good work it

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  27. May 15 2011

    If I change my twitter name do I lose my old @ replies?

    I have one from Hayley Williams that I don’t really want to lose

    Reply
  28. Gary
    Apr 24 2011

    Thanks very much, Jon. Your advice just made a worrisome transition a whole lot easier and worry-free. ~gary.

    Reply
  29. Mar 13 2011

    Thank you for sharing this useful info. I started my twitter account with a totally irrelevant name. Now with time and lot of followers later, I was looking to change my twitter name.

    Reply
  30. Feb 21 2011

    This is an old tricks but why do we need a name change, when we have a lots of follower on the same name and more of less we are living the same name. if i am rakesh kumar and a celebrity why to change as Bill Gates

    Reply
  31. Feb 12 2011

    Thnkx! this was helpful..and follow me please @_keykey24_

    Reply
  32. Jan 4 2011

    Great advice. Thank you for sharing.
    Regards, @NicolaZiady

    Reply
  33. Aug 30 2010

    Thanks, wasn’t sure how this could be smoothly done and your post has been a real help. Our case was slightly complicated b/c we had two accounts, and two username changes to make at the same time (one of which needed to take the old name of the other), but it seems to have all worked out following your instructions. Thanks.

    Reply
  34. Aug 6 2010

    Thanks bro – needed to find this!

    Reply
  35. Mar 4 2010

    Thanks. I am planning a change of my Twitter name and this information has come in handy :)

    Reply
  36. Mar 2 2010

    Thanks for this. It really helped me make the transition smooth for my accounts.

    Reply
  37. Jan 19 2010

    Thanks for the information Jon, was extremely helpful.

    Reply
  38. Kenny
    Oct 5 2009

    Thanks for this. Question for you. I have been caught with a 3rd party application that is acting like a virus. It is a mafia mob game like thing that continues to try to send out DMs from my account even though I have revoke access. I had to change the password. The problem is that it continues to try to log in, and I am always locked out.

    If I change my username as you suggested, is that tantamount to having a new account free–and thus free me from this mess?

    Thanks
    Kenny

    Reply
  39. Sep 17 2009

    Thanks, Jon! Very helpful stuff.

    Reply
  40. Sep 8 2009

    Thanks for this. I have been thinking of going the other way with a twitter name change–from my real name to the name of my food blog. What is the rationale for going the real name route?

    Reply
  41. Don Miller
    Sep 3 2009

    Thanks for the practical advice, I had been wondering how to do this!

    Reply
  42. Jul 21 2009

    Good info – I did the same thing, signed up with a generic nick-name then had to go back and change it. Thankfully my desired name was still available.

    Reply
  43. Feb 17 2009

    Definitely a smart idea – thank you for sharing. One warning: I’ve been using TweetDeck and when I made the switch, I had to logout/log back in. When I did that, the new profile name did not carry over my TweetDeck settings, so I needed to re-classify my groups.

    Reply
  44. Feb 6 2009

    Adding this to my bookmarks. Thank You

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. What’s in a Twitter name? | Nelsons Legal
  2. How to change your Twitter Name… « Tech Tips Blog
  3. 4 Lessons on Changing Your Twitter Name « Custom-built Brands
  4. Changing your Twitter name? Watch out! « Pixels from the Edge

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