The Right Twitter Name Could Earn You A Trip Of A Lifetime

Twitter expressly forbids selling usernames. In their name-squatting policy, they state, in very clear language that, "attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for usernames are also violations and may result in permanent account suspension." Still, one lucky kid will soon find himself the recipient of a trip of a lifetime, all because he happened to score a coveted Twitter username. According to Canada East, University of Regina student Kirk Morrison was able to cash in on a completely innocent case of same-name syndrome. Due to the nature of Twitter, it is becoming less and less possible to snag your real name as your username. There are a few other "Lauren Dugan"s on the site, for instance, one of which has taken my own first-choice username without an underscore. Sigh. But for Kirk Morrison, the student, he's never had that problem. He jumped on Twitter early and got his full name @KirkMorrison. Little did he know there was a tweeting athlete that would have loved to have beaten him to the punch. Buffalo Bills linebacker Kirk Morrison got his people to reach out to student Kirk Morrison to see if they could arrange a little name-swap in mid-August. They offered him a pair of tickets to any Bills game this season, as well as an on-field tour during the warm-up. The tickets would also include airfare and accommodations - plus the chance to meet his sports-world namesake. And, like any nice Canadian, Morrison said "sure!". By the end of the month the name @KirkMorrison was now in the hands of the football player, and the original had moved on to @KirkMorrison91. Student Morrison is looking forward to taking his brother to the Bills' November 9th game. This is just one example of how users are working around Twitter's do-not-sell policy. The tickets were a gift, and likely given after the account had changed hands. CNN is well-known to have "hired" someone on as a consultant, with the consulting deal including handing over the account name. And since neither of these accounts was taken by the original user in the attempt to sell at a later date, I think they're safe from the threat of sharp Twitter justice. (Image courtesy of Nanka (Kucherenko Olena) via Shutterstock)

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The Right Twitter Name Could Earn You A Trip Of A Lifetime - If You're Willing To Sell

Lauren Dugan

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Lauren Dugan