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Social network Twitter, recently rebranded as X, has commandeered the handle “@music” from open-source software developer Jeremy Vaught, who told CNBC he created the account in 2007, and had built a community of around half a million followers there.
While Elon Musk-led X gave Vaught no selection but to give up the desirable username on its platform, he was offered the choice to decide on from a list of other handles related to the subject of music. His X-assigned account, which is “@musicfan,” just isn’t to his liking but he’s settling for it for now. X ported his followers over to the brand new account a minimum of, he said.
The move on the a part of the social media company raises questions on the value of a handle on its platform. X terms of service, last updated in May, say, “We may additionally remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, limit distribution or visibility of any Content on the service, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim usernames without liability to you.”
The specter of losing a handle may make it hard for creators to trust the platform enough to construct there long-term Vaught told CNBC.
While he had not monetized his “@music” account, Vaught sometimes took the chance to review consumer hardware, mostly from the makers of headphones, ear buds and other accessories searching for his opinion, given his status as a social media influencer.
A few years ago, Vaught nervous whether Twitter’s prior management would attempt to take over his handle. Nonetheless, before Musk had acquired and appointed himself to the C-suite there, Twitter decided to go away “@music” alone and established its own “@twittermusic” brand as an alternative.
It isn’t clear what X plans to do with the “@music” account now. On Thursday, the corporate posted a photo of the musician Ed Sheeran there, holding a copy of his 2014 album “x” which is pronounced “multiply.” Representatives for Sheeran, X, and Musk didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Vaught said he has previously invested in one other Musk-led company, electric vehicle maker Tesla, though he holds no shares currently. He has also paid a $100 refundable fee to order a Tesla Cybertruck, the corporate’s trapezoidal pickup truck for which Tesla has yet to reveal final specs and pricing.
Vaught told CNBC he continues to be using X, though he did arrange a recent account on Meta’s text-based competitor Threads, and one other on Mastodon. “The software development community is lively on Twitter to this present day,” Vaught explained. “So for that reason alone it’s still essentially the most interesting social that I even have.”
Jeremy Vaught is a software developer and creator of “@music” on Twitter.
Jeremy Vaught
Vaught was dissatisfied that X would take over a handle from a user who invested 16 years into its platform with nothing but impersonal correspondence, more akin to a technical support help ticket.
“I used to be definitely pleased with having built @music to a half a million followers give or take,” he added. “And I’m a software developer. I had been serious about what I could construct around this to potentially capitalize on my audience.”
When Twitter rebranded to X abruptly last month, it took over the handle of one other long-time user who had the name “@x” on the platform, as NBC News reported, raising questions on mental property, and users’ rights on social media.
When X notified Vaught that he would have to provide up his username, it assigned him the handle “@musicfan,” and offered a list of other suggested handles he could select from. Searching through those, he said he felt uneasy.
He discovered that “@musicfan” had been created in 2011, in line with the positioning. Vaught said he hopes that X hasn’t taken something away from one other user to provide to him, but he couldn’t get a definitive answer from Musk’s social media company either.
“The entire thing is just skeezy,” he said.