Daily Updates with RF Rizwan Farrukh
Last night, Google made an announcement on Google+ that they have got rid of their naming restrictions, which prevents users from using pseudonyms and nicknames.
This means if you wish to use a different name due to privacy reasons, then you can. E.g.) using names like ‘rustybrick’ or ‘GoogleGuy’ is now fine.
Back in the day, this is how things were, as very few people used their actual name. Even ten years ago, the majority that took part in discussion forums and social networks used nicknames. However, it is less common now.
Google+ now allows for it too, as it will also solve their YouTube comments problem.
Their post reads as follows:
“When we launched Google+ over three years ago, we had a lot of restrictions on what name you could use on your profile. This helped create a community made up of real people, but it also excluded a number of people who wanted to be part of it without using their real names.
Over the years, as Google+ grew and its community became established, we steadily opened up this policy from allowing +Page owners to use any name of their choosing to letting YouTube users bring their usernames into Google+. Today, we are taking the last step: there are not anymore restrictions on what name you can use.
We know you have been calling for this change for a while. We know that our names policy has been unclear, and this has led to some unnecessarily difficult experiences for some of our users. For this, we apologize, and we hope that today’s change is a step towards making Google+ the welcoming and inclusive place that we want it to be. Thank you for expressing your opinions so passionately, and thanks for continuing to make Google+ the thoughtful community that it is.”
So, what are you waiting for? Go and get them!
