Google+ blinks, allows nicknames

After getting backlash over its strict real-names-only policy, Google's social network Google+ is finally allowing nicknames or pseudonyms for its members.

 

Google+'s Bradley Horowitz said that of "0.1 percent" of users who submit name appeals, most wanted to add nicknames while some are businesses.

 

"Over the next week, we’ll be adding support for alternate names – be they nicknames, maiden names, or names in another script – alongside your common name. This name will show up on your Google+ profile and in the hovercards which appear over your name," he said in a Google+ post.

 

In the next few weeks, he said Google+ will be displaying it more broadly as part of the user's name in other areas of Google+ as well.

 

"So if you’re Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Jane Doe (Smith), or सौरभ शर्मा (Saurabh Sharma), you can now communicate your identity the way you want to," he said.

 

Those who want to add an alternate name can go to their Google+ profile, click Edit Profile, select their name and click on “More options.”

 

Changes to one's name in Google+ will changing that name across all services that require a Google Profile, Horowitz said.

 

Name appeals

 

Horowitz said that when they analyzed the name appeals on Google+, they found the appeals fall into three major categories:

 

 

Other established identities

 

Horowitz also said they are updating Google+'s policies and processes to broaden support for established pseudonyms, from +trench coat to +Madonna.

 

"If we flag the name you intend to use, you can provide us with information to help confirm your established identity," he said.

 

These might include:

 

 

"We’ll review the information and typically get back to you within a few days. We may also ask for further information, such as proof that you control a website you reference. While a name change is under review, your old name will continue to be displayed," he said.

 

For new accounts without an old name, the profile will be in a non-public, read-only state during the review.

 

Heated debate

 

An article on CNET said Google+'s original name policy to ensure the site is trustworthy sparked heated debate among digerati.

 

"(T)here are plenty of arguments for using fake names as well. Political dissidents may want to comment on or organize around brutal leadership. Some folks may be better known in certain circles--in gamer communities, for example--by their handles. Others may simply seek the privacy that the anonymous Web allows," it said. — TJD, GMA News