I thought I would link up with the ladies for Coffee Talk this week because I have something on my mind.
I mentioned at one point in the past that I was thinking about changing my username on IG. When you have a blog, and are pretty active on social, this isn't something you take lightly. (I mean it's no first world problem, but it is something that requires thought), and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
This whole thought process started well over a year ago. I felt I've outgrown @Fairytalesnfit and wanted a name I could use personally, professionally and with the blog ( because I did not want to create multiple accounts). I wanted to create a name that was part my own name yet still kept the integrity of our blog name. An ideal name would have been @Merandasfairytale or @FairytaleMeranda. However, the experts (whoever they are), suggest keeping all social media handles the same and since Twitter does not allow for more that 15 characters in their handle, both of those names were out. I then resorted to just using my initials @MSfairytales (or a variation of @ms.fairytale or @msfairytale but if one of those names was available on Insta, it was not available on Twitter and vice versa. This process became overwhelming so I just decided to forget about it for a little while longer.
Over this time I've realized that the thing that was making it so hard, was coming up with a name that would still be recognizable with my blog, and that meant keeping either the word "Fairytale" or the word "Fit". Since the word Fairytale is already 9 letters, I decided there was not any part of my name that I could add to it that would make sense ( and I would feel comfortable using). I've eliminated the word "Fit" because I did not want that to be the main focus of my accounts. ( there is actually more to this story why I did not want to keep the word fit and it involves me getting multiple DM's each week about joining groups and I'll just leave it at that).
It took me a while to realize this, but I can still "Be myself" and still have a social media presence with my blog, lots of people do it. The blog is something I do, not who I am. I am more than a blogger and I think my social media accounts reflect that. I struggled with the fact that my new user name may not be "exciting" or "intriguing" or "interesting enough to make people want to click and check it out, but that is the risk I am willing to take.
So I've decided (if I can actually pull the trigger) to retire @Fairytalesnfit at the end of the month and just use a variation of my own name. I'm not going to state exactly what it will be at this moment because that will depend on what is available on both Twitter and IG at the exact moment I make the change. I already know that I can not use my first and last name because it is already taken, so it more than likely will be a variation of my first name.
So now I think, What will happen to @fairytalesnfit? Will anything linked to that automatically be linked to my new name? Can I (or anyone else) use @fairytalesnfit again or is that name now blocked?
What do you think? Am I making a mistake? Have you ever thought of changing one of your names that have already been established? Do you think it matters that your social media names are all the same? What suggestions do you have for me? -M
Quite a few people I know have changed their IG handles! As the so called experts say, it should reflect who you are. Anxious to see what you pick!
ReplyDeleteExactly, I want it to reflect all of me, not just the blog!
DeleteGood luck with the switch. I could never decide what to call my blog so I've been using a working title for oops 9 years now. I lived on Birchwood Street at the time and my first post was an apple pie...over time the name of my blog has become two things that I never blog about;-)
ReplyDeleteBut that is pretty clever! Thanks for sharing that.
DeleteI know changing twitter is seammless, not sure about IG, but I say go for it and don’t look back!
ReplyDeleteP.S. The coffee date link up is next weekend since next Saturday is the first Saturday of June, but it’s all good. :-)
Oh goodness, I suppose you are right about the Coffee talk. This week is Runfessions...lol
DeleteGood luck with the change in your IG handle - I'm looking forward to see what you have selected. I think this is something that we can all relate to as sometimes our interests change throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteI am still interested in the same things, but just want to branch out a bit...know what I mean?
DeleteThat is a tough decision! When I first was thinking of name for my blog, it was between ROTF and another (which I now secretly use as the password LOL). I see people changing their Insta names frequently, usually with no warning. Suddenly I recognize their pic with a new name...so I'd suggest you do a post (or a couple) prior to changing it so your followers will have a heads-up on the change ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh, i hope not to change frequently. Now you have me wondering what that other name was...lol
DeleteI'm interested to see what people comment and how it goes. Like Kim, I notice people changing Instagram names alot. My IG is my name and not my blog (because I had my Instagram before my blog) - same with Twitter. I should have changed both years ago but I didn't. I think you should change and not worry about it... I probably should, too ;)
ReplyDeleteI think you are right to keep it your name because your name will ALWAYS remain the same.
DeleteMy instagram and twitter aren't the same. I think it was because first i made Instagram @milebymileblog and that wasn't available on twitter so I made twitter @milebymilerun. I figure people might still recognize me in both places. Then I ended up dropping the "blog" off instagram so now that is just @milebymile. I dont think is affected things too much. I dont really use twitter much though. Isn't it funny how much thought we put into these things?
ReplyDeleteYea, I really don't see it effecting anything at all especially since I don't use both platforms in the same way. I have a feeling I won't be able to get the exact same name for both but maybe close enough like you mentioned.
DeleteI did this a couple years ago when I switched to "She Runs By Faith"! It wasn't too complicated though I did need to update signatures and some other links. The trouble I ended up with was "sherunsbyfaith" was taken on IG (but not on twitter and everything else) so my IG is "she.runs.by.faith". It's not perfect but it workz!
ReplyDeleteWhen you get your name picked, I say go for it! I'm glad I did! Could you try @Fairytale.Meranda to get the name you want?
I'd love to use that suggestion but it is too many characters for twitter.
Deletemy user name is me dsc59 not my blog. I do more than run.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I am thinking too.
DeleteWhew! I read the post and all the responses so far. I think everyone who has responded so far has a much better sense about social media stuff than I do. I use @MeditationsinMo on Twitter but I am not really happy with it. But, as you say, 15 characters...I still haven't gotten on IG yet. I had every intention last weekend, then just never pulled the trigger. I usually forget to post stuff from my blog (other than my posts, which are automatically shared each time I publish) on Twitter an my FB page already. Do I really want another social media account that I ignore? Sorry for the long response. I agonize over the same stuff as you.
ReplyDeleteNo, I totally get it. I rarely get on FB or Twitter but My blog posts are shared automatically on those platforms. I don't even remember how I set that up...lol. You should totally pull the trigger on IG. I think you would find that you use it more than you think.
DeleteObviously I'm not real big on Social Media it probably wouldn't matter that much.I like my name though. So far, anyway. So no advice from me, really.
ReplyDeleteYes, a blog is something you do, it's definitely not what you do!