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Filed under: News, Social Software

Facebook allows one-time username changes



When Facebook first announced it would be allowing users to pick vanity URLs, a lot of people rushed to claim some version of their real names, but others just picked something they thought would be funny or clever. If you recall, the vanity URL would allow you to use facebook.com/johnsmith if you were John Smith. Of course, if you weren't John Smith you could still grab the name, hence the mad dash at midnight to secure your name.


Now that some time has passed, I'm sure some people feel like they picked a username that doesn't sound so great anymore. In fact, some people picked terrible names, like the guy who just held down the 'a' key. To address the problem, Facebook is letting users correct their mistakes with one name change per person.

Why did Facebook wait until now to allow name changes? Perhaps the announcement that names would be permanent was a way to deter people from choose stupid names, celebrity names, or trademarked brands. The one-time change serves the same purpose. After the big Facebook land grab when usernames were first introduced, though, users switching now might find their top choices unavailable.

What social network do you use?



Other Facebook coverage:
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What's the deal with Mafia and Mobsters on Facebook?
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Don't forget to check out our latest DLS 101: free tools to help you surf and download safely!

Filed under: Internet, Security, Web services, Open Source

phpMyID: roll your own OpenID provider

phpMyIDWith more and more web sites and services offering OpenID for authentication, you may want to use your own domain name as an OpenID provider instead of selecting from the wide array of other providers (like Blogger, AOL, Wordpress.com).

phpMyID is a pair of PHP files that allow you to easily use your domain name for authentication to OpenID-supporting sites like Sourceforge, Skitch, and Technorati.

To use phpMyID (substitute "yourwebsite" with your domain name or website address):

Read more →

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0

Where is your username registered? Find out with Usernamecheck

UsernamecheckThere are a lot of advantages to using the same username for all your online services. It's easier to remember, and friends can find you more easily. If you're someone who's in this habit, you might want to take a look at Usernamecheck, a site that tells you which sites your favorite username is registered at.

Usernamecheck scans 60+ different networks, from 12seconds to Zooomr, and tells you if your name is taken. The sites on the list are some of the best, most useful places to have an account, so it might remind you of something you've been meaning to sign up for. Or, if you're an Internet addict like me, it might remind you of sites you signed up for and forgot about. Either way, it's worth a look.

Filed under: Internet, News, Web services, Microsoft

Microsoft will support OpenID

OpenIDBill Gates made a surprise announcement Tuesday during his keynote at the RSA security conference: Microsoft will support OpenID 2.0. Great, but what's OpenID?

You know how every time you sign up for a new web service, you have to create a username and password? And you know how you're always worried that you'll forget your login information, so you wind up using pretty much the same password for most sites? And then you get all worried that someone at one site could find a way into your bank records, so you start creating variation until you can't remember which password goes with which site.

If you're someone who regularly has to click the "forgot password" link on web sites, OpenID is made for you. It's a system that allows you to login to mulitiple web sites with a single username and password, which is actually a personalized URL that securely stores your user information. OpenID is the free and open source invention of Brad Fitzpatrick, creator of LiveJournal.

OpenID would also seem to be competition for Microsoft's Passport system, which works primarily with Microsoft sites. Microsoft is the largest company so far to announce support for OpenID, which currently works with sites including LiveJournal, Zooomr, and Vox.

[via Thomas Hawk]

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