Our online identities are mostly more about our usernames than our actual names. Platforms across social media like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit, and more, use handles to identify a user better in a more direct way using its uniqueness.
Looking back, YouTube is the platform that's left to not use @ handles. However, The video sharing has finally announced that they will bring the feature into their app. According to The Verge, YouTube said that they want to "ensure creators can craft an identity as unique as their content" which would benefit both content creators and viewers alike.
How Will a Username Change Youtube for the Better?
Equipped with a unique handle, users can now tag other users in videos the way they do in the comment section of other platforms. This will be applicable to YouTube shorts, channel pages, video descriptions, comments, and more.
With YouTube's current format, a user can only tag another user when the latter already has a pre-existing comment in place. The app also wants to allow users to have discussions within their shorts, which includes the video responses in TikTok that we all came to enjoy.
In a way, YouTube handles can serve as the famous blue verification check that Twitter uses. YouTube doesn't restrict identical names, which makes it hard for creators to create a unique platform identity for themselves. The YouTube handle will solve just that as the app will not allow a user handle to be used twice, creating a distinct presence for themselves, as TechCrunch mentioned.
How Soon Can I Grab a Handle?
It's a race when it comes to creating usernames since they can only be used once. It would be a nightmare for people with common names. If you're not a creator with a huge subscriber count, then you're going to wait a little while longer.
The company will be prioritizing established content creators so others won't be able to snag the username they would use. It's appropriate since one of the purposes of the username is so viewers can identify if the videos are genuinely from their favorite Youtube personalities.
How early a user will get the chance to choose a username will be based on factors like YouTube presence, subscriber count, and how active they are on the platform. Once that has been established, a URL will be created based on the username picked by the creator. It will appear as "youtube.com/@handle".
The URL will serve as a shorter direct link that they can include on other media platforms. Although, if the channel already has a personalized URL, they will no longer need the feature. Of course, they can change it if they want.
YouTube mentioned that content creators will receive a notification when it's their turn to pick a handle for themselves. Not to worry, if you're constantly on YouTube and you want a handle for yourself as well, you'll get your turn. You'll just have to be quick so no one else will take the handle you want.
