The discussion about who has the right to a username is not limited to Twitter. It extends to all social media. Will social media continue to be social media or will it turn into just another marketing tool? If the marketers take over social media by spamming, simulating relationship-building, and “grabbing” usernames away from individuals, then social media will have been another social experiment that could have been used for the greater good but finally succumbed to pandering to the lowest common denominator thanks to the desperate fight for the almighty [insert appropriate currency here].

I was very pleased to see the number of people who responded with support and information for @room214. Watching events like this, the Motrin mommy affair, the SoCal fires, and others supports the thesis of Clay Shirky's book Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations. @room214 commented early in the event that he is a teacher and cannot afford to hire a lawyer to defend his username. He explained in one twitter that he had received a DM that “they [Room214] were being nice, to give it up or they would take it from me.” That's probably where those of us who were following the situation got the impression that a company was trying to “bully” an individual into giving up his username. Whether intentional or not, Room214 intimidated @room214 who asked for help from fellow-tweeters, got it, and took a stand rather than just handing over his username. In the past, fighting an established organization for a username would not have been feasible, given the costs of either hiring legal professionals to research the case or getting enough public awareness to garner support.

Ultimately, the question about how social media evolves will be answered by how people are willing to support it. If you are using an online tool that has a subscription level and a free level, do you pay for the higher level of service? Which tools are you willing to subscribe to? Will those tools then be put out of the reach of some people, creating different social media classes? Would we all be better off just putting ads on everything? Are you paying attention to what's going on in the monetizing arena? Do you think you have the power or influence to direct the future of social media? If you want companies to determine, the final outcome, then sit back and let it unfold. If you want social media to be a way of empowering individuals, then pay attention, follow the social media leaders (Tim O'Reilly, Clay Shirky, Michael Wesch, to name just a few), and make your voice heard.

The discussion about who has the right to a username is not limited to Twitter. It extends to all social media. Will social media continue to be social media or will it turn into just another marketing tool? If the marketers take over social media by spamming, simulating relationship-building, and “grabbing” usernames away from individuals, then social media will have been another social experiment that could have been used for the greater good but finally succumbed to pandering to the lowest common denominator thanks to the desperate fight for the almighty [insert appropriate currency here].

I was very pleased to see the number of people who responded with support and information for @room214. Watching events like this, the Motrin mommy affair, the SoCal fires, and others supports the thesis of Clay Shirky's book Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations. @room214 commented early in the event that he is a teacher and cannot afford to hire a lawyer to defend his username. He explained in one twitter that he had received a DM that “they [Room214] were being nice, to give it up or they would take it from me.” That's probably where those of us who were following the situation got the impression that a company was trying to “bully” an individual into giving up his username. Whether intentional or not, Room214 intimidated @room214 who asked for help from fellow-tweeters, got it, and took a stand rather than just handing over his username. In the past, fighting an established organization for a username would not have been feasible, given the costs of either hiring legal professionals to research the case or getting enough public awareness to garner support.

Ultimately, the question about how social media evolves will be answered by how people are willing to support it. If you are using an online tool that has a subscription level and a free level, do you pay for the higher level of service? Which tools are you willing to subscribe to? Will those tools then be put out of the reach of some people, creating different social media classes? Would we all be better off just putting ads on everything? Are you paying attention to what's going on in the monetizing arena? Do you think you have the power or influence to direct the future of social media? If you want companies to determine, the final outcome, then sit back and let it unfold. If you want social media to be a way of empowering individuals, then pay attention, follow the social media leaders (Tim O'Reilly, Clay Shirky, Michael Wesch, to name just a few), and make your voice heard.

The discussion about who has the right to a username is not limited to Twitter. It extends to all social media. Will social media continue to be social media or will it turn into just another marketing tool? If the marketers take over social media by spamming, simulating relationship-building, and “grabbing” usernames away from individuals, then social media will have been another social experiment that could have been used for the greater good but finally succumbed to pandering to the lowest common denominator thanks to the desperate fight for the almighty [insert appropriate currency here].

I was very pleased to see the number of people who responded with support and information for @room214. Watching events like this, the Motrin mommy affair, the SoCal fires, and others supports the thesis of Clay Shirky's book Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations. @room214 commented early in the event that he is a teacher and cannot afford to hire a lawyer to defend his username. He explained in one twitter that he had received a DM that “they [Room214] were being nice, to give it up or they would take it from me.” That's probably where those of us who were following the situation got the impression that a company was trying to “bully” an individual into giving up his username. Whether intentional or not, Room214 intimidated @room214 who asked for help from fellow-tweeters, got it, and took a stand rather than just handing over his username. In the past, fighting an established organization for a username would not have been feasible, given the costs of either hiring legal professionals to research the case or getting enough public awareness to garner support.

Ultimately, the question about how social media evolves will be answered by how people are willing to support it. If you are using an online tool that has a subscription level and a free level, do you pay for the higher level of service? Which tools are you willing to subscribe to? Will those tools then be put out of the reach of some people, creating different social media classes? Would we all be better off just putting ads on everything? Are you paying attention to what's going on in the monetizing arena? Do you think you have the power or influence to direct the future of social media? If you want companies to determine, the final outcome, then sit back and let it unfold. If you want social media to be a way of empowering individuals, then pay attention, follow the social media leaders (Tim O'Reilly, Clay Shirky, Michael Wesch, to name just a few), and make your voice heard.

I'm James Clark, co-founder of Room 214, and with great humility, I wanted to state that we have never sought to obtain the twitter.com/room214 Twitter ID.

Following is a link to my comment post on Digg: http://tinyurl.com/9edx7l

It was an honest mistake by one of our employees in communication with the owner of the Twitter ID.

Now, this most certainly brings up an interesting discussion with Twitter IDs, and I would have to agree with your position on the issue. We are most certainly interested in any further findings or discussions that may come up because of this situation.

With honesty and respect.

James Clark
co-founder Room 214
twitter id: @jamesoclark

I'm James Clark, co-founder of Room 214, and with great humility, I wanted to state that we have never sought to obtain the twitter.com/room214 Twitter ID.

Following is a link to my comment post on Digg: http://tinyurl.com/9edx7l

It was an honest mistake by one of our employees in communication with the owner of the Twitter ID.

Now, this most certainly brings up an interesting discussion with Twitter IDs, and I would have to agree with your position on the issue. We are most certainly interested in any further findings or discussions that may come up because of this situation.

With honesty and respect.

James Clark
co-founder Room 214
twitter id: @jamesoclark