If someone else is squatting on your name (or your business's name) on Twitter, but not actually using it, you can ask Twitter to release the name to you and they will. Or at least they would until recently ...

David Griner at The Social Path says that Twitter has decided to stop granting almost all similar requests. People who contact Twitter Support about having an inactive Twitter ID released now get this automated response: "Due to high ticket volume, Twitter Support is no longer releasing inactive user names unless in cases of trademark or copyright violation."

Griner points out two interesting examples: ikea and target. Those two Twitter ID's have never published an update and are not following any other users. Perhaps the companies can get their names back (if they want them) through a copyright infringement suit. That's tough, Griner points out, when the owners of those ID's have never published anything...


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 5856129