Facebook allows prominent public figures to use nicknames

PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook, a service built on real names and real identities, starts allowing prominent public figures to verify their accounts and then opt to display a preferred nickname instead of their birth name, Tech Crunch reported.

Those with verified accounts will gain more prominent placement in Facebook’s “People To Subscribe To” suggestions.

Verified accounts are not a departure from Facebook’s policy that users sign up with their real name, as birth names will still be shown on a user’s profile About page. Instead it’s a way to ensure people don’t subscribe to the public updates of impostors. It will also arm Facebook for its battle with Twitter to control the interest graph.

Some users with many subscribers will be notified through their profile of the option to verify their identity. These users will be prompted to submit an image of a government-issued photo ID, which is deleted after verification. They’ll also be given the option to enter an “alternate name” that can be used to find them through search and that can be displayed next to their real name in parentheses or as a replacement.

For example, Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, could use Verified Accounts to verify that she is the famous Stefani Germanotta, to display her name as “Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga)”, or display it as simply “Lady Gaga” with Stefani Germanotta appearing the About page of her profile.