YouTube Pushes for Change: Asks Commenters to Use their Real Names

  • YouTube is cleaning up its act. The popular video site will now push users to use their full names when commenting or uploading. The site will also ask users to display the identity associated with their Google+ account.
  • For those users who decline to use their full name or Google+ identity, Google pushes for an explanation, requesting users to select from options such as “my channel name is well-known for other reasons.”
  • “Making commenters use their real names and Google+ accounts was the obvious first step toward bringing civility to YouTube, which Google is eager to polish into a venue more attractive to business owners, advertisers, and creative filmmakers,” writes Wired.
  • “It’s easy to imagine that offering Google+ YouTube accounts is just a first step toward hiding, and eventually eliminating, comments from anonymous accounts,” notes the post. “Such simple steps would do more to improve the perceived quality of YouTube content than any upgrade to surround sound or high-definition video.”
  • “Of course, forcing people to own their identities can help to elevate the discourse on YouTube videos, which is definitely in dire need of a makeover,” adds BetaBeat. “But can a community that has relied on anonymity for so long really be convinced otherwise?”
  • “However, we realize that using your full name isn’t for everyone,” notes the YouTube blog. “Maybe people know you by your YouTube username. Perhaps you don’t want your name publicly associated with your channel. To continue using your YouTube username, just click ‘I don’t want to use my full name’ when you see the prompt. Stay tuned for more ways to use this username in other Google products and services in coming months.”

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