It happens more often than you think - you sit on the fence deciding whether or not you want to start a new online initiative (such as a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, a blog, or even build a new website), you finally make the decision to rock and roll on it, and find that your name is already TAKEN! And while of course there are always alternative names you can select, nothing ever beats the real thing.
It just happened to one of our clients this morning. In the process of an initial meeting to discuss social media, submitting a proposal, getting a Green Light, and our initial Next Steps call (which only lasted about 10-14 days total) their Twitter URL went from available to taken. In the past, it has also happened a couple of times with website URLs.
Unfortunately, cyber-squatters and profile squatters are RAMPANT on the 'net, other businesses with similar or identical names may be out there with the same idea as you, and (in the case of big global brands and celebrities) there are always a number of fan-related (and hater-related) sites that crop up as well. Rikin Diwan at the New York Post discussed this during the Social Networking 101 panel panel discussion that Y INTERACT co-hosted with the Wall Street Journal last April. You can find this discussion on Y INTERACT's YouTube Channel, Y INTERACT tv (view part 3 of 3 where this is discussed).
A word to the wise - even if you're not sure that you want to commit to developing and maintaining social media/web 2.0 channels - go online and claim your name/brand, even if you just sit on it for a while. Especially since (these days at least) social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are all free, and domain names are extremely cheap to own.
With the millions and millions of web users out there, someone else might grab it while you're thinking about it.
Ahmed Yearwood
President
Y INTERACT
http://www.yinteract.com/
Follow me at Twitter @Y INTERACT
