The Treacherous Allure of OG Usernames

Product designer Chris Messina snagged @chris as his Instagram name. It’s been awesome—and terrible. Plus: Amazon splits with NYC, on the Gadget Lab podcast.

Product designer and internet native Chris Messina was lucky enough to snag the username @chris on Instagram back when the photo service was known as “Burbn,” and like all of his early usernames, it became a part of his digital identity. But having an OG username has exposed him to hacks, scams, and generally shady internet exchanges. It has also led him down the path of more existential questions about life online––like, is the internet still fun? On this week’s Gadget Lab podcast, we talk to Chris about the biggest offer he’s ever been made for his name, ephemerality in apps, and what the future of social media looks like once “following” goes away.

Also covered in this episode of the Gadget Lab podcast, which was taped on Valentine’s Day: Amazon’s big breakup with New York City. After a months-long search for “HQ2” that ended in an eventual commitment to build out corporate offices in Long Island City, Queens, Amazon now has backed out. While not everyone is happy about the tech giant's retreat, there were also plenty of good reasons for the resistance to the deal.

Show notes: You can read WIRED’s story about Amazon backing out of New York City here. Say goodbye to NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover here. And if you want to see what Chris has been up to, follow the hashtag #Noyoucanthavemyusername on Twitter.