Google swerves, allows nicknames on Google+ - CNN.com

 In a big swerve in policy, Google has decided to allow people to sign up using nicknames or other pseudonyms on its growing social network, Google+.

This summer, Google took some flak for booting users who had used fake names on the 7-month-old site.

Members of the tech community, who as early adopters had flocked to the search giant's Facebook alternative, argued that some people are better known on the internet by their assumed names. They also noted that people who used social media as part of social movements, such as those in Iran and Egypt, need to be able to conceal their identity for safety reasons.