There are things even venerable institutions are powerless to change—especially when it comes to social media. On Twitter, some of the most hallowed institutions in the world cannot use their famed acronyms. Usernames, after all, are given to the first who claim them.
MoMA, for instance, is fiercely protective of its brand, even taking action against Lower East Side teashop MOMACHA earlier this year. But search @MoMA and you won’t find the Twitter feed for New York’s Museum of Modern Art but rather an account for a UK-based breakfast-food purveyor.
MoMA is not alone in its struggles. We stumbled across a number of equally perplexing usernames while perusing the social media wires. Here is a snapshot of some of the strangest pairings.
The Museum of Modern Art vs “Moma: Making Oats More Awesome“
The Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt): The preeminent New York institution, whose mission is “helping you understand and enjoy the art of our time.”
Moma (@Moma): “Making Oats More Awesome,” a London-based oatery, claims to provide “quick & quality breakfasts to help you to make the most of your mornings.”
Museum of Fine Arts vs The melty Future Awards
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (@Mfaboston): The fifth largest museum in the United States, boasting a collection that includes more than 450,000 works of art.
melty Future Awards (@MFA): The domain of the “awards show dedicated to showcasing media’s rising talent” in the Francophone world.
National Gallery of Art vs Newtown Ghetto Anger
The National Gallery of Art (@ngadc): The nation’s museum, based in Washington, DC.
Newtown Ghetto Anger (@NGA) A New Zealand-based extreme gaming community, sadly inactive since 2012.
The Art Institute of Chicago vs The American Iranian Council
The Art Institute of Chicago (@artinstitutechi): The second largest art museum, after the Met, and home of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, now saddled with a rather ungainly Twitter name.
The American Iranian Council (@AIC): Established in 1990, the bipartisan think tank “serves as a platform and catalyst for constructive dialogue between the US and Iran.”
Cleveland Museum of Art vs Children’s Media Association
The Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt): One of the few free museums, and currently home to Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrors” show.
Children’s Media Association (@cma): “An organization dedicated to professionals in children’s media with events, networking & access to children and child leaders,” according to its website.
The Andy Warhol Museum vs Alex Wellness Mentor
The Andy Warhol Museum (@TheWarholMuseum): The museum dedicated to the Pop artist, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Alex Wellness Mentor” (@awm): The professional handle for Alexandre Montagna, a Milan-based therapist who writes that “through knowledge, sentiency and power, I change lives”—much like Warhol himself.
Museum of the Bible vs Marketing on the Beach
The Museum of the Bible (@museumofBible): The recently opened institution in DC, backed by the founder of Hobby Lobby.
Marketing on the Beach (@motb): Marketing on the Beach describes itself as “an editorial project to raise awareness, information and advice for businesses in Wallonia and Nord-Pas-de-Calais.”
The Natural History Museum vs New Hope Middle
The Natural History Museum (@NHM_London): The London museum that houses more than 80 million specimens spanning billions of years and has annual visitors totaling more than five million.
New Hope Middle (@NHM): Home of the Kodiaks, based in Dalton, Georgia.