June 9th, 2009
Facebook to launch vanity URLs - because that's really what we need
Do I really need a vanity URL for my Facebook presence? Apparently so. Starting this weekend - Saturday at 12:01 am ET, to be exact - Facebook is allowing users to assign a name to the tail end of the URL that comes up for their pages, replacing the random number that appears there. (Statement)
Hmmm. Should I make a mad rush at that time to grab “samdiaz” before other people in the world with my name (I know of at least two other tech savvy guys with my name, one in Miami and one in Brooklyn) or should I pick a fun user name like “cooldudesam” or “samiam.”
The whole idea behind this push is that my friends will be able to find me faster if I have a vanity URL. Maybe I’m just becoming too much of a curmedgeon but I don’t see the need. If I pick some cutesy name like “siliconvalleysam,” will any of my friends know to look there?
This past weekend, I ran into an old friend and we agreed to do a better job of staying in touch. We didn’t exchange email addresses or phone numbers. Instead, I told him, “Look for me on Facebook.” The next morning, I had a friend request from him. Finding me wasn’t tough. He didn’t even need a vanity URL.
Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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