socialmedian: Facebook Getting Serious About Vanity URLs

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Facebook Getting Serious About Vanity URLs

Source: TechCrunch

Mar 13, 2009

Summary

Facebook is getting wise to something MySpace has known from the start - users love vanity URLs. When you tell someone your MySpace page, you just say myspace.com/[user/brand/band/etc.]. On Facebook it has always been more difficult.

My profile isn’t Facebook.com/michaelarrington, it’s facebook.com/profile.php?id=500065899. Not so catchy, and the result is people need to do searches to find you. MySpace vanity URLs are popular for the same reason people like domain names instead of just typing in IP addresses.

Facebook’s policy on this is clearly changing, at least for Pages (where bands, celebrities, brands, etc. have their Facebook presence). Facebook has always had a few vanity URLs associated with Pages, like Facebook.com/U2. They made it clear last August, though, that most people couldn’t get them:

Unfortunately we are not currently able to approve requests for vanity URLs. The only Pages that presently have vanity URLs are bands and businesses that partnered with us for the initial launch of this new product. We hope to make these URLs available for eve

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Comments (5)

Romey Louangvila,

Mar 13, 2009

They need to allow ppl to do that. I hated giving our my FB url by saying "just search for my name"

Margaret Orem,

Mar 14, 2009

Click the following link to get a memorable web address for your own Facebook Profile, Group or Page:
http://apps.facebook.com/webaddress/

For example, my Facebook address using this application is http://profile.to/margaret_orem/
I used this same approved application to set up Facebook group URL's too. However, all names are traditional normal names - no hype, no characters that are not letters, no promotion, no alphabetical attempts to make the name first etc.

Margaret Orem

Identityguy,

Mar 14, 2009

Much needed, with so many people using Facebook today for business and pleasure it would be much easier for people to publish a vanity URL and very easy to tell a friend or potential business associate.

Svswamy,

Mar 15, 2009

Though I also used profile to for getting my name, it is not same as writing www.facebook.com/swamy

So, it is a good move on part of Facebook to add this facility.