Facebook Vanity URLs and The Smurfs
June 23rd, 2009 : posted by mattRecently the social networking site Facebook introduced what people have begun to call Vanity URLs. Instead of your profile page having a long and difficult to remember URL such as http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=123456789, you can now choose a username that will get tacked on to the end of the URL such as facebook.com/johnsmith.
This doesn't mean a huge amount to most Facebook users. Most people leave their profile page fully viewable only by people they've become 'friends' with (this is the default setting). Your friends have you in their friends list, therefore there's no real need to have a short, memorable URL to give out to people.
However, Vanity URLs make much more sense when you look at Facebook Pages. Any user can create a Facebook Page. People create pages to allow Facebook users - or 'fans' - to congregate around a common interest.
For example, you might create a Facebook Page about The Smurfs. This would allow you, and people like you, to virtually 'get together' and enjoy The Smurfs on one page. Discussions can start, pictures can be shared and a virtual community can take shape. You might choose the username 'thesmurfs', and your Facebook web address would end up as facebook.com/thesmurfs.
This is also great for companies (who can also create Pages), or individuals who are looking to promote their Personal Brand.
However, before you rush out and set up a Page with the username of 'Microsoft', there's a couple of things to note. From the Facebook website;
Your Facebook Page must meet two requirements: it must have been live on Facebook prior to the May 31, 2009 cut-off date and have had a minimum 1,000 fans at that time.
This limitation is temporary. All Pages created after May 31, 2009 or that had less than 1,000 fans on that day will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday, June 28, 2009.
So go ahead, get your Page on! http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages
