The Social Media sphere has been abuzz with anticipation since word got out that Facebook would finally allow what many felt was an intuitive feature that was lacking on their site. Beginning at 9:00 pm PST on June 12th, Facebook began allowing the individuals to register vanity/custom URLs. Meaning that guy you once knew as http://www.facebook.com/pages/001234 is now simply http://www.facebook.com/joe. Apparently, over one million URLs were claimed within the first hour.

Of course, if you already use Twitter, you appreciate the fact that vanity URLs, or usernames, make it so much easier to find the businesses or individuals you want to follow. If you have not already registered your URL, I suggest you join the gold rush and do so now – especially if you are a brand owner or brand manager.

How do I get one?

There’s a couple of ways to register:

1. When you are logged into Facebook, you will see a box at the top of the page with an invitation to set a username for your Facebook account.

   

2. Go to http://www.facebook.com/username and then login

Once you are logged in Facebook gives suggestions for usernames based on your name, but you can also suggest a username. Then check the username for availability (you may have to get creative with your name), and register it.

Facebook has made provisions to protect trademarked names, I suppose in an attempt to protect against “squatting”. If you find that you registered trademark is already gone, you can visit this page to reclaim it.

Also, worth noting is the fact that if you signed up for Facebook after June 9th, 2009, you will not qualify to set up a vanity URL. But you will qualify in the “near future.” I have a feeling its going to be a while.

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