Facebook Usernames Coming

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:04:00 GMT

Facebook announced that it will now support the use of usernames. The change is expected to make it easier for people to find and connect on the social network.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 13, you'll be able to choose a username on a first-come, first-serve basis for your profile and the Facebook Pages that you administer by visiting www.facebook.com/username/. You'll also see a notice on your home page with instructions for obtaining your username at that time.

Facebook usernames will be available in basic text forms, and you can only choose a single username for your profile and for each of the Pages that you administer. Your username must be at least five characters in length and only include alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9), or a period or full stop ("."). While usernames are currently available only for Romanized text, we're looking at how we might support non-Romanized characters in the future.

You might want to think carefully about the username you choose as once it's been selected, you won't be able to change or transfer it. If you signed up for a Facebook Page after May 31 or a user profile after today at 3 p.m. EDT, you may not be able to sign up for a username immediately because of steps Facebook has taken to prevent abuse or "squatting" on names.

The value in this I believe will come through greater exposure in search listings during vanity queries. Take a look at how dramatically the URL structure will change:

'Net Features : facebook usernames

Facebook Usernames Coming