Facebook’s Vanity Url Move

26Apr09

Facebook is preparing itself for selling “vanity urls” to its users. “Vanity url” is like having a meaningful address such as “facebook.com/gokhandogan” instead of complicated set of strings.

Myspace has already been letting its users to have “vanity url”s for their profiles for a long time so it seems like a no-brainer for Facebook.

Who has it now?

The only pages that presently have vanity URLs are bands and businesses that partnered with Facebook for the initial launch of this new product:

• http://www.facebook.com/demimoore
• http://www.facebook.com/kevinrose
• http://www.facebook.com/u2
• http://www.facebook.com/ashtonkutcher

Who would pay for it?

Not me! Even in my wildest dreams, wouldn’t I pay for it BUT it would be a lucrative business for Facebook given the potential of bidding for some words. Think about having “facebook.com/sports” or “facebook.com/computers”

What would Facebook get from it ?

Although some people say that they’d pay for the ability to get the old UI back, the following are some potential benefits for Facebook:

• Obviously, income by selling vanity urls.
• More search engine traffic from the people who search for these names i.e. “Demi Moore”

What Alternatives Do Users Have ?

• Subdomain: Simply create a “facebook.gokhandogan.com” subdomain and forward it to your actual facebook profile.
• Tiny-Fb: Go to tiny-fb and create your own FREE vanity url such as http://tiny-fb.com/gokhan

Question ?

Would you pay for it and if YES how much ?

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Tags: "facebook business model", "facebook strategy", "facebook vanity url", "vanity url facebook", vanity url