Facebook Username URLs

[cslittle999]

Did everyone see this? Coming Soon: Facebook Usernames

 

[Decorated_Dust]

At first I suspected Facebook was trying to become more like Twitter, but now I am sure of it. These guys need to go back to the basics and remember what made them successful.

That being said, I understand why they're doing it, and if it were just this by itself, it would not matter. However, this is just part of a long list of attempts to change and be more like other sites gaining momentum. Myspace did it, and it didn't work for them. Facebook has a far superior formula that could have done well in the long term, but they are so scared of going the way of the dinosaur that they feel they have to change all the time. Again, I can understand this attitude at the apex of Twitter, but not after millions of people lash out about how they don't like the new Facebook. People liked the formula before. I only know a few people on Twitter, but everyone I know is on Facebook.

Okay, I did just rant. Sorry guys. I guess you only rant about things you love.

 

[WebmasterCorey]

Not sure I like it. If it's not broke don't fix it.

 

[simonkodousek]

I definitely don't like the username idea. Facebook is a social networking site, and if your friends wanted to add you, wouldn't they know how to spell your name?

 

[AnninIowa]

I personally LOVE the idea of the URLs! The new URLs read much easier than what they have now - I put mine on some correspondenses, so this will be much better for that.

 

[cslittle999]

I'm so new at Facebook I don't what to think about it. A shorter URL would be nice but I don't email it around. Having to use yet another username because I can't get my real name is a pain. I can see it being useful for professional entities.

 

[FireDancer]

I think to understand what Facebook is trying to do you need to step back and look at what Facebook wants to be in the online universe. The short URL is a nice little side effect but I don't think it was the motivation.

There is a lot of speculation as to what their long term revenue model is. They have said on many occasions that they have a long term revenue model that is not reliant on advertising but won't say what it is. A common thought is that Facebook wants to be the identity portal for user's online persona. This theory gained traction when they announced last year that they are joining the OpenID initiative.

Facebook connect allows for an SDK that can authenticate a user via their Facebook profile. That service uses your email address right now but email is not static enough to provide anything close to identity persistance. To do that you need something that will not change. You need a lot more but that is what OpenID is trying to address.

It isn't that Facebook wants to be Twitter (of course they do want to be, but this particular issue isn't reliant on that) it is that they want 3rd parties to be able to use Facebook data in much the same way they can tap into your Twitter stream.

I am going to be interested as to what Buzz Out Loud and TWiT have to say about it in the coming week but they might be able to shed more light on the subject. As much as I think Jason Kalkanis is a cocky <edit> he knows a lot about this kind of thing and I hope he is on with Leo this weekend.

 

[katscradle]

I am not sure how I feel about this.
I had a bit of a scare on FB last week, and the red flag went up when I asked that person what his board name was. I thought he was a diser. He was not!
Needless to say things got scarier after that and I remove the person from my friends list. I am not sure how he got into my FB, but I suspect it was when I was placying games such as fashion wars. I thought I had removed all those people. I guess I did not!
He was not interested in me and I did not know this person. However he was very interested in my little boy. Needless to say this scared the ***t out of me.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I am not sure how I feel about this.
I had a bit of a scare on FB last week, and the red flag went up when I asked that person what his board name was. I thought he was a diser. He was not!
Needless to say things got scarier after that and I remove the person from my friends list. I am not sure how he got into my FB, but I suspect it was when I was placying games such as fashion wars. I thought I had removed all those people. I guess I did not!
He was not interested in me and I did not know this person. However he was very interested in my little boy. Needless to say this scared the ***t out of me.

I had a creepy moment from an old boyfriend and had to remove him. I cant imagine a complete weirdo stranger. OMG

 

[JenniBugInPink]

It would be nice for those who only know me as JenniBuginPink to find me - I mean most folks online have absolutely no idea what my last name is, nor do I have plans for them to know (at least not as a group!), but I'd want to change my FB profile information before that happens. Right now I'm assuming that I really, truly know everyone on my FB friends, and if I start adding my online friends, then that wouldn't be true. No big deal, but I wouldn't want as much detail there as I have now.

 

[maiziezoe]

I think to understand what Facebook is trying to do you need to step back and look at what Facebook wants to be in the online universe. The short URL is a nice little side effect but I don't think it was the motivation.

There is a lot of speculation as to what their long term revenue model is. They have said on many occasions that they have a long term revenue model that is not reliant on advertising but won't say what it is. A common thought is that Facebook wants to be the identity portal for user's online persona. This theory gained traction when they announced last year that they are joining the OpenID initiative.

Facebook connect allows for an SDK that can authenticate a user via their Facebook profile. That service uses your email address right now but email is not static enough to provide anything close to identity persistance. To do that you need something that will not change. You need a lot more but that is what OpenID is trying to address.

It isn't that Facebook wants to be Twitter (of course they do want to be, but this particular issue isn't reliant on that) it is that they want 3rd parties to be able to use Facebook data in much the same way they can tap into your Twitter stream.

I am going to be interested as to what Buzz Out Loud and TWiT have to say about it in the coming week but they might be able to shed more light on the subject. As much as I think Jason Kalkanis is a cocky <edit> he knows a lot about this kind of thing and I hope he is on with Leo this weekend.

I *heart* Leo Laporte!

 

[crazytp93]

Hate it.