Facebook now allows Usernames

A snapshot of my Facebook profile as can be viewed by visitors not logged-in to Facebook
A snapshot of my Facebook profile as can be viewed by visitors not logged-in to Facebook

Web leading social network Facebook now allows its over 200 million users to assign usernames to their respective accounts. The usernames can then be used in a very simple, easy-to-remember URL form, so users should share links to their Facebook profiles much more easily. Facebook unveiled the new feature just last night (GMT). Mashable.com reports that over 200,000 usernames were registered within 3 minutes of launch, and over 500,000 registrations within 15 minutes!

I have just registered my username, and as usual, it is the iconic niyyie. Therefore, you can easily reach my Facebook profile by simply heading to the URL http://facebook.com/niyyie Are you a Facebook user and want to grab your own username? Head to http://www.facebook.com/username/

Facebook has over the few years of its existence defied the rules of growth, on the web. As a result of their smart thinking, forging the right alliances and good execution, they have since surpassed their competitors and now rule the social networking world, on the web. Before now, MySpace had taken the lead. I had never been attracted to MySpace and never signed-up for an account due to the consistent bad publicity (due to scandals) I always monitored about them on the western media and also the poor design. I was introduced to Facebook several months ago by a friend at kiwanja.net. Though I have not been as active as I could be on Facebook, I have still found the experience exciting. Facebook’s openness (you can install 3rd party applications) even makes it better.

As of today, Facebook.com is among the 5 most visited websites in the world. This only lends credence to a fact of life that “quality sells”.

Are you a Facebook user? What has been your experience using Facebook?

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Oluniyi D. Ajao
Oluniyi D. Ajao is an Internet Entrepreneur and Tech Enthusiast based in South Africa. Follow him on twitter @niyyie for more tech updates.

4 Comments

  1. I believe facebook is an ideal social network, they have done a very good deal to havea customised username for veryone but seem to forget that this may lead to a public burst, what i mean is this, suppose i register with the username uzomaeze, now don’t forget that they are about 6 different uzoma eze’s on fb … well lets see how it goes, heading to get mine before some one hits me the way they took my domain uzomaeze.com

    • …heading to get mine before some one hits me the way they took my domain uzomaeze.com

      Doesn’t that again imply that you’re the only one bearing the name “Uzoma Eze”? Perhaps someone else with the same name registered that domain. I see its a parked domain.

  2. Well written,

    I’ve been on facebook for a couple yrs now but never bothered with myspace either.. But I have to say, Facebooks developments over the last few months havnt really done the site too many favours.. 1 yr ago the site was fantastic and now its still great but some of that initial simplicity (which made it appealing in the first place) is starting to go.

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