Usernames are coming to Facebook
Didn’t anyone else wake up to this little message? It’s been confirmed – Facebook are going to offer usernames.
The Facebook Blog articulates the change as a solution to the current Facebook 9-digit serial assigned to each user to access their profile page. This will be an option selected from a both pre-determined list as well as ‘custom’ field. I believe this will also assist with search engine optimisation of Facebook when looking up someone by name.
Some food for thought:
- Is this adjustment in search value in competition with Google’s profiling of users?
- Will this attract a younger audiences who like to express themselves through obscure names? e.g. sk8rboi
- Is this yet another mimic of Twitter to shorten the gap?
While I enjoy the fact Facebook uses ‘authentic’ names to identify users, I have always enjoyed custom names accross any platform, albeit mainly from a more playful, non-professional view. Which could have implications with business professionals who use the service for both personal and business networking and connections.
The option of usernames is good, however I think the non-consistent role will cause headaches for some. Although, the world does deal with email just fine – so it might be a moot point. Another, possibly more versatile option, is having multiple usernames and addresses to reach someone through. But maybe that’s a bit of a headache with some 5 million Australians alone 
What do you think? You in?
It’s a logical step for Facebook to take however i’m waiting for the day that Facebook proactively implements new features rather than simply being reactive to other players in the social media industry.
Great call, Josh – Facebook do have a history of simply following the leader here. But they seem to remain in the game and sustain well. Perhaps its a case of bleeding edge vs leading edge – let the others fall and make it better.
I’m actually very surprised it has taken so many iterations of Facebook and such a length of time… Although not perfect Linkedin have been doing this for years!