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The Future of Facebook Usernames

Mystalic 17y ago
When I cover the inevitable "Facebook Usernames Debacle," I'll be sure to mention repeatedly that you can buy your own domain. Thanks for the reminder Anil. And yes, this post is pretty much prophetic.
- baddox 17y ago
  Prophetic, maybe, but it's all pretty obvious if you've spent much time on the Internet.
- endtime 17y ago
  Agreed. Plus, given that Facebook is a pretty standard platform at this point, it's not unreasonable to think of facebook.com as a sort of prefix-TLD. Sure, I can go buy a domain, but if all I'd put there is a personal website then a FU seems simpler. And if I want to protect my name/brand, then I am probably interested in every such domain-like address I can own, rather than just one.
  - sireat 17y ago
    A bit off topic: FU doesn't seem quite the acronym Facebook would want in general usage. Or perhaps they have figured it would work great on younger population...
TrevorJ 17y ago
Thank you, I now feel that I can spend my weekend outdoors instead of sitting at home watching all this unfold. Other than a few minutes around 12:01, that is ;)
- calvin 17y ago
  If by "a few minutes" you mean 35, then sure. And I'll probably be doing the same thing I don't want it for the SEO, but if nothing else having the name is convenient for telling new "friends" how to find me on the most ubiquitous social network without having to email them a long profile URL.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
    - randallsquared 17y ago
      And sending new friends a picture to look for is better than just sending a URL? Oh, you thought "friends" would meet in person? I've never met, in person, most of the people I actually regard as friends, much less those I'd put quotes around. :)
  - TrevorJ 17y ago
    I don't directly care about the SEO, but I'd rather not have some random guy with a beer belly and pictures of his last wild party to come up when people search for me. If I don't grab the name, somebody will.
req2 17y ago
As soon as I get a friendly Facebook URL for my blog I'm going to paste such a scathing response...
rdj 17y ago
the only problem with this piece is, I have yet to find the mythical "real domain that you can own". I've leased/rented/licensed/used quite a few domains over the years, but they each come with some sort of expiration and a threat that someone else can take the name if I don't pay up. ..and the "Facebook Username Debacle" won't help solve that problem either....
- blogimus 17y ago
  I have yet to find the mythical "real estate you can own" I've leased/rented and even taken out a mortgage on my condominium, but if I don't pay my condo fees every month, the association threatens to take my condo away... And if you don't pay taxes on any real estate, house, condo, or land?... Yeah, I hate the idea of having to pay each year for my domain names. It sucks, it feels like we pay too much, but it is probably cheaper than if you could pay once up front and never have to pay any infrastructure costs. Imaging the hording and domain name market under those conditions. So since I can't do anything about it, and I want those domain names, I chalk it off to infrastructure costs.
  - wmf 17y ago
    People have proposed solutions to this problem, like if you own a domain but stop paying the maintenance fees it will disappear from the DNS (so you can't use it), but will still appear in WHOIS and you'll still have legal title to it forever. Ultimately it's political: Some people believe that domains should be property, some believe they shouldn't be, and everyone has trouble understanding the opposing viewpoint.
    - boundlessdreamz 17y ago
      That is not a solution at all. What if somebody actually wants to use the domain? The solution proposed will actually increase domain squatting since there is no cost involved! The only problem with domains right now is that it atleast the .com TLD is controlled by a monopoly and you have price increases. We need to have several companies who can issue .com domains
- 17y ago
dc2k08 17y ago
Brilliant, I feel that HN will now disregard each of the various blog posts that will discuss these issues at length as they occur.
markm 17y ago
What about the first post for someone selling their username on eBay?
- calvin 17y ago
  From Facebook TOS Section 4.7 (5/1/2009) You will not transfer your account to anyone without first getting our written permission. http://www.facebook.com/terms.php http://www.facebook.com/terms.php Good luck with that.
  - albemuth 17y ago
    Yeah, because ebay checks that.
JimmyL 17y ago
All that's missing on the timeline (probably on Saturday morning, around lunch) is a blog post by Jason Calacanis about how he wants to buy the username from whoever got facebook.com/jason.
johnnybgoode 17y ago
Funny and true. Going through the motions in the boring world of Web 2.0.
sounddust 17y ago
Owning a domain name sounds like the best choice for one's online identity, but realistically it's not the best choice for about 198 million out of the 200 million people who use Facebook. First of all, for many people, the only online presence they have is their Facebook account. Why would they buy a domain name? So that they can point it to their Facebook profile? Secondly, owning a domain costs money and requires work to maintain (a lot of work if you are not tech-savvy). I'd guess a very small percentage of Facebook users would be willing to pay $10/year to use the site. So why would someone expect them to pay $10/year for a domain name? Finally, what's to say that a facebook vanity URL is not a better choice than a domain name? Musicians often advertise using their myspace URL because it's easy to remember than a domain - you only have to remember a single word. It's entirely possible, depending on the success of Facebook, for people to be asking each other in 5 years, "what's your facebook address?" as it's easier than the current method of searching Facebook by name and sifting through 100 people with that name
s3graham 17y ago
http://post.thing.net/node/2733 http://post.thing.net/node/2733
bodhi 17y ago
Amusing and quite well done, I thought. He did a good job capturing several internet memes. But the part that made me laugh the most was the throwaway line: and everyone else considers reading the short bit.ly URL to be equivalent to reading the post.
zavulon 17y ago
I wonder if I'll be able to go on that update site and do it from my iPhone? Around that time, I will be at a bar, either celebrating my team winning Stanley Cup or drinking away my sorrows.. so no way to get to the actual computer.

When I cover the inevitable "Facebook Usernames Debacle," I'll be sure to mention repeatedly that you can buy your own domain. Thanks for the reminder Anil. And yes, this post is pretty much prophetic.

baddox 17y ago
Prophetic, maybe, but it's all pretty obvious if you've spent much time on the Internet.
endtime 17y ago
Agreed. Plus, given that Facebook is a pretty standard platform at this point, it's not unreasonable to think of facebook.com as a sort of prefix-TLD. Sure, I can go buy a domain, but if all I'd put there is a personal website then a FU seems simpler. And if I want to protect my name/brand, then I am probably interested in every such domain-like address I can own, rather than just one.
- sireat 17y ago
  A bit off topic: FU doesn't seem quite the acronym Facebook would want in general usage. Or perhaps they have figured it would work great on younger population...

TrevorJ 17y ago

Thank you, I now feel that I can spend my weekend outdoors instead of sitting at home watching all this unfold. Other than a few minutes around 12:01, that is ;)

calvin 17y ago
If by "a few minutes" you mean 35, then sure. And I'll probably be doing the same thing I don't want it for the SEO, but if nothing else having the name is convenient for telling new "friends" how to find me on the most ubiquitous social network without having to email them a long profile URL.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
  - randallsquared 17y ago
    And sending new friends a picture to look for is better than just sending a URL? Oh, you thought "friends" would meet in person? I've never met, in person, most of the people I actually regard as friends, much less those I'd put quotes around. :)
- TrevorJ 17y ago
  I don't directly care about the SEO, but I'd rather not have some random guy with a beer belly and pictures of his last wild party to come up when people search for me. If I don't grab the name, somebody will.

req2 17y ago

As soon as I get a friendly Facebook URL for my blog I'm going to paste such a scathing response...

rdj 17y ago

the only problem with this piece is, I have yet to find the mythical "real domain that you can own". I've leased/rented/licensed/used quite a few domains over the years, but they each come with some sort of expiration and a threat that someone else can take the name if I don't pay up. ..and the "Facebook Username Debacle" won't help solve that problem either....

blogimus 17y ago
I have yet to find the mythical "real estate you can own" I've leased/rented and even taken out a mortgage on my condominium, but if I don't pay my condo fees every month, the association threatens to take my condo away... And if you don't pay taxes on any real estate, house, condo, or land?... Yeah, I hate the idea of having to pay each year for my domain names. It sucks, it feels like we pay too much, but it is probably cheaper than if you could pay once up front and never have to pay any infrastructure costs. Imaging the hording and domain name market under those conditions. So since I can't do anything about it, and I want those domain names, I chalk it off to infrastructure costs.
- wmf 17y ago
  People have proposed solutions to this problem, like if you own a domain but stop paying the maintenance fees it will disappear from the DNS (so you can't use it), but will still appear in WHOIS and you'll still have legal title to it forever. Ultimately it's political: Some people believe that domains should be property, some believe they shouldn't be, and everyone has trouble understanding the opposing viewpoint.
  - boundlessdreamz 17y ago
    That is not a solution at all. What if somebody actually wants to use the domain? The solution proposed will actually increase domain squatting since there is no cost involved! The only problem with domains right now is that it atleast the .com TLD is controlled by a monopoly and you have price increases. We need to have several companies who can issue .com domains
17y ago

dc2k08 17y ago

Brilliant, I feel that HN will now disregard each of the various blog posts that will discuss these issues at length as they occur.

markm 17y ago

What about the first post for someone selling their username on eBay?

calvin 17y ago
From Facebook TOS Section 4.7 (5/1/2009) You will not transfer your account to anyone without first getting our written permission. http://www.facebook.com/terms.php http://www.facebook.com/terms.php Good luck with that.
- albemuth 17y ago
  Yeah, because ebay checks that.

JimmyL 17y ago

All that's missing on the timeline (probably on Saturday morning, around lunch) is a blog post by Jason Calacanis about how he wants to buy the username from whoever got facebook.com/jason.

johnnybgoode 17y ago

Funny and true. Going through the motions in the boring world of Web 2.0.

sounddust 17y ago

Owning a domain name sounds like the best choice for one's online identity, but realistically it's not the best choice for about 198 million out of the 200 million people who use Facebook. First of all, for many people, the only online presence they have is their Facebook account. Why would they buy a domain name? So that they can point it to their Facebook profile? Secondly, owning a domain costs money and requires work to maintain (a lot of work if you are not tech-savvy). I'd guess a very small percentage of Facebook users would be willing to pay $10/year to use the site. So why would someone expect them to pay $10/year for a domain name? Finally, what's to say that a facebook vanity URL is not a better choice than a domain name? Musicians often advertise using their myspace URL because it's easy to remember than a domain - you only have to remember a single word. It's entirely possible, depending on the success of Facebook, for people to be asking each other in 5 years, "what's your facebook address?" as it's easier than the current method of searching Facebook by name and sifting through 100 people with that name

s3graham 17y ago

http://post.thing.net/node/2733 http://post.thing.net/node/2733

bodhi 17y ago

Amusing and quite well done, I thought. He did a good job capturing several internet memes. But the part that made me laugh the most was the throwaway line: and everyone else considers reading the short bit.ly URL to be equivalent to reading the post.

zavulon 17y ago

I wonder if I'll be able to go on that update site and do it from my iPhone? Around that time, I will be at a bar, either celebrating my team winning Stanley Cup or drinking away my sorrows.. so no way to get to the actual computer.