Grab Your Custom Facebook URL, or "Facebook Username"

It’s Facebook-Username-Land-Grab time! As of 12:01 AM EDT, Saturday, June 13th, 2009, Facebook will allow anyone to create a “Facebook Username” for their existing user profile or Facebook Page.  (Previously, only selected partners were given the ability to do so.)  You should go out and grab your own Facebook Username, as soon as possible, if possible.

How To Get Your Facebook Username

Just go to Facebook.com/username (After 12:00 AM, on June 13, 2009), and follow the username creation instructions. User Profiles will have to meet one requirement to enable Username creation:

• They must have been live on Facebook prior to 3:00 PM EDT, on May 31, 2009.  (I’m guessing this will likely change at a later date to require that a user profile have existed for a certain minimum number of days.  Be sure to register your “Coldplay Rules” user profile today.)
• UPDATE: This limitation is temporary. All users who joined Facebook after the cut-off will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday, June 28, 2009.

Facebook Pages will have to meet two requirements to enable Username creation:

• They must have been live on Facebook prior to May 31, 2009.  (Likewise, I’m guessing this will probably change at some point to a “minimum number of days in existance” requirement.)
• They must have a minimum 1,000 fans as of May 31, 2009.  (Ouch.  So much for getting www.facebook.com/garagespin with my sub-100 fan count.)
• UPDATE: This limitation is temporary. All Pages created after May 31, 2009 or that had less than 1,000 fans on that day will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday, June 28, 2009.

Selecting a Facebook Username

Facebook Usernames won’t be able to be edited or changed, and are also non-transferable, so make sure yours is acceptable for the long term.  Only one Username is allowed per Page and/or user profile.  I.e. don’t do anything you’ll regret later.

Additional Facebook Username Info

• Facebook blog post explaining Usernames
• Username Frequently Asked Questions
• Form: Notice of Intellectual Property Infringement form (in case someone beats you to grabbing your own Username, or in case you want to protect a trademark you own)
• Username Creation Page for creating Facebook Usernames (you must be logged in to see it)

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