Mark your calendars for this Saturday, because there’s about to be a new wave of username squatting.  On June 13th, Facebook will roll out a feature which allows users to associate a username with their accounts.

Log into your Facebook account and you’ll most likely see this notification:

What exactly does this mean? The Facebook blog explains that users who choose a username will essentially gain a vanity URL for their profile pages.  Instead of http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=28300932&ref=profile, my new profile link might be http://www.facebook.com/jordan.teague.

Why secure a username? Here are a few reasons to jump on the bandwagon.

1. Controlling/protecting your online identity.  If you’re a high-profile public figure, business person, or celebrity, snag your username before someone else does.  There are obvious problems that can otherwise ensue.  Twitter is a great example of a social media space with a lot of fakers who reserved well-known usernames early in the game.
2. Effectively marketing yourself or business on Facebook.  Take advantage of the opportunity to gain a vanity URL for your profile or your company’s profile.  The new vanity URLs will be much more memorable than the current URL format.  And memorable URL means more-likely-to-be-visited URL.
3. Search engine optimizing your Facebook profile.  Facebook public profiles already incorporate your first and last name into public profile URLs, but I imagine we’ll end up observing that the new vanity URLs trump the old format in terms of ranking (all other things being equal).

If you didn’t already mark June 13th on your calendar, do it now.  Especially you, John Smith!

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