Has Someone Taken Your Facebook 'Vanity URL'?

The shotgun flare goes off Friday at midnight.

That’s when the race begins for Facebook’s 200 million-plus active users, who will have the chance to reserve their own vanity URL on the site. But for some, logging onto Facebook right when the clock strikes 12 won’t make a difference—their name will already be gone.

CNBC.com

Beginning Friday, Facebook will allow users to personalize their URL address so they can be found on the site more easily. Now, instead of having a random slew of numbers at the top of the page, they’ll be able to use their name or another identifying term.

But the company gave an early lead to its more than 850 employees, some major companies and a few hundred journalists, with which they had previous relationships. These parties received e-mails notifying them that if they responded in the affirmative by 8 a.m. Friday, they would have first dibs at their desired URL.

Although Facebook spokesman Larry Yu said the URLs were not saved for just technology writers, the practice sparks an ethical debate when it comes to journalists.

"I think you can certainly look at it as a perk that kind of falls under the freebie category," said Jon Roosenraad, who taught media ethics at the University of Florida for almost 30 years. "Nobody gives you anything unless they expect something in return."

Scott Duke Harris, a staff writer and columnist for the "San Jose Mercury News" who covers Facebook, received an e-mail Thursday offering him the chance to reserve "ScottHarris" early. He accepted the invitation so it will be easier for readers to find his articles online.

"I feel a little funny about it," Harris said. "But then you’re like, 'What’s the big deal? What’s the harm?' This sort of personal branding might be a good thing."

As for reserving the names of bigger companies, it was less of an infringement issue and more of an experiment, Yu said. Companies Facebook had a past advertising relationship with, such as Ford Motor and Outback Steakhouse, were allowed to reserve their names early to see if there was even an interest in personalizing URLs.

"We thought that was fair because the people we are talking to are those we have a relationship with and are in the public eye," he said.

Yu wouldn’t disclose how many companies or individuals received their URLs early, but said it was a small percentage. He doesn’t think users will be upset if their desired name is gone early, because there are many other ways they can identify themselves, he said.

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The service is also a positive for Facebook, Yu said. Making it easier for users to find friends will increase interest in the site, which will in turn draw more advertisers to invest in it, Yu said.

Competitor MySpace has allowed users to identify themselves with a vanity URL since its official launch in January 2004, and more than 90 percent of its active users have created them, said Amy Walgenbach, the company’s manager of communications. When MySpace launched the feature, it gave no preference to journalists or to major companies, she wrote in an e-mail.

"We democratized the process and didn’t give favoritism to anyone," Walgenbach wrote.

© 2009 CNBC.com