You only get to choose your username once, and it cant be changed or transferred, so you MUST choose wisely.

On the Facebook blog:

Username selection is now live at http://www.facebook.com/username/. Remember, choosing a username is optional and will give you a distinct Web address for your profile. It will not change the name that appears on your profile, in search or elsewhere on the site.

Facebook go on to say:

Your new Facebook URL is like your personal destination, or home, on the Web. People can enter a Facebook username as a search term on Facebook or a popular search engine like Google

This is pretty interesting, as FB is a really powerful domain name, it could be great to have a keyword or phrase as your username for one of your Facebook pages, or even your own username. Surely it will display a URL from Facebook in the search results for that term somewhere, and any little bit helps right. Even if the username pages are not any help for google searches, time will tell if it will help with internal searches on Facebook, and hey, if you give out your profile to clients, wouldnt it be cool if they could see your product/services etc in the name, more professional I think.

Usernames allow public entities to easily promote your presence on Facebook with a short URL (http://www.facebook.com/companyname). This username can be used in your marketing communications, company website and business cards.

I was able to get: facebook.com/searchengine.optimization.expert for myself, so I can now give that out for my personal profile. I also have loads of Facebook pages, and tried securing names for them, but was not able to for all. At the moment, FB knows there are going to be loads of people trying to secure names for their pages, so they have set limits.

The limits are temporary, and are to allow pages with more than 1000 fans, that were created before 31 May 2009, to get first dibs.

Check out the rules here: http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=900

If you are new to Facebook, you will only be able to choose a username for yourself on or after June the 9th, 2009.

So….get cracking! Go out and secure your names, using the keywords that you want to be found with….let me know what you choose.

Benjamin Ling from Facebook had this to say (Benjamin is the Director of Platform Program Management at Facebook):

“By surfacing more recent and relevant information, and by cleaning up and simplifying the site, we think the new Facebook makes it even easier to connect and communicate with your friends.”

To see the new layout, you can test it out by clicking the link which should now appear on the top left of your browser when you are logged in on Facebook.com. If you don’t see that link, try going here: http://www.new.facebook.com/

I am glad it has finally changed, the site has been in need of a re-vamp for a while, and the new look is a breath of fresh air.

According to Mark Slee (the Product Manager for the new profile):

“The Wall now surfaces the most recent and relevant information—in the form of posts of stories—about you. We believe that having a constant stream of information, or “feed” is the most effective way to learn about and keep up with friends. Just as News Feed helps you know what is happening in your social circle, you can use the Wall as a way to give your friends the full story of what’s happening with you.

A big piece of the Wall is the Publisher, which enables you to publish content—photos, notes, your status, and so on—directly to your Wall. The Publisher works with most applications so that you have one place to go to add content to your own profile or to a friends’.

The profile is very personal; it’s important to us that everyone have control over their own profile. Along those lines, once you’ve published stories or posted content, you can adjust the size to promote the things you care about most, and demote the stories you don’t find as interesting.

One of our key goals of this project has always been to make the site simpler and cleaner. The new tabbed profile should help a lot in this respect, breaking your information into tabs by type. The Wall tab displays most recent and relevant information both about you and by you. The Info tab shows information about you that doesn’t change frequently. The Photos tab shows photos of you as well as your albums. The Boxes tab features all of your existing application boxes. You’re also able to add tabs for your favorite applications.”

There is NO obligation to buy anything, put down a deposit, or anything, its great!

A bit about the application…Its called the Visa Business Network, and is designed to help your business succeed.

Who is VISA?

Visa Inc. operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries.

If you havent seen a VISA logo, then you have been living under a rock somewhere for many years!

Why add this application?

Connect with other small business owners, learn ways to manage your business more efficiently, and grow by reaching the millions of potential customers on Facebook.

It’s free to join and easy to use. Sign up now to redeem your $100 in targeted Facebook advertising, and start connecting.

Use The Visa Business Network to:

GROW: With over 80 million users, Facebook is a great place to build your business. When you join the network, you get $100 to create targeted advertising and reach potential customers on Facebook.

CONNECT: The Visa Business Network connects you with other small businesses. Share ideas, information, opinions, and knowledge with people going through the same things you are.

MANAGE: The Resource Center features exclusive content that gives you great ways to help you manage your business. Take advantage of articles, videos, and tips from top small business sources.

SO…you sold yet? You want that free $100 credit on Facebook?

Here, add this application and enjoy

http://apps.facebook.com/visabusiness