From the beginning of Facebook, people have used their real names to share and connect with the people they know. This authenticity helps to create a trusted environment because you know the identity of the people and things on Facebook. The one place, though, where your identity wasn’t reflected was in the Web address for your profile or the Facebook Pages you administer. The URL was just a randomly assigned number like “id=592952074.” That [changed at midnight ET].
[Facebook usernames] make it easier for people to find and connect with you. When your friends, family members or co-workers visit your profile or Pages on Facebook, they will be able to enter your username as part of the URL in their browser. This way people will have an easy-to-remember way to find you. We expect to offer even more ways to use your Facebook username in the future.
The Facebook staff expects everyone worried about securing their own name — or a hot one many want — to all sign on at the exact same instant, so they are preparing for maximum server availability.
Engineering and infrastructure teams have been running through various situations and are hoping for no disruption of service, but think some services might not load properly or be delayed. They’ll be up all night with full coffeepots and snack supplies.
The interface was a snap. They suggested four options. I picked the one I wanted and it was done. Friend me!