Facebook Vanity URLs or is it SEO Friendly Web Address
June 13, 2009
Facebook calls it vanity URL, I call it search engine friendly (or is it user friendly?) web address. This is referring to the news that Facebook is making it possible for their users to choose a user name that is five characters or more long to be their Facebook user name/url for example Facebook.com/odurinde instead of the automatically generate url of this authors Facebook page, which was quite long and contain lot of parameters. The new Facebook vanity url is much easier to remember both for visitors and when giving it out on the phone or via email
The vanity url kicked in on on Friday or to put it into Facebook exact words on the blog where it was announced “Starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 13, you’ll be able to choose a username on a first-come, first-serve basis for your profile and the Facebook Pages that you administer” . Keen facebook users were said to have sat by their computer to wait for the appointed time so that they can grab their new SEO friendly style facebook web address.
Though Facebook does not allow the transfer of one Facebook accounts from one user to another (without permission from Facebook) it is well know that Facebook account changes hands for money and sometime for love regularly. This new vanity url is set to fuel a Facebook version of domain squatting with desirable Facebook vanity url acquired by squatters who will then sell it on for money at a later date. Its like a domain land rush but confined to Facebook and its users.
If you want to switch and existing Facebook account to the new search engine friendly version, all you need to do if follow the prompt on your Facebook account once logged in and grab the name you want provided its still available. Existing account does not seem able to choose a name unrelated to the words in your current Facebook profile, you may have to register a completely new account with the keywords you desire to acquire a particular word you are after.
Will Russia get .rf domain extension?
June 12, 2008
Different interest groups are always calling for a new domain name extension, there has bee an long campaign by pornographers to .xxx , the Welsh for a .cymru , even Cornwall wants its own domain extension. Some of them have succeed, for example .cat for Catalonia region of Spain, .la for Los Angeles in USA.
The latest call for a domain name extension for a specific people or language comes from the new Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, who called for Russia to be assigned .rf domain extension (RF stands for Russian Federation), he does not want the .rf domain extension in English, but in Cyrillic.
Mr Medvedev is promoting Russian as a global language, he argued that 300 Million people worldwide uses Russian language media, having a .rf in Cyrillic will further help in raising the profile of Russian as a language used globally.
Join domain name discussions at UK WW
.uk domain tranfer now online
May 28, 2008
Transferring a .uk domain name has realised on a cumbersome paper based system for years. Today, the domain name authority for .UK domain name space, Nominet announce the paper based transfer system is being replaced by a modern online transfer system to make transfer or any of the domain name in the .uk name space such as .co.uk , .org.uk, .me.uk much easier and quicker to transfer.
According to Nominet ” The new registrant transfer process in online services will replace the current paper based system on 25 June 2008. The new transfer fee for the online system is £10+VAT, a significant reduction from the old fee for the paper based transfer which was £25+VAT.
Domain lookup right from your FF browser
March 28, 2008
The first step to searching for a new domain name or even finding whois or any other information about an existing domain name begins with a lookup. You have to go to a site with the desired domain lookup tool, then do a search. There is now a far easier way do do a whois search or any other domain name related searches, thanks to Richard Kershaw, who has created a domain lookup extension for Firefox browser.
Kershaw’s Firefox domain look up extension enables you to perform ‘one click’ domain searches at the site of your favourite registrar, right from your browser. The tool, once installed in your browser support keyboard shortcuts making the search process even faster.
You can find out more about this tool from Kershaw’s interestingly name website; quality nonsense, a direct link to the domain look up too can be found here.
Google make domain tasting unprofitable
January 26, 2008
Google is finally cracking down on the domain tasting gravy train, this is the practice where domain registrar takes advantage of the 5 days grace provided by domain name registry to delete registered domain name and get a refund of the domain registry fees.
Several companies are said to use (some will argue that its an abuse) this five day grace period by registering thousands of domain names, slap Adsense on the domain for that five day period generate lots of money and then cancel the domain name at the registry and get a refund plus make a killing on the Adsense clicks, one company was reported to have made over $3 million a month using this practice.
Its was reported that Google will be announcing that Adsense adverts may not be placed on domain name that are five days old or younger to stop the so called domain tasting abuse.
