Facebook to launch new username feature

MySpace is upfront about its profiles: each user’s Web page must be as conceited and self-idolized as possible. From the backgrounds, to their Myspace song, to the unique usernames, like Phillygrrrl93, every profile is completely customizable. And while stalking its enemies, Facebook decided it, too, would creep toward more personalization, according to its official blog.

Every profile on Facebook is given a randomly assigned number, such as ID=593483872. The fact that it is random doesn’t make it all intuitive or user friendly because nobody remembers this number to use it as a way to search for people.

To make profiles more personal, Facebook will allow users the option to substitute their ID number for an identifiable username. The option will go into effect Saturday, and will help people to “have an easy-to-remember way to find you;” in other words, make profiles easier to stalk and more accessible for Web engines. This, in turn, will give Facebook more hits. But once you choose your name, there’s no going back, so choose carefully!

Perhaps this moves Facebook another step closer toward the direction of MySpace, but why wouldn’t Facebook want to mirror its arch nemesis? While Faceboook’s 200 million users nearly double those on MySpace, Myspace in raking in the green. Facebook relies on 85 percent of its $250 million in revenue in 2008 from entirely advertisements.  MySpace, on the other hand, focuses on its ads, as well as the sales of ringtones, artist merchandise and other exclusive items, which earned the company roughly $755 million in revenue in 2008.

$1 gifts just are not going to cut the size of cake that Facebook should be eating.