June 13, 2009 111 Comments

Whats Not In a Name

chrisbrogan's facebook page

I changed my Facebook profile URL today as part of their new Vanity URL program. I changed it to www.facebook.com/dotchrisbrogan. There was a purpose behind what I did. I was interested in pointing out that the URL is not the gold.

Yes, search marketers and SEO professionals everywhere just wrote me off.

I get that there are some SEO benefits to having certain URLs. I get that people will naturally choose to search in the url bar by putting my name. I understand that people looking for me will find someone else if they put in facebook.com/chrisbrogan.

But the characters in a URL bar are not me. The map is not the territory. The ship isn’t what brings the treasure.

This might or might not bite me badly, but I’m testing a point. Everyone else who voiced concerns on Twitter this morning are banking that Facebook is that important to my online presence and success that by choosing a different name, my entire brand will come crashing down around me.

It’s never about the sites and services. Never forget that. YOU add value to them, not the other way around.

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  • http://ariwriter.com Ari Herzog

    This is a good point, Amrita. Perhaps Chris would be willing to 301 redirect chrisbrogan.com to something like pirateleader.com as further proof that the URL characters do not define the person. But would he? Hrm…

  • http://TheCrazyMusicLady.com/ TheCrazyMusicLady

    I'm just confused on why use the dotchrisbrogan for the facebook url, but then turn around and post it on your website that you made this change. It seems like that voids the control group of your experiment here.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I use a Mac. What made you think otherwise?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    It's not an experiment. It's a statement.

  • http://TheCrazyMusicLady.com/ TheCrazyMusicLady

    Gotcha.. Just seemed like double advertising about a statement that you don't need advertising.

  • http://Twitter.com/Ed Pissed off Ed

    I'm not. I'm not banking this whatsoever:

    “Everyone else who voiced concerns on Twitter this morning are banking that Facebook is that important to my online presence and success that by choosing a different name, my entire brand will come crashing down around me.”

    My point was that you added a hurdle for anyone searching for you, specifically any of the hundreds of millions of FB users who are comfortable LOOKING for a PERSON this way.

    The URL isn't you. The Facebook page isn't you.
    If they're searching for you, let them find you!
    You still get to choose who and what the 'you' consists of.

    All you're really doing is choosing to give Google and edge over
    Facebook. Fine if it's a specific strategy.
    Then why not fuck up your Twitter name? Youtube?

    Hell the name of this blog?
    It's the content of the posts that matters right?
    Or is it in fact okay with you if you let people something
    extaordinary and sophisticated like say, a NAME to associate the
    flow of valuable thoughts give instigate a community,
    and present a shingle to the customers for whom you are perfect?

  • http://Twitter.com/Ed Ed

    PS- What a bunch of lemmings the commenters were this time!

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    And you're pissed off about a choice I made about a website.

    Oh look. You're making my point.

    Investing in any of these services — any of them — more than you invest in the actual effort of business success is a chump move. This idea of mine this morning was a statement I intended to make and I did it.

    You know where to find me. If my move somehow sheds tens of thousands of potential new community members, I guess you'll be right.

    But does facebook give a shit about that? They cap me at 5000.

    Piss all you want, Ed. You've called me wrong 4 times so far since knowing me and I seem to keep moving onward and upward. If that's wrong, I'm hoping that I keep pissing you off.

  • http://dannybrown.me/ Danny Brown

    Wouldn't the statement have been just as effective by leaving the standard Facebook number URL as your link? No mention of Chris Brogan at all, so even less to worry about search, SEO, online visibility, etc? Can't be any less “gold” than being just another number.

  • http://blog.eyeviewdigital.com EyeView

    Struggling to see the point here, I'm afraid. Facebook operates a perfectly adequate search as long as your name isn't John Smith and linkshrinkers obviate the need for vanity URLs.

    If you really mean the point you are trying to make wouldn't it have been better served by doing nothing?

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara/ Lvadgal

    Facebook is a great tool for those that are reconnecting with old friends and for many another way to expose your business. While I think it may hang around for a while like Suburban Oblivion said, there will be someone else.

    The vanity url for FB was good attention grabbing promotion that did yield results for them. The period or no period proved to be pointless as if you missed having a period it did not matter as once you had the name period or not, the results were the same (for once missing a period is uneventful).

    In the grand scheme of it all, generally people search for names and not necessarily the URL. If people are searching for you are they are ever going to think hmmm what would chris brogan's url be on facebook. Although, I may be suprised by that.

    I do admit that I fell into the hype and did get my name. Being an uncommon name, I knew there was unlikely competition as here is only 1 other suzanne vara that I know of and she recently retired.

    Regarding the SEO aspect, wouldn't your name come up anyway if someone was searching it? Would the dotchrisbrogan have that much of an impact?

  • http://www.pimpyourmarketing.com ChrisDonaldson

    Agreed. One never knows.

  • http://blownmortgage.com morganb

    The tools and technologies will always change. That I can guarantee. The people, the connections, the important stuff in life, will always be important, no matter what platform – from a neighborhood bar, to a classroom, to the Web, to a phone, to who-knows-what – facilitates it.

  • http://seanrasmussen.com/ Sean Rasmussen

    Well done Chris. We both know that people are more important than SERPS. People come to your blog because of you.
    I get your point and commend you for making it.
    Sean aka Bullhunter

  • http://www.ledscreenchina.com/ Alex

    I agree with your point .But i still like my vanity URL…facebook.com/yourhome …Haha.

  • http://www.ledscreenchina.com PerfectoAlex

    I did it like yours .but nothing found http://www.facebook.com/myhome……….true ? …

  • janschwartz

    I follow you on Twitter everyday and your blog comes to my email–I've never been to your FB page. And if I wanted to go there I would find it on your blog. I wonder what would be on FB that you don't already have on Twitter or your blog?

  • http://johnhaydon.com johnhaydon

    Chris,

    I completely agree. And Google probably agrees too. Remember, their goal is to serve up the best and more relevant content, based on the user's search.

    I kick ass, you kick ass – not keywords.

    John

  • http://johnhaydon.com johnhaydon

    Chris,

    I completely agree. And Google probably agrees too. Remember, their goal is to serve up the best and more relevant content, based on the user's search.

    I kick ass, you kick ass – not keywords.

    John

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  • http://twitter.com/calgreg greg cryns

    I've read only a couple of the comments but perhaps you addressed this already, Chris.

    I've long had an issue with the value of a name in a URL. I agree with you that if your brand is strong enough, people will find you. Not only that, but the Internet is now much more about clicking hot links than typing a phrase into the URL bar of a browser.

    However, I get the feeling that the other Chris Brogan (how many can there be?) had already taken your name at FB. I think when you would have chosen the more familiar Vanity name but when you saw it was unavailable, then the wheels started turning?

    With FB capping at 5,000, yes, it is not that important because you can easily drive a lot of people quickly to your FB Profile. But what if FB increases that limit in the future?

    I had the same problem with my Vanity FB. My son took “gregcryns” so I was left with “greg.cryns” so I took that.

    It's nice to have this sort of problem and live to tell about it, isn't it?

  • http://www.reachpersonalbranding.com williamarruda

    Theis new development at Facebook is really important to your personal branding. For those who don't have their own web site, having a 'vanity url' like this is important – just as http://www.linkedin/in/YOURNAME is important. I have many clients who use their LinkedIn account as their personal web site while they build their own home on the World Wide Web.

    Best.
    William
    http://www.williamarruda.com

  • http://billcammack.com/ Bill Cammack

    It's not going to have any effect on your brand, because you're ChrisBrogan on a lot of social media sites already, including the most important, IMO, which is chrisbrogan.com. Articles that you wrote online or that mention you link back to chisbrogan.com as well, so your home base remains intact.

    It's just that it looks bad.

    It looks like some relatively unknown “Chris Brogan” from Glasgow beat you to your name, when we all knew for days the exact day and time that FB vanity urls were going to be available.

    Is that going to matter to someone that's familiar with your track record and achievements in social media? I don't believe so.

  • partywedo

    I just changed the Facebook URL thing so that I could keep the new brand consistent. Consistency is critical to growing a following for a new product or service.

    The ChrisBrogan brand is well established and has many touch points that direct searchers to find you.
    Facebook is just one of many branding opportunities that you have been using to build your name. If it is there and available, I say use it while it lasts.

  • http://greghuntoon.com greghuntoon

    I think that it's funny for people to think that “your brand will come crashing down around [you]” because of this. You haven't had the Facebook vanity URL in the past, and things have worked out just fine. Unless your audience somehow stops listening and connecting with you in all of the various ways that they have so far – which is obviously ludicrous – this is going to have a nominal effect, if any.

    I applaud you for making the point. I enjoy the risk you've taken here, though clearly, I just don't see it as a big risk, like your detractors have suggested.

  • http://www.hanifinloyalty.com/ billhanifin

    Chris,

    I'm glad that someone of your stature will stand up and remind us that it's not about the technology, but what people do with it. We have a saying in Loyalty Marketing “Technology enables, but imagination wins”.

    I also think that the goldrush for anything to do with Facebook is only going to have payback when they open up to the search engines. Otherwise, it is just pure fun and pure vanity.

  • Witty

    This is hilarious.

    The real reason you didn't take your name is because it WAS NOT available! Some dude scooped it up right at 12:01am. We were all having a good laugh during the mashable chat.

    But it's funny you make it sound like you didn't take your name on purpose – as if it was some well thought out plan. After all, its not about you, right?

  • http://jessicaknows.com/ Jessica Smith – JessicaKnows

    Chris, I kind of agree with you on this.

    I was thinking at 11pm on Friday night how tired I was and that I SHOULD be staying up to get my Facebook profile name.

    First, I'll say I'd be going for JessicaKnows instead of JessicaSmith because someone took that latter url a long time ago, and I consider JessicaKnows more what people identify with.

    Which got me thinking…if someone Googles me by inputting “Jessica Smith” they're going to get the girl from Laguna Beach that got a DUI, the girl from Survivor who also goes by Flicka, and a few other people that happen to have the same name, doing pretty cool things, but who aren't me.

    So, if someone HAD gotten my vanity url of JessicaKnows and people found it, and they decided to do unsavory things with it, it'd be clear to most that it was merely a squatter and not me.

    Why?

    Because, like a lot of us, my name is part of the fabric of who I am. People know my name, but what's more important, is that there is a set of traits, feelings, and value that people associate with my name. And if someone else takes my name and tries to change those, they're going to have a hard time, because those belong to me.

    And really it's those traits, feelings a name evokes, and value that makes BRANDING what it is.

    I'm debating whether or not I need to race to get 1000 fans for my Fan Page by June 28 to claim that Facebook url. But I think I'm just going to sit tight. After all, I already own that Facebook page http://facebook.jessicaknows.com …so in a way I've already taken ownership of my fan page, the question is, I guess, will it matter if someone tries to take ownership over it too?

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com/ Mack Collier

    Chris did you get this name on purpose, or was it cause http://www.facebook.com/chrisbrogan wasn't available? I saw Chris Penn tweeting that someone else had your name, and if they cyber-squatted it that's lame beyond belief, but a story for another day.

    Ultimately, I think the URL you chose is actually more consistent with your branding as someone that's experimenting with these tools, and sharing the results you find. So it might be an SEO loss, but I think it's a 'personal branding' win for you.

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  • http://www.kaaslaw.com/ Bad Chris Brogan

    HA HAA HAAAA. SOMEONE TOOK HIS NAME AND HE'S TRYING TO SPIN IT. LMFAO.

    Yeah, look at me, I'm trying to be “different”. Look at me I'm making a “point”.

    Please, spare us. How stupid would it be if a company like say … oh … I don't know …. GM tired to male a “point”. They went with the name dotGeneralMotors. Way to annoy your customers.

    Dumbass

  • http://jeffkorhan.com Jeff Korhan

    The map is not the territory. I like that. For me, I like sameness with my urls just so I can remember the darn things!

    Beyond that, it's all about where we want to go. And who is going to be on that journey with us. If we do what we do well, the everything usually works out, doesn't it?

  • http://www.kaaslaw.com/ Bad Chris Brogan

    Would you look at that …. someone else does have http://www.facebook.com/chrisbrogan

  • http://billcammack.com/ Bill Cammack

    Actually, Mack. You're right about Chris Penn posting about this on twitter at 12:08am EST (7 minutes after vanity urls became available):

    http://twitter.com/cspenn/status/2150094353

  • http://twitter.com/AronStevenson Aron Stevenson

    I don't think it matters that much either. Consider this, type in http://www.apple.co.uk and you would expect to get a page full of cool mac stuff. Well you don't, here in the UK it's apple.com/uk to get to the apple site. Most would just google it anyway.

    It's not a problem for apple and it won't be a problem for Chris Brogan either.

    I'm sure all this publicity has actually been very positive for Chris. Those that are unfamiliar with his work will be asking who's Chris Brogan and are google-ing him as we speak…. Remarkable :-)

  • http://www.loususi.com loususi

    good point Chris … you are NOT your profile on the social web … that's why i signed in a few days after the big Facebook vanity plate deal and register myself as 'cranksturgeon' … i just thought it sounded more interesting than my real name + i wanted to teach everyone out there a lesson in social site netiquette ;]

  • http://www.ireflectm.com CarlosHernandez

    Chris,

    Greetings from San Francisco and see you @jeffpulver 's “140 Characters” this coming week.

    You have chutzpah to even try what you did.

    :-)

  • http://www.wendysoucie.com/ wendy soucie

    Chris, Thanks for reminding everyone that social media is about people. We so quickly lose site of that very point as the push to monetize everything is nipping at our heals.

    Digging into the core of any issue requires you to find the people and influencers. And your right, those of us who want to follow you will exactly know the name change you made and we will retweet and talk about it on our own blogs and on all our social media places/spaces
    http://www.facebook.com/wendy.soucie

  • http://www.desivibe.ca/ Billy J

    I disagree with that, this post just puts a positive spin on folks who weren't able to get their urls. Easy as that. There are hundreds of quality posts out there but no one knows about them because the sites aren't optimized and no one can remember their URL.

    Lots of “FREE” academic papers are hidden away within the non-optimized .edu domains.

    Sad post Chris. There is only so much you can put a positive spin on. You lost the url and now you are just making it seem like you did it on purpose. You do post quality material but this one isn't on par with it.

  • http://detroit.fwix.com Jamie Favreau

    I couldn't get the Jfavreau I wanted so I had to go with my name. I think it is great to have your name but at the same time. You have let everyone know how to find you here so I doubt it is going to make a big difference concerning you.

  • http://twitter.com/peterc Peter Cooper

    I took the same approach, but in a somewhat more “do or die” fashion ;-) My vanity URL is “can.kiss.my.ass” :)

  • http://twitter.com/SharonHayes Sharon Hayes

    I understand what you are getting at here Chris, but I think there is a definite benefit to using your actual name on Facebook as your URL. There are over 300 people with the same exact name as me on Facebook. I've had 2 old friends find me already since the vanity URLs came out – both said they took a shot I got my name and were right. For that alone, it showed it was worth it.

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  • http://www.garydavispresents.com/ Gary

    Chris I love your move. I do speeches on networking. One of the things I preach is that knowing where to put your nametag or having a great elevator speech is so much less important than being interesting and valuable. Even if you don't give out your card, people who like your game will find you.

    And by the way, your posts are very valuable to me. No matter what fb name you used, I would find you

  • http://www.nextgenfundraising.com/ Kristiana

    Greetings Chris and Friends-

    I believe there is no need for the custom FB URL if you have branded yourself well enough. Chris, everyone in this field knows who you are, therefore having the “dotchrisbrogan” will probably be completely irrelevant in searching for you…people have MANY other ways of finding you on the net that contain links to your FB page. I am almost positive that certain national brands will experience the same…

    However, the customized FB URL will probably incredibly helpful to people/businesses who are still in the early stages of branding themselves.

    I doubt your brand will come crashing down, but the “small guy” who pulls the same stunt probably won't experience the same result.

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  • http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/ Kathy Breitenbucher

    Awesome – you are so right and thank you for going against the current thinking because you hit it on the head.

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  • http://www.wchingya.com wchingya

    Maybe the FB vanity URL day has been slightly over-exaggerated. As much as we are encouraged to secure own digital identity, Chris, you did make a good point: it's not the Name/Site, but that person's value and how he/she carries him/herself that shapes the branding. Username is a representative, it could be altered, modified, changed… but it's the personality that stays and makes us different.

    @wchingya
    social media/blogging

  • http://www.christinakatz.com/ Christina Katz

    You said:

    “It’s never about the sites and services. Never forget that. YOU add value to them, not the other way around.”

    I could not agree more. Similarly, I never get hung up on taking on the identity of the technology I use. For example, I blog, I tweet, I use Facebook…but I used Myspace too. I didn't get overly attached to it. I have a blast connecting with other writers on Facebook, but would we all go somewhere else if the digs were nicer? I'm thinking we would. Because it's a technology, not a person.

    We are still humans, right? That means people get addicted. They confuse the medium for the message.

    I'm much more interested to know what's your message than what medium you are using to spread it.

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