Comments on: Brand Yourself/Your Business Not Facebook

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:28:48 +0000

I agree with Mark Krynsky about how it’s a little odd how companies advertise their facebook url’s in their TV commercials, and how in a way it is similar to advertising a page that you could setup on a geocities or some other free webpage service, that displays ads and other linked content that may be completely different from what you’re selling. It seems a little distracting and you end up sending a mixed message about who you are, and what you do.

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By: Your Brand & Then Facebook « IQMZ.com

Your Brand & Then Facebook « IQMZ.com — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:37:04 +0000

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By: Bas

Bas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:14:47 +0000

Actually, the post is not saying much that’s not common sense. I love zariat’s tips though.

By: zariat

zariat — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:45:02 +0000

best solution of all:
buy your domain name, then set up URL redirects from subdirectories:

mydomain.com/facebook
mydomain.com/myspace
etc…

then redirect them to your annoying long network URLs!
this also saves you if you want to change your network accounts later.

i recently posted this tip on my blog, with cut-paste code and instructions:
http://www.zariat.com/z/2009/05/17/diy-link-shortening-for-your-networks/

By: Barry Hurd

Barry Hurd — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:34:54 +0000

I completely agree with your statement that professionals need to have a destination URL that is branded across other mediums (business cards, e-mails, etc)

Years ago I was in the “first round” of domain sellers who focused on personal names in the domain space. Personally I’ve always been very fond of .COM as the primary focus, as too many folk are trained to expect .com extensions.

I don’t think it is a valid tactic to use Facebook as a destination. If you are looking at having a healthy online presence you need to have profiles on the major networks, but tactically you should focus them all to the site/presence that you control/own 100%

In regards to Facebook (or Linkedin/Twitter/Myspace/etc) you have NO IDEA what the terms of service are going to look like in six months or six years. Imagine having everyone you know looking at your Facebook profile in twelve months and having all the wonderful advertising x10.

If anyone is really interested in the name and online reputation space, I’m working on a private beta of a project at http://buzzprofile.com or folk can follow us at http://twitter.com/buzzprofile

Thanks for the good commentary everyone.

~Barry Hurd

By: Subhankar Ray

Subhankar Ray — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:06:05 +0000

I agree with the post. We have no control with twitter.com/my_brand. They can even kick us out anytime. It is lot harder to lose .com domain. That is why buying a franchise is more like buying a job not a business. Have a dream, create a brand, take action, and change the world. Also ADD approach [like Microsoft, msn to live to bing ] to brand does not work.

Subhankar Ray
AAfter Search

By: 25 Facebook Vanity URLs You Can’t Have | CenterNetworks

25 Facebook Vanity URLs You Can’t Have | CenterNetworks — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:33:55 +0000

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By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:18:03 +0000

As more people sign up for this Facebook vanity URL service, they want to have a unique identity. we will help them to verify their profiles for creating unique Facebook identity.Crederity, is a Inc., a web-based trust-building company that offers online identity and credential verification to people-powered companies. Visit Crederity.com to sign up for a free beta account or contact Crederity by e-mail at info@crederity.com for more information.

By: rakesh handa

rakesh handa — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:28:40 +0000

How very true, we should always BRAND ourselfs and our Business, I agree with thomas power.

By: Mark Krynsky

Mark Krynsky — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:47:28 +0000

As usual, great commentary Allen. I too am amazed at how many companies are embracing Facebook and relegating their branding to them. The biggest amazement to me is the recent trend of companies that display a Facebook url in their television commercials. I’ve seen this done by both VW and Vitamin Water this week.

I don’t get it. Perhaps they are doing this in a way to say “Hey, we’re hip” but I don’t think they realize the long term effects of that behavior. Perhaps it’s just a temporary test but I still find it very odd. Can you imagine if companies advertised a Geocities url back in the day? Blasphemy.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:00:15 +0000

agree – always get a .com