Getting Your Facebook URL

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It felt like we were all waiting for a land grab as we anticipated the moment Facebook direct URLs would become available. I knew I was going to be on the road driving across Alaska without cell signal so arranged for one of my Conversify team members to log into my account and claim my name. Score!

http://www.facebook.com/alizasherman

I'm not sure why I felt so nervous about getting my name. There aren't many Aliza Sherman's out there but there are at least two that I know of because. I've corresponded with the one in New Jersey now and then. We were drawn together by the curiosity of both of us having the same rather unique name (Aliza Sherman is my maiden name and her married name).

That other Aliza Sherman told me that when her friends and family search for her on the Web, links for me are always coming up instead. I can't imagine how that must feel although the times that her blog comes up when I do a Google vanity search, I do feel a tiny twinge of disappointment that another Aliza Sherman shows up when I'm searching for myself.

Every so often, I come across another Aliza Sherman. I haven't been in touch with her yet, but probably will someday, drawn again by that odd "You have my name" feeling and just thinking we should connect at some point.

I feel a touch of guilt that I claimed Aliza Sherman for my Facebook profile, but it was "first come first served," right?

Deciding what name to claim on Facebook for my profile took a moment to strategize. Should I claim "Aliza" instead of Aliza Sherman? It would be shorter. When I used to work in the music business, I went by one name. I'd joke "Just Aliza, like Madonna" and figured it was hard enough to remember how to pronounce my name correctly so a last name would just be distraction. (It is Uh LEE zuh, for the record).

I thought maybe I should claim my married name, but I've spent the last several years post marriage trying to rebrand myself as...myself, that is, to return to Aliza Sherman after a year of screwing up my Google and Amazon.com searchability by adding my married name and then using only my husband's last name for a while. Men should realize how changing one's name after marriage can wreak havoc on a woman's personal brand.

So I guess that, without gloating, I should feel good about getting the name Aliza Sherman on Facebook because I understand the value of a brand name, the importance of findability, and the need for consistency. I think I did the right thing.

Did you get your name - or the name you wanted on Facebook today?

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