First, I do not use Facebook at all, but I understand it. This is also a very interesting question to me, and it's really got me interested as I'm soon launching a social networking site that will be interesting in many ways. Of course that's my opinion, but I was intending on launching the site with a vanity URLs, and now I'm surprised how much publicity they've gotten over this silly, one little, yet very important feature. I also realize how much actually could go into correctly or properly launching vanity URLs, as there could be much politics behind a vanity URL. When you think about it, there are so many possibilities to vanity URLs, and there are ones you do not want people having. For instance, you wouldn't want someone who is not a celebrity to get a vanity URL for a celebrity, simply because they are a fan. You wouldn't want a person to get a certain URL for a company who is not that company or affiliated with that company.

I think it's an important feature, but I don't understand why they waited this long to launch it. It's nothing new by any means. In fact Mahalo Answers has vanity URLs, or in simpler terms this is called a username.

Why do I think it's important?

1. You can add your unique username and associate with it across sites.
2. You can easily brand a company or product that you're affiliated with.
3. You can tell someone a way to connect with you, without having to give out your full name, etc. and have them link to your name.
4. It works your name or nickname into search engine optimization.

The drawbacks of vanity URLs.

1. You might not be able to get your name, (ie. what if you're Joe Smith or a common name)
2. Your real name or identity can be misleading.
3. It leads to squatting of names and potential issues with connecting people the way they were meant to be connected.
4. It lends itself to people creating silly names like ILiketoPartyingAllTheTime, which may be a drawback if you use your networking profile professionally in some capacity.

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