If you write down your Google+ URL for someone right now, it might look something like this: http://plus.google.com/109299348960895456083/.
Who the heck would bother memorizing that?
Thankfully such long number strings will soon be a worry of the past — because Google is gradually starting to roll out "vanity URLs" to users.
Saurabh Sharma — a Google product manager — explains in a Google+ post that the new URLS (which look something like http://google.com/+britneyspears or http://google.com/+toyota) are being offered to a "limited number of verified profiles and pages" first. Don't start stomping your feet if you don't fit that criteria though, because Sharma adds that "over time [Google plans] to offer custom URLs to many more brands and individuals."
No word as to how Google plans to let people call dibs on their preferred URLs just yet. For now, I'm assuming that snagging http://google.com/+rosa will involve either battling every Rosa in the world or baking cupcakes for every member of the Google+ team.
As an aside, it's worth noting that Sharma's announcement isn't actually the first time we're seeing custom URLs on Google+ profiles. Cartoonist Matthew "The Oatmeal" Inman — whose recent Internet-based charity fundraiser you may remember — has been the proud owner of this not-so-safe-for work URL for a couple of months, thanks to the Google+ team's sense of humor.
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