huh. my full name is already taken? doesn't seem very likely. i get a 404 when i check that shorturl, too. - MikeAmundsen

What happens when you sign in w/ your gmail address and go to http://www.google.com/profile...? - DeWitt Clinton

!ha! my gmail account has my (desired) shorturl. my google domain is the one that tells me it's already taken. hmm... - MikeAmundsen

http://www.google.com/profile... yumm, distributed social graph data. Maybe there should be a XFN/FOAF in these profiles? - Ray Cromwell

found a shorturl, bummed my g-domain can't 'take' shorturl from gmail account. oh, well. http://www.google.com/profile... - MikeAmundsen

http://www.google.com/profile... - mjc

dewitt, I think you should also claim /dewitt :) - Ray Cromwell

"Note this can make your Google email address publicly discoverable". This is my biggest gripe with Google Accounts. I should not have to share my contact info to share my activity. - Daniel Sims

Daniel, got you covered. You can opt in to using a hashed profile URL. Visit http://www.google.com/profile..., find "Profile URL" at the bottom, click "see other options", and select the hashed form instead. My opaque URL is: http://www.google.com/profile..., though I currently have that set to redirect to my name instead. - DeWitt Clinton

True, although theres no way I'm going to remember that! :) I'm also referring to other google services where you have to share your email (like Latitude). - Daniel Sims

Yay, I'm now http://www.google.com/profile... . - Meryn Stol

Daniel, you got a good point there... This is too easy for spammers... Sucks. - Meryn Stol

Maybe it should follow the same rules as Picasa Web Albums and allow you to pick another username too. - Tony Ruscoe

Nowadays I assume that the spammers already have my email address or they'll find it via simple auto-generation or dictionary lookups. I depend on good spam filters rather than obscurity. - Adewale Oshineye