Jim Dougherty is not unique: How Google Plus vanity URLs kind of stink



Contributing Writer
Photo: Zack Credit: Gary Scott


Jim Dougherty,  acquiesce!

Notice anything about this URL: plus.google.com/+britneyspears?  It’s a vanity URL for Google Plus.  David Angotti of Search Engine Journal reports that some verified accounts on Google Plus (like Britney Spears – the #1 ranked person on Google Plus by number of followers) currently have these vanity URLs.  He also revealed that Google intends to roll these URLs out in the not-so-distant future.  This means that the days of being a nebulous string of random numbers are in their end days.  Google Plus names are no longer equal.

You might think that with a name like Jim Dougherty it would be a foregone conclusion that I would be able to secure my Google Plus vanity URL.   You would be wrong.  My name is actually quite common – with the advent of Google I’ve found that I am not at all unique.  I thought my dad and I were the only people sharing our name, but it turns out if you have a Dougherty boy, there’s a good chance you will name him James.  And if you name him James, he’ll probably prefer to be called “Jim.”

Consider the stiff competition that I face for the (coveted) +jimdougherty Google Plus vanity URL:

Jim Dougherty – Entreprenuer in Residence, Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT)

Jim Dougherty – Photographer based out Washington D.C.

Jim Dougherty – Actor, Director and Stunt Coordinator

Jim Dougherty - Texas Lawyer and Politician

Jim Dougherty – Major League Baseball Pitcher 1995-1999

Jim Dougherty – Pennsylvania Lawyer

Jim Dougherty - Famous bowhunter and author

Jim Dougherty – Seattle Real Estate Agent

Jim Dougherty - Insurance adjuster based in Oklahoma

Jim “Doc” Dougherty - Music Engineer active in 70s, 80s

Jim Dougherty - Quarterback for the University of Missouri Tigers 1997-1999

Jim Dougherty - Marilyn Monroe’s first husband (deceased)

James Dougherty – Medal of Honor winner (deceased)

 So if one day you are surfing Google Plus (as many us are so often prone to do), and you come across my profile “+jimdougherty12345″ – you’ll know that one of my esteemed dopplegangers beat me out.  I’m fine with that.

If you can’t find some humility on Google Plus, where can you find it?

Photo Credit

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

Writer and chief of miscellany at leaderswest.com

I aspire to give people something to think about rather than tell them what to do. My favorite Google Alert is “social media research,” I am increasingly compelled by Gen Z, and I appreciate good writers agnostic of where they write. At one time I was Kred’s 12th most influential social media blogger and Klout’s most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff. Transplant from Seattle living in Cincinnati. Haven’t entirely adopted the local sports teams yet.

Jim Dougherty

@jimdougherty

Writer about social media and tech at Leaders West, I also tweet as @leaderswest.

Infographic: How to demoralize an aspiring social media marketer http://t.co/recxYd039z – 7 hours ago

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

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  • http://www.giglogo.com Karla Campos

    Yes that is definitely some competition you have going there, would it be wrong to say that at least the deceased Jims can’t claim the url, yeah that is def wrong to say lol

  • http://www.douglaserice.com/ Douglas E Rice

    That’s why my online persona is “Douglas E Rice,” whereas people in real life call me, “Doug Rice.” Too many “Doug Rice”s to compete with. Maybe I should just legally change my name to something bizarre so that I’m guaranteed a top spot on Google. That wouldn’t be going overboard, would it?

  • jimdougherty

    I don’t think it would be a big deal if you wanted to be unique, but it might be a bit rash to do for Google Plus! :) Thanks for reading and commenting, Doug!

  • jimdougherty

    Thanks Karla, I would have thought so too but Marilyn Monroe’s first husband had the domain jimdougherty.com for quite a long time after he died, so I imagine he would be my biggest posthumous competition. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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