Having not used this feature were messages sent to your @facebook.com address delivered into your FB messages box? Or somewhere else? I would assume the former, which actually sounds like a nice feature until.... you remember that Facebook is a walled garden, which means that people who would see/have access to your @facebook.com address could just ...message you on Facebook.

This almost seems like a feature for non-FB users to get in touch with you via Facebook (while also obscuring your "real" address). I know the idea of "following" is a new-ish FB feature, but I wonder the timing of that was too late to give this feature any traction.