Naming my blog was not easy. My old blog, iPioneer, was conceived of at the gym with my good friend Scott. When I finally realized that people identified me more with my blog name than my God-given name, I decided it was time to can the mediocre, sweat-inspired. Really, what the Hell is an iPioneer? Sounds like some awful Web 1.0 fizzle. After iPioneer, this blog survived briefly as "philosophygeek," since it's been my handle on Yahoo for years. But, alas! I discovered that this goofy remnant from college just seemed even goofier when put up in big letters.
In conversation the other day, I accused my friend Josh of "deliberate ambiguity." He asked me whether I was commanding him or describing his behavior. The light bulb went on: what a perfect name for a blog! The name (itself) is ambiguous. It could be a command: "Deliberate ambiguity!" It could be referring to the nature of the posts themselves. And, as Josh further pointed out, I could be arguing for the de-liberation of ambiguity. And ain't that what search is trying to do? I hope I don't get sick of this name after 2 weeks this time =)
As an effort to prevent iPioneers of the future, here are a few simple things to think about when you're naming your blog:
- Your blog name is forever (think Google cache)
- Your blog name will be associated with you (whether you like it or not)
- What's funny now may not be in a couple of months (choose for longevity)
- You can always start a new blog (but there are switching costs)
- Make it yours (own whatever you choose)
- It's not the name, it's what you write (most important)
With those in mind, here are some simple naming schemas to help you generate a list of possible names:
- Claim your god-given name -- You may not be famous now, but you might be someday. If you already got it goin' on, why not seize your slice of cyberspace, a la Seth Godin. If you're gonna get it goin' on in the future, go for it, like my friend Jason Bentley.
- Enhance your god-given name -- Your name probably isn't available, especially if you're a boring guy like "Mark Johnson." Thus, your name is calling for enhancement. A good example of this is PhotoMatt, who remains the number one Matt in Google. See also Scobleizer or GigaOM.
- Use self-deprecating humor -- if you're semi-famous (or even not famous at all) why not poke fun at yourself? Some good examples in this category are Henry Blodget's Internet Outsider (poking fun at his Bubble predictions at Merrill Lynch) and The Assimilated Negro (no comment necessary)
- Choose a witty phrase -- it's sort of like naming a band. The blogsphere is seething with names like Rough Type, Signal vs. Noise, and, dare I say, Deliberate Ambiguity.
- Go geek -- I'm sure there are many others like this. Check out coworker Josh's blog: Has Many: Through, which is some kind of Ruby joke. Uh huh.
- Just tell us what you do -- advertising should be clear and direct, right? Try out something like Just WriteComparisonEngines.com
- Go crazy -- when all else fails, just pull out all the stops and pick something memorable and whacked. Tara Hunt's HorsePigCow truly is Marketing Uncommon.
If you have canonical examples of the above, please leave them in the comments below. Or, if you know of an archetype that I've missed, let me know and I'll add it.
