Choosing a name (Starting a new blog - Part 2)

[From: Starting a new blog (Part 1)]

For me, choosing a blog name is often the hardest part in the process of creating a blog. When I started my first blog (i.e. this one), I spent 60 minutes coming up with a name. In fact, from the MICA course I conducted with my colleague some months ago, I've observed that it's the same with a lot of other people new to blogging.

NOTE: If you're just experimenting with blogs, just use any name. All three services mentioned (Blogger.com, Blogsome.com, Wordpress.com) allows you to delete your blog. Blogger has the advantage of allowing you to change the blog url (if new name has not been taken) and still retain your User ID.

All free blog sites require you to specify a unique user ID. At this time of posting, when you sign up for Wordpress.com and Blogsome.com, your User ID is automatically set as the blog url. Only Blogger.com allows you to specify your User ID and keep it different from your blog url (because they allow you to create multiple blogs under the same ID -- could be considered an advantage over the other two).

I usually think of more than one name before I start registering for the service -- so that I don't get stuck at the PC, or make a hasty name up, when my first choice is unavailable. But as much as you plan, it might still be a long drawn process (as I found out this time round).

This time, my choosing a blog name involved a conversation with my wife:

Me: What name shall I name my new blog?
Wife: What is it for?

Me: for my art related posts. Drawings & stuff. How about "Ramblingart", "Ramblingartist", or "Ramblinglibrarianart"?
Wife: Why do you have to use the word "rambling"?

Me: To maintain an association of sorts with "Rambling Librarian".
Wife: (Didn't say anything but her face shows she's not convinced...)

Me: So... how about "artofivanchew"?
Wife: Sounds boring.
Me: Then it's perfect. That's exactly like me!

So with some names in mind, I went over to Wordpress.com and successfully registered "artofivanchew". Then toyed around with adding a short blurb for my profile, templates, generally exploring the admin module.

But somehow the name didn't feel right.

I'm an advocate of plain-sounding blog names (i.e. don't use bombastic words; choose something that is a common search phrase). But the more I considered "artofivanchew", it didn't cut it. Sounded too pretentious to me. Too formal. Too restrictive (I plan to feature art-related stuff of other people too).

I thought of a few other names: IsItArt.xxx.com, I-Did-This.xxx.com... hmm, only so-so.

And then it hit me!

I'd written a short "About Me" blurb which included the phrase "for my right-brain pursuits". I wrote that down on paper: myrightbrain.wordpress.com -- Perfect!

Made alot of sense too. I intend to include more than just drawings in this new blog; it's going to be an outlet for all things that I define as "creative"; it's flexible enough to include future expansion of categories; it's informal sounding but not too bombastic; it sounds just clever enough to be consistent with the creative aspect but not too pretentious...

So there it is -- myrightbrain.wordpress.com

My next steps would be to add an About page (which I've done so already), choose a template (also done) and some other "behind the scenes" stuff.

[Next: Part 3]