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Naming your new baby

Naming your new baby ActiveRain Blog... every one is doing it.. I like Jo Soss's name for her Bremerton Washington area blog, "Beyond Bremerton" ... Jo wants to see your new blog... I'll SHOW you MINE if you show me YOURS!!

Are you starting an ActiveRain "outside" blog? here's Brad Andersohn's instructions: ActiveRain Launches Outside Blogs -_How to Get Yours

Custom Domain Names

Are you using a custom domain name? .. you don't have to... in fact Brad wrote:

"You can also use custom domain names. (advanced users only) You must already own your own domain name."

Cheryl Johnson's got a post about the difficulties some are having with getting their custom domains up and running on their new "outside" blogs. AR Outside Blog Nameservers Beware... This is NOT an area where ActiveRain offers support.... and if Cheryl Johnson is not an advanced user I don't know who is.... but with a community like ActiveRain I know many will eventually have custom names on their ActiveRain "outside" blogs... people who never thought they'd have a new baby blog... miracle babies...

Blog Naming

In a discussion of naming our ActiveRain blog (our original ActiveRain blogs) for example this is Columbus Ohio real estate, back in January 2007 - What's in a name? I was inspired by some great blog names like Don Fabrizio-Garcia's "CT Scan" for Connecticut and Nancy Lohman's "Holy Toledo" for Toledo Ohio...

"Columbus Ohio real estate" is not a bad thing for me to show up on Google (and other search engines) for... but it sure is not as exciting as some other blog names.

In the January 2007 discussion of blog names Teri Lussier wrote about the idea of making up a name... oops no it was Teresa Boardman NOT Teri Lussier... I wonder why I remember it as Teri and not Teresa? Similar names? Midwestern real estate bloggers? Teresa wrote:

"Seth Godin, noted oh heck famous author says in his book "small is the new big" .... that for branding purposes made up names work really well like Zillow, Starbucks, and squidoo. You should name your blog something like winkroho, that way it will always come up in Goodle. Or you could name it 72sam, or pelmoo - well you get the picture now start thinking up names."

I think Teresa meant Google... anyone got the greatest new nonsense name for their "outside" blog? I just can't do it...

Choosing a domain name

Picking a domain name? What is important? I wanted a blog's domain name with real estate or homes in it but instead I have always gone for geography... and Columbus mixed with real estate and homes all seemed to be taken or so looooooooong....I own ColumbusOHHomes4Sale.com (on a Point2 website that I mostly ignore...) and that is too long to me...

>OK I named my new baby ActiveRain blog Discover Columbus OH... the domain I bought from GoDaddy.com is working, DiscoverColumbusOH.com I have been using Discover Columbus for my RealTown blog since January 2007 (previously named Columbus Best Blog) but did not buy the DiscoverColumbus.com domain and someone else did... then another local agent started using Discover Columbus on a blogger.com blog now too.

Unimaginative naming? That's me! I've named four blogs Columbus Best Blog... the survivor, my WordPress blog is named ColumbusBestBlog.com I read advice on NOT using blog in the domain name too late.

My baby's not ready for photos yet...

My problem is photos of my new baby or actually photos on my new baby ... I mean blog. I need a photo of Columbus that shows more than the tops of the buildings and sky and a photo of me.. I am not much for using photos of myself... so right now I have a photo of a map of Columbus...

What have you named your new "outside" blog? Have you bought a custom domain for your new blog? Are you using a domain name that is your name for your "outside" blog? Stealing this idea from Jo... show me your baby... or at least tell me your baby's name.

note this post IS not on my new "outside" blog...

Posted by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate on 06/29/2008 08:40 AM

Comments (21)

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21 Comments on Naming your new baby

Hey Maureen,

I'm trying to make decisions on mine. Decisions, decisions, decisions ...... What shall I do?

Sean Allen

06/29/2008 08:49 AM

by International Financing Solutions

"decisions, decisions" is right... yesterday I was ready to use the new domain (DiscoverColumbusOH.com) on my RealTown blog and buy another domain for my ActiveRain "outside" blog...and then I decided not to...

I almost went with Mid Ohio Homes or something like that? MidOhioHomes.com (?) but no one really calls Central Ohio "Mid Ohio" I remember noticing mid Ohio in real estate company names way back when... and I think mid Ohio would be bigger geographically than Central Ohio, although 3 letters shorter in a URL

Part of writing this is to set my decision in stone. I think. Unless I change my mind. Again.

International? Sean...the world is your oyster... (whatever that means) have you started an outside blog? Maybe the way some parents wait until the baby is born, some AR members will look at what they have as a basis for a blog and name it based on what it looks like? I have not been blogging Localism on AR for a long time... so my "outside" AR blog does not really look much like Columbus. I will be the first to admit that. Thanks for the comment and good luck w/ decisions.

06/29/2008 09:03 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

You said:

I tried and I am not as advanced as Cheryl. Nothing yet....

I had a domain I was not using in godaddy: AnnArborUndressed.

Yea, Larry knows, he wanted me to join their network, but it is too much money for me at this time.

06/29/2008 09:36 AM

by Missy Caulk Ann Arbor Realtor Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams Ann Arbor)

http://searchforhomesmdva.com/

06/29/2008 09:37 AM

by Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Real Estate

Thanks ladies for the comments. Thanks for the link Lenn your baby is pretty.

Missy... how much to join Larry in being undressed? I did not know there was a blogging nudist network... I might have named my blog Columbus Ohio Undressed... actually I probably would do Columbus Ohio all bundled up head to toe before I would do Columbus Ohio Undressed...

I was just on an Ann Arbor food blog. Do you know the Kitchen Chick?

06/29/2008 09:43 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Maureen, there has to be a plan for all of these blogs to make them all different, or else it could be diluting the efforts for each. As for the names, I understand they have to be key word rich domain names to be useful for searches. "Vanity" domain names are OK for branding, but not for the URL of the main blog. "Vanity" name could point to the key-word-rich-domain, but there should not be too many of such re-directs, or. I was told, Google could devalue your main domain.

It's probabaly all too complicated for most people on AR, including me:)

06/29/2008 09:51 AM

by Faina Sechzer - Princeton, Montgomery, Hopewell, NJ Real Estate Expert (Henderson-Sotheby's International Realty)

Maureen, I did the initial set up, but that is it so far. I have several domains that are being used right now so I will probably pick one of those.

06/29/2008 10:07 AM

by Steve Scheer - Denver Real Estate - Highlands Ranch Real Estate (RE/MAX Masters, Inc.)

Maureen, mine is now up and running. Yea...

http://AnnArborUndressed.com

I can't remember but somewhere around 1000.00 or more. Can't remember it was months ago when we spoke. I told him one night on twitter.

06/29/2008 10:34 AM

by Missy Caulk Ann Arbor Realtor Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams Ann Arbor)

my first post written for my new baby just disappeared.

Yeah Missy!

Steve... let us know when it is up.

Faina huh? over my head....

06/29/2008 10:37 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Maureen - My real estate website is www.FabRealEstate.com so my new outside blog URL is www.FabRealEstateBlog.com - I decided to keep it simple. The outside blog is up and running as of this morning. I guess slowly but surely they're getting them working.

My new Blog's name? Fab Real Estate Blog. Simple. Not as catchy as CT Scan, but a friend found that and thought I had a medical problem... I'll keep CT Scan on AR, but just FabRealEstate on the outside blog - Fab Real Estate is my brand. And, it makes people laugh when they realize no, I'm not conceited, it's just part of my name.

06/29/2008 11:16 AM

by Don Fabrizio-Garcia - Connecticut Real Estate & Appraisals (Keller Williams CT Realty)

Maureen, thanks for the mention. I hate picking names. My very first website back in the 90's was very original jososs.com . lol! Back then in my area it was all about the agent. When I left the business in 2003 I let it go. When I came back I spent days trying to figure out a name and this was before I even knew about blogging so I had no idea. My web is PugetSoundRealEstateToday.com and is a little long I think but is showing up on page one so whatever! My first blog was bloggingbremerton - now that is original huh? not! I decided to go .org on WP and bought a new name WestSoundLive.com and I like that. So for the AR outside blog I wanted something with real estate in the name because those always seem to work up the google page pretty quick. Anyway, I am still waiting on my domain to work - off to figure that out :)

06/29/2008 12:18 PM

by Jo Soss | Bremerton WA Real Estate (Skyline Properties, Inc.)

Ok, since I have seen so many people with the domain working I have to ask - in the AR outside blog screen where you check the "enable" box - does it matter if it has www in there? Should it be http://www.blahblah or just http://blahblah?

06/29/2008 12:39 PM

by Jo Soss | Bremerton WA Real Estate (Skyline Properties, Inc.)

I know I used non www

06/29/2008 12:47 PM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

I didn't use www either.

06/29/2008 12:52 PM

by Don Fabrizio-Garcia - Connecticut Real Estate & Appraisals (Keller Williams CT Realty)

I didn't either and then I changed it - dang - so now I am changing it back. Hey if you type in Beyond Bremerton Real Estate it is on the first page - lol!! just with no domain!!

06/29/2008 12:54 PM

by Jo Soss | Bremerton WA Real Estate (Skyline Properties, Inc.)

Ok, mine is up at www.DenverCORealEstateSource.com

I am having some image problems but that will have to wait for tomorrow. Everyone's is looking good.

07/02/2008 01:02 AM

by Steve Scheer - Denver Real Estate - Highlands Ranch Real Estate (RE/MAX Masters, Inc.)

You know my image problems I had seemed to have disappeared on their own I went to bed one night after fussing with it, the next morning there was a screenshot of mine on Brad's post and one on Inman...

07/02/2008 06:11 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Good to know Maureen, maybe that will happen for me too.

07/02/2008 10:35 PM

by Steve Scheer - Denver Real Estate - Highlands Ranch Real Estate (RE/MAX Masters, Inc.)

I thought I would make my outside AR blog have a different focus. I own the domain name Condos Manhattan. I thought I would do a condo blog but all it really is is my activerain blog with a different name. The content is identical. I would prefer being able to have different content on different blogs.

07/03/2008 06:44 AM

by Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, New York, NY (Coldwell Banker Previews International)

I removed all of my talking to my peers from my outside blog... or a lot of it... I really should go back and look at how my outside blog looks.

It is OK to have multiple IDs on AR according to Rich or Bob... one of them commented about that on a post I did a couple of months ago...

07/03/2008 06:51 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

I'll have to play around with it some more. I guess we can never have too many blogs lol

07/03/2008 08:27 AM

by Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, New York, NY (Coldwell Banker Previews International)

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