An Overthinker Chooses a Blog Name

Finally, I get to the point where there are pockets of time to use for writing blog posts. I can start that blog that has been in my mind for such a long time! Wait, what will I call it? I tend to overthink things and this stalls me for more time than I care to admit.

In this era of self-branding, something as simple as a login name or a blog name become eminently important choices. After all, this is how you identify yourself in the digital world. It is how others will view and judge you. What if I choose a name that is too nebulous, that doesn’t effectively encompass the vision I strive to project? What if it is the same name as some creep on MySpace that I would never wish to be affiliated with? How do I choose a name that is not too playful, too serious, too bizarre, too cliché, too random? This is serious stuff.

OK, a little dramatic (I have a 6 year old daughter drama queen). However, these are valid concerns. If I wish to be taken seriously (and I do), then I need to adhere to some facts of life in the digital world for choosing a blog name:

1. Your blog name should be indicative of your vision without being incomprehensible
2. Do your homework to ensure someone hasn’t already chosen the name
3. Further your homework to ensure that the name isn’t associated with alternative lifestyle choices you are not comfortable with – what will a Google search of your blog name turn up?
4. Choose a name for the long term – plan for a future associated with your choice
5. Ask for help from your PLN (you have a strong PLN, right?)

Eventually, there were 3 contenders for my new blog name (Bold Think, Digital Daring, and Brave the Deep) and I made my first ever poll for Twitter. This was exciting stuff, I was on the move and things were finally happening! I put out the URL for my poll on my Twitter feed and got 11 votes! OK, 1 vote was mine, but 10 votes on my poll made me ecstatic. Getting feedback, even anonymously, from the global community validates oneself. It sends the message that people are listening, or at least watching. I tuck away these feelings to reexamine when I design lessons for my students.

The final choice is, obviously, Brave the Deep. My vision is to write about my wayward path through the waters of educational technology. This includes efforts to push teachers, staff, admin beyond their comfort zones to engage and excite ourselves as well as our students in the learning we do every day.

I’m new at this and ask that you bear with me as I am a mediocre writer at best with hideous grammar and punctuation skills. But I have some interesting ideas, insights that may get you thinking, and a desire to pull us all out into the deep where some of the best learning happens. Comments, criticisms, interactions are always welcome - now that I have 3 kids, my ego has taken a back seat in life so feel free to speak your mind!