What’s in a name?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.”

 William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

“It sounds like porn,” my friend said. I have to agree it is.

When I try to find Green Girl Mag, my blog title in the search engine, other than my blog that ranks number one in search engine results, I find other not-so-wholesome posts associated with keywords Green Girl. This lead me to the decision of changing my web address, which has somehow gained some traffic and visibility on the net.
It’s jackiebelo.com. After a long time of contemplating whether or not to buy and have a self-titled domain, I finally pledge to a higher level of narcissism. I know it is self-serving but there’s no other name that will best describe my blog. This is not a niche blog. I don’t talk about fashion. I don’t write about books and art only. Because my blog lacks interconnected theme, I opt to name it after me. Why not? It’s all about me to begin with. I don’t want my blog to suffer identity crisis. I don’t want to remain anonymous like most bloggers do.  For the reason, if we value our hobbies such as blogging, we should take pride of what we do and of what we write.  I have been blogging since 2010. And I think the time I spent in blogging is enough reason for me to claim this as my own.

If you are considering of buying a domain name for your blog, you might be thinking….

A domain cannot last forever?

True, a domain name expires. You have to renew it annually. My brother says, “A domain is like a real estate. It’s a property” Like real estate, you invest on it and it appreciates in value over time.

I don’t want to buy domain because I’m not sure I can maintain the site.

If  you’ve been blogging regularly, there is no fear of wasted investment or unfulfilled responsibility.

Will buying a domain in wordpress make me rich?
For wordpress.com bloggers, we all know that we are not allowed to have Google ads or any form of online advertising. Buying a domain cannot generate income, unless you try a self-hosted blog which is totally another story.

For business card purposes? No big deal!
A domain such as jackiebelo.com looks better in business card than jackie.wordpress.com. It may be  a small reason for you. But if you have other goals in blogging, there’s no harm of having one. I believe whether you say you’re only blogging for self-expression sake, it’s not all about ‘the self’. You want to reach out some people. On my part, I am thinking of this blog as a reference for people who might be interested in what I do or in what I write. By owning a domain, you find a formal way to introduce yourself.

If you are seriously blogging, go for it.

I take time to write a post in my blog. Even if  I write random things, I make sure my blog is not my diary, which  means my blog is not filled of trash and rants. I filter my thoughts before I type.  Even if my blog does not earn profit,  I seriously blog. If we take time and spend money on collecting shoes, DVDs, cars,  it’s the same with the hobby, blogging.  We spend for it because it gives us joy.