To change or not to change, that is the question.
My dear friend Polli sent me an e-mail recently after reading a comment I made on Christy’s blog about blog name consistency. It was a very good post which talked about the importance of using a domain that reflects your blog title. For example Polli’s blog title is Polliwog’s Pond and her domain is polliwogspond.com. I of course am a non-conformist and chose not to be consistent with my domain and blog name. Ordinary Folk however wasn’t always the name of this blog. At one point it was Ordinary Guy. Perhaps you remember if you’ve been around long enough. At one point I had a longtime friend of mine start writing with me here briefly, so I decided to change the blog name to Ordinary Folk. After she decided the co-blogging thing wasn’t really for her I never ended up changing the name back. It was just sort of what I’d grown used to and decided to stick with it.
Polli’s idea is that I should instead change my blog title to Things by Mike. She likes it. Honestly, I don’t mind it either since I did register the domain name ;) I replied and told her my main reason now for not wanting to change the name is because there are already so many people linking to this blog using the name Ordinary Folk. However I’ve spent some time thinking about it since those e-mails and I think I’m sort of on the fence about changing the name. After over a year of not using the name Things by Mike, would it be wise to change the blog title now? I guess I’m not quite sure what I think yet. I’m open to opinions on the matter. Would you stick with the current name or go with Things by Mike instead?
Feel free to chime in on the poll if you’d like. I won’t necessarily use this to form a final decision on changing the name, but it’s there for the heck of it.
[poll=3]
I like the Things by Mike. I wouldn’t say it’s a mandatory change but i think it suits the blog better :)
Ok, why are you guys actually listening to me? LoL. The blogging tips are geared to people who are just starting out. Mike’s already famous.
I suppose being this popular you could actually change your name to anything you wanted and it would work. But at this point I don’t think you have to worry about consistency.
I do like Things By Mike, and it’s super easy to remember, but I don’t know if after all of this time if it’s best to just leave it the way it is.
With your popularity you could call your blog “Mike” and the people will come…everyone loves you:)
I voted “Yay” since it’s quite confusing when people have one domain name and a different title on the site ^^
I agree – I prefer Things by Mike. If your blog title and URL match, or are similar at the very least, it’s easy for people to remember and go back to visit. Not everyone uses a feed reader, and not everyone bookmarks their favorite sites. Someone may remember your site title and try that for the URL.
I post as ChattieKat, and my URL is chattiekat.com. The Blog Title is The Kat House, so everything either matches or is similar enough for people to remember.
Just my two cents worth…
Hey buddy! Great post on a difficult decision. Christy is right, anything you name it, the people will come. I do think though you are destined to get bigger (the blog not you!) than you even are now and a memorable, catchy name that matches the domain name can only help that progress. oh yeah and you are ANYTHING but ordinary too. But change the name after Halloween ’cause that pumpkin kicks butt!
Why not get the domain name OrdinaryFolk.com and do a 301 redirect from this domain to that one? Then you can keep your blog’s name. The Google PR passes to your new domain using this type of redirect. Just a suggestion if you don’t want to change your blog’s name.
My vote is for “MeAndMyGummy”. LOL
Seriously though, I like “Things by Mike”. It’s not like you’re changing your domain, so no worries about people who have already subscribed or bookmarked to you. I agree that it’s a better thing to have the domain match the name of the site/blog you visit.
Now the question remains, what are you going to do with the pumpkin since you won’t have the “o” anymore? Which I also like, btw. Much better than my goofy ghosty scene on my header. :P
“Things By Mike” gets my vote. Also, the people who linked to you using the anchor text Ordinary Folk still points to this domain so no worries. Sounds like a good plan.
I like “Ordinary Folk.” It is an original and fun blog name. I don’t think it’s a big deal that your domain name is not the same as your blog title. Once people get to know you, they figure out your forename. Then, the URL makes sense.
My blog has two domains. You can either find my blog by visiting erinahart.com/ink or by visiting intotheinkpot.com. The blog is hosted on the former. The latter functions the same way a subdomain does (but not like a 301 redirect).
Ultimately, I think you should do what makes you happy. Obviously, you selected “Ordinary Folk” for a reason. You need to decide if you should honor that reason or move on. The choice is yours. Do what you find appropriate. Readers will visit for the blog’s content. Not for the name.
I like Things by Mike, but not only because it would match the domain.
I’ve had my domain for years not but only named it I know EVERYTHING – just ask my hubby this year. Its name that wasn’t a name used to be valmg.com – thoughts, ideas and ramblings…it’s cheaper than therapy.
I voted “Yay” as in “Yes”. Even though as you said that everything links here using “Ordinary Folk” – I can’t imagine that that term is yielding you any money or anything.
Well so far judging by most of the comments and votes it looks like the yays have it :) If I do make a change it won’t be until after Halloween because I rather like my little pumpkin in the header.
@Christy: I’m definitely not famous :P
@Danielle: The domain is already taken. I checked on that quite a while ago ;P
@Bush: If I were worried about this blog yielding money I would certainly be failing ;P
@Baron: Good point :)
@Mark: I like your goofy ghosty scene…lol.
Thanks everyone that’s chimed in so far. I may just decide to go with the change after Halloween is over. I’ve been thinking about doing another theme change, so that would be a good time to do it :)
Regardless of what you do with the name – keep the alien! That is a great idea that I haven’t seen other blogs do.
Actually, Mike, perros has a good point. Incorporating Gummy somehow into your header instead of using the comic strip (nothing against that of course), could help with spacing for one thing. Just a thought. :)
@Perros: No worries, he’s not going anywhere :)
@Mark: Eventually when I switch to a new theme I’m probably going to do something a little different. Not sure what yet ;P
I like Mark’s suggestion he he he….