Wordlab

Hello!

Here I am again and like the last time, I’m looking for a easily pronouncable and rememberable blog name. This time it’s because I’m starting up a new blog for a little bit more diverse selection of subjects than I previously had. My last blog was basically standing on the foundation of writing about professional (for me) issues such as hypermedia and web with inclusion of some sometimes very personal observations of other media such as movies and TV.

What I came to realize that that’s not the subject setup I want to write about. And not even really a logical combination of themes. And the blog died. But I know I have lots to say (and basically currently I’m flooding my friends on IRC and MSN with stuff they necessarily aren’t interested in because I got to “think aloud”… and writing to Notepad and saving just doesn’t do it and I still think the best method for delivering my ideas to the public is a personal weblog.

Anyway, I’m starting a new blog with a lesson learned. This time its subjects have wider range, posts with topics concerning business, technology, gaming, gadgets and sometimes even politics (think in the lines of: solutions for problems in electronic voting or thoughts about intellectual property issues [DMCA etc.]) with the possibility of writing a post or two about basically any subject in the world.

Okay, that’s the background.

About the name I have a few thoughts:
- Basically three words including the articles is too much. That rules out names like “A Portal of Insignificance” or even names like “The Anti Matters”.
- It should convert easily into a domain name. That’s usually ensured by…
- …it should be quite short. I don’t have exact character limitations, but I don’t want my site to be: http://www.espressoversionsofthetruth.com

So basically two words separately or even two words “fused together” would be great.

Last time I had a list of something to starf off the brainstorming and I suppose it could help, so these names came up from the forums and archives:

Null Ocean
Ink Festival
Newton Revisited
Smart Ask
The Agenda
Zenlighten // This is only here as an example of fusing two words together which I mentioned earlier. I don’t like the word “zen”.
Freezerburn
Liquid Crisp
Burning Lime

The another list I composed is about names of some most successful blogs on the Internet at the moment, which have names I like or even would like to mimic up to some point:
- Mashable
- Engadget
- TechCrunch
- Gizmodo
- Lifehacker
- CrunchGear
- Joystiq
- The Onion
- Power Line
- Gawker
- Kotaku

I just wish I’m getting the same extensive help I did last time. Last time I got great ideas and used one of them, but it was my failure not to create a successful blog. But now I think I have better insight about writing blogs, so, please help.

I haven’t checked any domain names — use our handy domain name checker in the upper right sidebar…

Antimatter
Overundo
DoOverUnder
Jannlighten
Mikola
Whole Mikola
Mikola Now
Mikola Blog
Mikola Ink
Mikola Ocean
Mikola Post
Queen Mikola
OlaMikola
Mikolazone
Burning Time
LiquidBurn
Mikola Agenda
Agendizer
Agenda Now
Planet Agenda
Planet Mikola
Agendoid

Thanks for the list, I got to digest it a bit before going into details… but one thing came into my mind; I really don’t like the idea of using my name in the blog name. That’s basically because I’m a noname, you know. If I was a respected and well known Microsoft genius slash rich guy, I’d probably go for my own name or derivation of it. Or even if I was a guy who had published something in any scientific magazine or something like that. But currently it doesn’t work the way that people would be especially interested in MY opinions, probably most of my blog readers are just interested in ANYBODY’s opinions on the subject I happen to be writing about.

That might be a way to start making a name for myself but still, I’m not into it.

Too bad this drops plenty of those suggestions from your list. Wanna throw in something more, please?

As an additional info, I always respect a pun (or such) in website/blog names. But it’s not necessity, I’m more inclined towards gadgety-techy-names (however the word “tech” isn’t my favourite somehow) or out-of-place names without puns such as using “Cereal Box” as my blog’s name…

Thanks for the input so far, but it would be great to have some more ideas for me to play with.

Crunchy Frog
Alchemiko
Sardine Tin

Don’t sell yourself short. First of all, Mikola works as an invented brand name, because it has some poetry, not because it happens to be your name. Second, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga was a nobody also when he started Daily Kos, now he runs one of the top blogs on the Internet. Same with Jason Kottke — http://kottke.org/ — Craig “Craigslist” Newmark, and many others.

You like “gadgety-techy-names”, but how can you ever compete with Gizmodo, Engadget, Tech Crunch, Gadgt and a million other such sites with “gadgety-techy-names”? You can’t. But you can create your own brand that is your own unique mix of topics, without readers necessarily thinking it is just the opinions of one person. Remember, The Huffington Post is a company with a whole team of employees, not just one lady whose name is on the masthead.

I’m not saying you definitely should us Mikola in your name — just be sure you aren’t rejecting it for the wrong reasons.

Janne’s Addiction

Whiffles & Wonks

Wicked Warbling

TechTrek

SmartFarts

snark, you got some very good points there. After thinking it through, I agree with you on the fact that I shouldn’t go all the way to mimic those techy-gadgety sites (or their names). So I’ll drop the idea of imitating them, but not necessarily the idea of having some kind of technological reference in the name.

About using my own name, your comment makes sense, but at least I’m not comfortable with using it as any part my blog’s name. So if I can’t justify it logically, I’ll just go through with emotional explanation.

Heavy question I’m pondering currently and I’m not sure what to think of: What do you guys think about using completely out of context names for blogs? Is it okay? Is it wise? Let’s take the suggestion “Burning Lime” as an example… it definitely would not have anything to do with the contents of my blog… is this in contradiction of the very basic principles of naming? I think I… well, like those names, but am unsure if it’s like very stupid to use em.

As a small addition; yes, I wanted to drop out the idea of mimicing those successfull gadgety blog names, but I still got to say:

Lifehacker.

It just has something I really like. Of course it’s taken… But it just has something I like a lot. That’s maybe because my blog would be from a “lively” point of view, meaning that I’d discuss matters that matter in ordinary day with always the connection to business/technology/etc. I mean, I’m not trying to create a “professional blog” with a hint of personal touch this time. I’m not probably even going to mention no the “about” page the telecommunication company I work for. This time my goal is to create, well, a blog from daily/ordinary point of an engineer’s life… Maybe some keywords there? Don’t know…

What about “Engineering Life” ???

I don’t want to sound ridiculous but I don’t like the word engineer, somehow.

I’m just trying to help you to help me and also trying to initiate some ideas in my subconcious and brainstorming in you guys by saying these things aloud…

is Lifehacker or Lifehack being considered?
…very good imo, fwiw

Also, nothing wrong with using something out of context. It will begin to mean your blog to your readers. And then has an advantage (hopefully) with something like pinache bs. A generic name.

Past or Ink Fest
Outloud the Box
Chez Too
Mimi’s Waltz
Picnic Waltz
Passage Rights
Writes of Passage
Passage Writes

@quark, Lifehacker is a Gawker blog — he’s using it as an example.

Janne, avoid the randomly paired names like “Burning Lime” — they were a big fad during Internet Bubble 1.0, Phase 2, names like Red Hat, Blue Martini, Razorfish, etc. etc.

The Sexy Engineer
Space Cowboy
Tronic
Electropolis
Resistor
Technopolis
Technoid
Station Eleven
Elevated Taste
Mercury Mulch
Komodo Dreams

I’m a bit worried am I getting irritating for you because I havent still been able to choose any of your suggestions, even though they’ve been so good…

I’d like to rephrase the purpose of my next blog. It should be and it’s going to be a blog, that reports on how technology affects culture, the economy, and politics. This is almost the perfect phrasing for the idea of my next blog. Just wanted to let it out, because I’m not sure if I’d given you enough idea to grasp the whole idea.

And by the way, that description happens to be a quote from somewhere. It’s a quote from Wired -magazines Wikipedia-article. I’m at work right now, and happened to walk past the break area and noticed that the newest issue of Wired had arrived. Then I just noticed this similarity. I’m not trying to copy Wired, but if there is a media out there that represents what I want to write about, it’s definitely not TechCrunch, definitely not Engadget, it’s Wired.

But it also happens to be so that Wired has a lovely name. It’s not tied to an era of technology, like gadgety name would be. Its name derives itself from the essentials and core, like a physics newsletter could be called something like “Explore and study” rather than “String Theory”. Stupid example because I’m not naming specialist like you guys. Maybe you get the point.

Gotta say that the snark’s last post was the closest one so far. From it I also realized that I love names ending in -oid. Maybe my blog could be something -oid.

Names I like (but cannot use):
- Lifehacker (“life-aspect” plus clever combination of words, I like cleverness or puns if you can call that one a pun)
- Wired (name taken from the essentials and core, not from the newest fashion-movement on the business)
- anything ending in -oid
- Possibly the word “culture” or “life”.
- Possibly any words related to the idea of technological advancement and the huge changes it is making to society

However I’m very close to making the final choice. This week’s gonna be it. Still hoping some more input, though, atm it’s most likely that none of the suggested ones will be it, probably if I’m not getting any more ideas or tips I’m just going to take current ones and start brainstorming alone.

Also this book has a beautiful name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_Digital

Culture Droid
Perspectoid
Jannes Crucible
Mother Bored