Name My Domain

[vovat]

So, LiveJournal is cool in many ways, but I've been thinking (partially at the behest of bethje) that I should get my own domain for blogging. I'm not entirely sure what I'd call it, though. The obvious "vovat.com" and "nathandehoff.com" aren't really all that memorable, so I'd welcome any suggestions you might have. I guess I'd mostly want to use the site for my more scholarly posts, although I'm not sure whether I'd count the Oz stuff in that category or not. I mean, I guess it's scholarly, but does it have much mass appeal? I don't know.

One thing I do like about LiveJournal is that there's somewhat of a captive audience. Sure, you can skip my posts, but if you use the friends page you're at least aware that I've written something. Of course, you can now subscribe to a feed of pretty much any blog on Google Reader or a similar application, but is it as common? What I don't really like about LJ is that, while the commenting system is convenient for anyone who has an account, it really isn't for anyone else. And there's the whole image thing, with a memorable domain name probably being more likely to attract new viewers than a LiveJournal page. Any other thoughts on the matter? I don't plan to avoid LJ entirely, but I would like for people other than my LJ friends to read some of my stuff (assuming any of them are interested).

Comments

[slfcllednowhere.livejournal.com]

Sure, you can skip my posts, but if you use the friends page you're at least aware that I've written something.

Yeh, exactly. I pretty much never check for posts by my friends who aren't on LJ. I don't even remember to.

Of course, you can now subscribe to a feed of pretty much any blog on Google Reader or a similar application, but is it as common?

Can you do that for just something on your own site? I've only ever been able to get it to work on other actual blogging sites (Wordpress etc.). And when I do the not commenting easily thing is a pain.

What I don't really like about LJ is that, while the commenting system is convenient for anyone who has an account, it really isn't for anyone else.

How so? (Assuming you have anonymous comments turned on I mean).

And there's the whole image thing, with a memorable domain name probably being more likely to attract new viewers than a LiveJournal page.

I don't know about that. I mean, it's possible, but I feel like random people honestly aren't that likely to stumble upon your blog, and even less likely to find it in a search somehow, you know?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Of course, you can now subscribe to a feed of pretty much any blog on Google Reader or a similar application, but is it as common?

Can you do that for just something on your own site? I've only ever been able to get it to work on other actual blogging sites (Wordpress etc.).

I'm not quite sure what you're asking. It can be used to read blogs on different sites, but I don't quite know what the limits are.

What I don't really like about LJ is that, while the commenting system is convenient for anyone who has an account, it really isn't for anyone else.

How so? (Assuming you have anonymous comments turned on I mean).

Yes, anyone CAN comment anonymously, but why would you WANT to? I know Jared Davis has a non-LJ account that he can use to comment on LJ posts, and I think I've seen the same thing in other places. Still, sometimes a person will want to leave a comment and not feel like signing up for an account somewhere, and making such comments anonymous is kind of a turn-off, at least for me.

[slfcllednowhere.livejournal.com]

Well, when I've left anonymous comments for people on other sites, I'll say who I am like a signature or something. Other people don't do that? That's lame.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, some people probably forget.

[revme.livejournal.com]

RSS feeds have made things really pretty easy in keeping up with follks, which is nice. My RSS feeder is loaded down with tons of stuff, even stuff I end up going "Man, I don't know why I thought I'd want to keep up with this blog" at. But that's OK!

The nice thing with LJ is that it takes a lot of the tech side away from you -- i.e., I don't really have to worry about spamproofing my comments section on LJ, like I do with KS. (Which is i think finally good now in that sense.)

I still am open to you posting those sorts of posts what you're talking about, the "more scholarly" stuff, at Kittysneezes -- since then you wouldn't have to worry about the tech stuff, hint hint, but if you're going for a domain name, you should have "Industries" in it. Like "VovatIndustries.com" or "FabelstoIndustries". Or "AmalgamatedVovatLtd.Com". Something that makes you sound like an old-timey factory business.

[1womp.livejournal.com]

A good name for your site? How about Oz and Ends? The DeHoff Reader? Vovat's The Way It Is? Nathan's Famous Hot Gods? Vovations? Also, speaking as someone who has his own web-site with an "independent" blog, I never had as much "traffic" as I did when I began pasting my postings in a LiveJournal mirror-blog. If you start your own site, you should consider doing something similar. As for "all of the technical stuff," there are several do-it-yourself web-site builders. I use Homestead.com, which allows me to create pages and such very quickly and cheaply (there are free versions, as well as paid accounts). That sounds like an ad, but I really have been pretty happy with it. Oh, and I am still super-uneasy about the whole "comments" element of blogging anyway...even while I am writing a comment for your blog.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Heh, I like those last two suggestions. "Oz and Ends" is already the name of John Bell's blog (http://ozandends.blogspot.com/), and I've seen it used other places as well. But if you've really gotten more comments on LJ, then I'm not sure it's worth paying the money for the domain.

Oh, and I am still super-uneasy about the whole "comments" element of blogging anyway...even while I am writing a comment for your blog.

I guess I tend to think of my posts as starting points, and usually hope to spawn more discussion, so the comments work out well for me.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

It's not uncommon for scholarly articles to have very specific appeal, so Oz counts. I lean toward thinking you should use your name -- that way, if you break out in the artistic world people will have less trouble finding you.

Anyway, if you come up with a good answer let me know -- I need to start gearing up to eventually sell my own fiction writing.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know-- other blogs LOOK more professional, but livejournal is much easier to build a following on. I don't recommend Blogger, because as a visitor I've found it harder to navigate for some reason. I have used Wordpress both as a reader and blogger-- I liked the stats page that came with it, but I never did figure out how to post pictures on it!

And then, with the professional look issue, I know there are ways to fix that, too. I've seen some very nice looking blogs that I don't even realize are lj until I notice my login toolbar thingy at the top.

I follow a lot of authors on lj who use it as their main professional blog quite happily. They usually also have a website, with a link that says "my blog" or whaatever that takes you here.

Now, cynsations is an author-blogger who blog simultaneously on lj and another server-- I don't know if it's a mirror blog or what, but I know she USES lj, becasuse she actually writes back if you post a comment or whatever.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know some people have LJ feeds of other accounts, but don't read the comments posted on LJ. Personally, I think I'd want as many outlets for comments as possible. Then again, I say this as someone who doesn't get anywhere near as many comments as a famous person would.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I expected cynsations to show up with a Friends icon rather than a feed icon, which sort of ruined the point of that paragraph-- I meant to show that she puts her entire blog on lj, NOT as a feed, but ALSO has the same content on a different blog site, for whatever advantages that gives her. I don't know what those are exactly! Then I follow a lot of other feeds, and for some of them, the entire content of the entry shows up on my friends page, others are just missing images, and others just have the first one or two sentences, so basically with the latter you have to click through to read it anyway, it just lets you know that there's something new TO read. In that case, I just respond when necessary right on that site. Other blogs I will click through if I want to respond, too. Some of the feeds people respond to just to get into a discussion with the other people watching the feed-- happens most with the webcomics, although the guy who does dorktowerfeed also has lj and always comments back, anyway. And occasionally someone always tries to reply to the author on a feed and you sit there feeling sorry for them for not knowing the author isn't going to read it. kristincashore always makes a point of saying "Remember, if you're reading this on livejournal, I won't see your comment unless you click through!" in like every other entry, and yet some people never even learn there!

Anyway, I actually wasn't done with that comment when I posted it, but was interrupted by crying children. I had in fact meant to continue on the topic about how I try to read all my blogs on my friends page, anyway, using feeds. I doesn't work for everything, since you can't add new feeds to lj without a paid account, so if no one else has put the blog on as a feed-- Angie's blog, for example --I get stuck having to read it separately. But my point is, for some people lj IS more convenient! I believe I may be biased though.

Of course, you can't get PAID to blog on lj, which may have been your point to begin with,.