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

[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,.