In the last post I mentioned I was at Base Camp, I better explain what equipment I’ve got, how I choose it, how I got it, why I think I need it and what I know about how to use it.

I’ve got– iDoStuff.co.uk , my domain! In this domain I’m the all powerful ruler. I must admit I like the word “Domain” its my bit of this universe, I’ve bought the rights to it and I can do what I want with it. It can be really big but for now, vast as I imagine it can be, it’s just a patch of desert lacking  sand and sun. Only a handful of other people know it exists, there’s no roads in and I’m the only one here.  I could have bought a bottle of snake oil and a treasure map at the same time, the man with the banter said I’d be a fool not to.  I’ll follow my DIY ethos and make my own, thank you very much. 

How I choose “iDoStuff”. Easy! just sit down for a couple of hours, think about what the site’s about and come up with a name… then wake up. 

Problem 1. This the first choice that SEO has a hand in, apparently.  If you want too know more about this side of the choice it’s been written about a million times, try a search and spend some time, hours, days, months trawling through the results. My summing up is distilled to – “make the domain name the same as what people are searching for”, thanks for the advice all you regurgitating SEO experts. They don’t mention:

Problem 2. All the good names have gone, either used or parked by speculators. You can buy them of the speculators at inflated prices, use a extension folk wont remember (eg.  .uk.co) or you have to whittle you niche down down down.  If you think skybluepinkwidgetsinlittletown.co.uk will get the traffic or you can afford enough of these to point at a central site then that’s fine.  I wanted something that’s not going to line another persons pockets.

I looked around at what potential competitors where doing, what searches lead to them, what they are called. I went on the domain name search sites trying various ideas and what computer generated alternatives they came up with. Then a weekend with a few beers, a couple of sleeps, everything in the pot at the back of my mind plus a view to what the name can look like. It came together as iDoStuff and the .co.uk was available.

 Even if it’s not ideal for SEO, what would be?  I’m covering so many subject areas. It works on other levels. I had to make a decision, so I did.  Comments and suggestions more than welcome .

How I got it. It’s real easy when you’ve got to money to spend. I went to 123reg as I have an account there with my agbimages.co.uk site, so following a path I’ve been down before. They like all of these sorts of site make it really easy to buy a domain at a good price. They then try up-sell their other services like hosting. I did cock-up slightly here but only when it came to hosting.

Why I need it.  On the practical side I had decided I would need to host my own site and blog, I’ll cover that under hosting. The hosting needs a domain name.  More than that though the name gives me a focus, a flag to rally round in my new land. It will mean more to me than anyone else and help on my motivation front. That sense of ownership and dedication is impossible for me without a name, this could well be something deeply human.

Useing it.RTFM. Its all there, everything you might need to know on the name servers site, blogs, tutorials, info-sites. Do a search and expand your mind with acronyms. Actually it just sits and does nothing until its associated with somewhere, web-space, server, host.

If you’re wondering about the logo based on name, that was from another few hours researching whats called “web 2.0” design. Distilled down, it’s keeping designs simple and building in interactivity. The graphics stuff is an area I’ll not cover Unless Someone Asks, I’m proficient with adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.