Domains and Ownership

It is a strange thing, purchasing your own name. Rather existential, when you think about it. The act of shouting "I exist!" into the wilderness of the net, and Godaddy or whoever counting your fee and smiling as they confirm "Yes. Yes you do."

Long story short, I attended a couple of self-publishing panels at Origins, and every writer on there was pretty adamant that having your own website was a necessity for long-term business.

I'm all about that long-term business, and really, this is something that I knew I'd have to do sooner or later. I plan to be writing the rest of my life, and this will help people keep up with me. Don't get me wrong, this blog's fun and all, but some things are better suited for websites. It's precisely BECAUSE I love you guys that I'm trying to expand the stuff out there that we can play with together.

Anyway, you're looking at the proud new owner of andrewseiple.com

Don't bother going out there, there's nothing there yet. I plan to fix that over the next three months or so, as other higher priority tasks get handled.

Lessons learned:

1. Getting an email tied to your domain name is easier than expected.

2. Once you purchase your domain, a whole lot of people in India who specialize in web design suddenly decide that you're their best friend. Thanks guys, really, but I already have plans there.

3. It's all right to take things in phases. You don't have to immediately have a website constructed and ready to go, you just need to grab your name before anyone else does.

4. When you're starting out it doesn't hurt you TOO much to wait on a website, if you have a decent online presence and the ability to check it daily.

Peace, and happy surfing!