Here at Nombray, my mantra is "Own your name on the web". If you are starting a company, it's good to have a short goal that you can use as a ruler. Whenever someone suggests a feature, I whip out the ruler: "How much does that help you to own your name on the web?"
But it begs the question, why would you want to own your name on the web? Hey, the first love is self-love. The first word my 3-year old is learning to write is his own name. Show me someone for whom this isn't true. But beyond the fact that it's cool to see your name on the first page of Google results, there is a practical reason for the effort: being findable on the web helps you get dates and jobs. Here in 2008, before you go on a first date or a job interview, they Google for your name, and you have a chance to make a good first impression. Understanding how to claim your name on the web took some thinking, but I think I've got it boiled down to an achievable list:
- Claim your domain name
- Claim your content
- Give it some style
- Let people know it's there
- Climb Google
- Keep it fresh
So Nombray is built to make that as easy as possible. I like how it's starting. I've told people about my own home page, chrislunt.net, and it's gone over well. It was great when my second son was born in August (yes, a startup, a toddler and an infant; I'm clearly self-abusive). I was tweeting from the hospital, and posting some pictures from my blog, and it was a great way to let my Mom know how to find the content. There are many more features that I'm excited to get launched.
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