Apparently everything.
Just ask author Max Barry who had a very interesting (and funny) Blog post, I, Nerd, in his Blog, MaxBarry.com. It turns out that there’s a whole new level of stress associated with naming your child – as if naming a child is not stressful enough.
Max Barry actually checked the availability of his child-to-be’s name (just .com Barry, or .net as well?). Barry wanted his child’s name to have an available domain. I agree with everything you’re thinking, this is Matrix scary.
On the other hand, it does say something about what’s in a name. How many companies spend tons o’ bucks doing their best to secure as many relevant domains as possible? Why not provide that same security to a child? I did my best to secure my personal name as a domain as well. I also believe that going forward, your domain, your mobile number or whatever digital ID you use will be your name. Nobody wants to give up their Gmail username, their My Yahoo! or their cell phone number.
My name is my password.
We’re there. Your digital life is your ID. Do I think that Barry has gone too far? Maybe a little. But, maybe we all need to have a bit of vision. What if Barry could create something akin to a MySpace at that domain. With his family all over the world, what better way to share how his child is doing? What better way for that child, as they get older, to stay in touch with family and friends? To Blog, to Podcast to invite friends, to exchange photos.
It’s not so far fetched. For some people, it’s already here.
Domain names matter. They matter to marketers. They matter to consumers. They should matter to you. Especially if your business is your child.
Check out Barry’s Blog here: I, Nerd.
Thanks Matt.