Tre’s Tech Tip #1: Move into your own home online: Buy your own Domain Name your First and Last Name
Whether you own real estate, or the home you reside in, you should own your own your online real estate–or your domain.
Owning your own domain name is like owning the deed to your home. With it you can build whatever kind of online presence you desire including email, website, blog, wiki, or combination.
Owning your own domain gives you greater control and security online.
Couple weeks back, someone hacked into my gmail account (email account at google). It was hell for 48 hours. I had zero access to sending/receiving email. All my contacts received a heinous note asserting I had been abandoned in Western Africa and was desperate for money.
While google remedied the problem within 72 hours, this would not have ever occurred if I was using email directly associated with my own domain.
Tre’s Tech Tip #1: Register and buy your own Domain Name AND Use Your First and Last Name
What: Think of your online home as your live/work studio space. And in the virtual world, that’s your domain. And I’m recommending you choose to register your First and Last Name as this domain name. They’re yours. No one else has them. Use them.
Why: You know how you rent an apartment or room at a hotel for the week and there’s always something that isn’t always to your liking?
- Maybe the walls are too thin and you hear the folks next door.
- Maybe you want to sleep in and the housekeeping starts cleaning at o’dark-hundred.
- Maybe it’s a non-smoking room and it wreaks like a smoker just left.
- Maybe there’s an all night party going on and they opted not to include you. (I sound so boring don’t I?) 🙂
The only way to control the environment of your live/work space is to own the space you’re creating in.
Registering and buying your domain let’s you do this.
Think of your domain name as your online address. You need your own. You need it to be your name or the name of your business.
I advocate buying your name. First and last.
Your domain name will be a combination of:
the domain name you choose + the ending (.com, .net, .org, .biz, .tv, etc).
I own tresha thorsen dot com (the domain name).
Your email name is a bit longer. It’s the name you choose, the @ symbol plus your entire domain name.
your name + @ symbol + your domain name + .net (or .com, .org, etc).
So I am setting up my email as tre at tresha thorsen dot com.*
*I wrote all that out because it prevents spammers from picking up my email address.
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How: This is so simple you will be happy.
1. Find a domain name registrar.
You can google this phrase: “domain name register.”
I use google. I’ve also used register.com and a few others.
2. Choose your domain name and register it.
a. Choose a name you’ll keep indefinitely. I highly recommend your first and last name.
b. Follow the online registration steps.
- enter your preferred domain name
- choose the ending (.net, .org, .com, .mobi, etc)
- wait while the site ‘checks’ to see that this name is available.
In choosing your ending, whether .com, .net, .org, pick an ending that makes sense to you. If you’re using your domain for personal use, choose .com or .net. If you are building an organization, pick .org., etc.
If your domain name is not available, choose a different ending before you choose another name.
Note: when choosing a domain register: do not use godaddy.com. Their advertising exploits the female body and womanhood in general.
I recommend: register.com, nettica.com, google.com
3. You must host the domain name in order to “move in” to that domain, in other words start using it in any fashion whatsoever.
Do not get nervous by that phrase ‘host‘. You need to find somewhere that will take responsibility for putting –‘hosting’– your domain on the web and allowing you to use services with that domain.
Think of the host as the superintendent of the building where you now own your live/work studio. 🙂 You need him to get your place up and running. And happily, your registrar will likely offer hosting plans.
Review the various plans offered by your domain registrar and pick the one that best meets your needs. Hosting plans differ in time and amount of space you’ll receive and thus cost per year.
Ask yourself:
- Am I just going to use my domain for email purposes?
- Do I have any intention of growing my online presence to include anything beyond email, ie: a blog, a website, other?
- Do I want a lot of space online (this will depend on your answer to above).
Find a host plan that is pleasing to you. And then follow their directions on how to get your domain and email set up.
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Hope that helps get you started in owning your domain name and using it to establish your online live/work studio, even if you’re just doing email, but especially if you’re creating a body of work.
If you have more questions as you embark on this process, leave a comment and I’ll respond with as best an answer as I know or refer you to a better resource.
Thanks for reading and be well. 🙂