Securing the Domain Name

The other day I was in a race to buy a domain name. A personal title I had been throwing around for fun with my friends suddenly got broadcast to thousands of people in a blog post. As I read my clever little title, available for all eyes to see, I suddenly realized that I need to buy that domain name before someone else does.

I immediately jumped to my favorite domain registrar, typed PimpMcFly.com (don't ask), found that it was available, and plunked down the $7 to make it mine. Once secure, I sat back and relaxed knowing that I was the proud owner of a completely useless domain name that nobody else can use.

For a week or two I did have some fun with it. Go ahead, check it out. I'll wait. Yeah, that's me in the pimp outfit. You might recognize some of the other faces too. Ah, the magic of Photoshop. But I digress.

Don't forget to Secure Your Twitter Name

After, ah, pimping out my new domain name I started throwing the link out there on Twitter to all my twitter followers for fun. And that's when it hit me. Buying the domain name is no longer enough to secure my business or hobby brand on the web. You also need to secure your Twitter name!

Think about it. If I'm out there telling people I'm Pimp McFly and you can find me at PimpMcFly.com, that's all well and good, until someone else decides to start twittering under the name Pimp McFly. Hey, That's me! Or at least it should have been.

The same holds true for your business. The last thing you want is someone out there twittering in your business' name. Maybe they are a fan with good intentions, but maybe not. In either case, an "unauthorized" individual is out there actively engaging with the community in your name. They could be saying things that appear to be official company communications, but aren't.

Go secure your twitter name. Even if you're not ready to engage the community, secure your name before someone else does, just as you would a domain name. But you should also be warned, once you've got your twitter name, engagement with the community will be expected. But that's a good thing. It's what people want and it'll help you grow your business too!

By the way, you can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/StoneyD (or www.twitter.com/PimpMcFly!)