The Guest Post About Naming Your Child for Social Media Success

Today's guest rabbit chaser is Elizabeth from Elizabeth Hyndman (www.edhyndman.com). See how she did that - a blog name that would never mislead you to think she raises bunnies. I discovered Elizabeth on Twitter and then we met in real life at a blogging conference and then we broke bread when I visited Nashville and now we are best friends. She may not characterize our friendship that way, but trust me...we're tight.

I have the worst name for social media.

Maybe that's a little hyperbolic--I'm sure there are worse names--but let's focus on me here, okay? thanks.

My first name is long and common, my last name is unusual and not spelled phonetically. It is a social media disaster. And kids these days? They have twitter accounts before they're out of the womb (seriously, I know a few) and people give websites to kids on their third birthday. As a parent, you want to set your child up for success in all areas, but especially in social media. Social media success starts with a name--a name unlike mine. Let me give you a few tips:

1. Give your child a short name.
We've only got 140 characters here, people. With all the information on the Internet, you want to keep your child's web address short and sweet so people remember it. Elizabeth is a great name, but it has 9 letters. NINE letters. Add in a last name and that is far too many for sites with character limits.

2. Give your child an unusual name.
Do you know how many Bellas there are these days? (Though, in light of recent events, that number may be waning.) Twitter only has so many available handles. You better sign your Bella up now so she doesn't have to be @Bella_48765374821 someday.

3. Spell the name traditionally.
I get that there are about 84 different ways to spell Kaitlyn or Shawn, but if there's a standard spelling, use it. Jonythyn and Eizack will have no problem getting twitter handles or their own website, but Google isn't going to default to those spellings.

Those are just a few pointers. Of course, if you give your child a name like mine, they can always go with a nickname or a made up name on twitter. They can pretend their last name is something like...I don't know..."Rabbits" and have a fun blog name. Perhaps your child will even be a niche blogger and therefore name his or her site something specific and enticing.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to pray that Ed Hyndman remains a late-adapter to all things requiring a user name or, you know, I get married and my last name changes (just throwing that one out there).

What are your tips?

Elizabeth Hyndman's day job is at a church. Her night job is grad school. She's a rare Nashville native who fancies parentheses. Read her blog: edyndman.com. Follow her on Twitter: @edhyndman.






{images: Elizabeth Hyndman}