Claim your name .. using Google

As I said yesterday, "So this site is going to be about t'InterWebs and how it can help you out.. it's going to have a little reporting, some facts, some how to's and some tips and tricks"

What do you need to do to get your place on t'InterWebs? You have to Claim your name. Its important to have a recognisable and appropriate name to use, and something you can publicize to your friends, family and most importantly future business contacts.

You need an email address, a webaddress, and unfortunately it needs to be unique. Now I recommend using the market leader for all of this ... Google

Google has some excellent methods of claiming who you are, and where you belong. These are:

• Gmail - Googles email system is in my opinion the best email client on the web today. Its features are highlighted at there help pages
  
• Blogger - Googles blogging platfrom is a free, easy to use way of getting pages about you up and running very quickly. More info at Bloggers Help Page

Gmail is very popular, and as such it's very unlikely that your name is available, especially if you are after johnsmith@gmail.com .. Be creative! use a name that is something memorable to you. Try not to use Hyphens, Underscores or numbers (you will soon get fed up of explaining!).. You really do NOT want to have any nicknames, or something that may later embarrass you! An idea might be to use your geographical location?

Blogger is great way to host an easy to use webpage. Heres some basic tips. Keep it simple, Keep it relevant and up to date, and finally keep it maintained. Now when you sign up for a name, either use your name that you used for your email address or use your business name.

Now this could be managed easier using:

• Google Apps for your Domain - As well as Gmail, it also enables a calendar, Docs, start page, and Sites. Its very simple to use with some great help
  

Now I will go into these with more detail in some later posts, but I want to talk a little more about your domain name. Have I mentioned that you need a name that is just for you? :)

Go to a domain registrar .. someone like GoDaddy .. you have different types of Top Level Domain names. Some ones you can use are:

• .com - The most widely used. Normally related to a business.
  
• .net - Used for internet operators more, but also useful for individuals.
• .org - Originally intended for use by organistations that didn't fill any other criteria! Also available as .org.uk (or other country prefix)
  
• .name - Great for an individual. See if first.last.name is available.
• .info - Great for individuals or groups.
  
• .co.uk (or other country prefix) - Great to identify your country.
  

When you register your name, don't register it just for one year. Do it for five or even ten years... its not the greatest expense, and if you follow the above then it will be all it costs you.

Next Step?? More on GMail.