In surfing the news this morning, I came across this article. It seems the new “trend” is for parents to purchase their child’s name as a domain name as soon as they’re born. Some parents go so far as checking that the domain is available before deciding on a name for their child.
Is this really a big deal? I’m not sure how I feel about it. I can see wanting to guarantee your child could have their own website in the future without being CaydenSmith47.com (come on, you know David will be a rare name by that point). The article makes a good point that a personal website could work as a digital identity to centralize a person’s social networks, making it easier to manage all of your contacts and having one site for everyone to find you. But who knows if the current set-up of the Internet will be the same in 18 years?
On the other hand, I worry about having a site with my child’s full name. There are predator concerns, especially when first and last name are displayed, and in many cases, a simple WhoIs look up can reveal an address, too. It’s essentially a big “here I am!” for those with less than pure intentions. The counter point is that many of us already have blogs, and use our child’s real first name, so someone could still find us. However, it would still be more difficult to find us when you have to go through the trouble of discovering last names and locations.
For now, I don’t really see the need to have a domain for each of my daughters. They have very unique names (if you include their last names), so I don’t worry about another Cordelia *** or Miranda *** snapping up their domains. Plus, while it’s only a small amount, I don’t want to pay those renewal fees every year for an unused site.
I say unused site because if I did have their domains, I wouldn’t be using them. I don’t like the idea of everyone having access to their full names, pictures, and address. When they’re adults, they’re free to do as they please. There is no such thing as true anonymity on the ‘net, and I know I’m taking some risk in showing their pictures and using their names on this blog, but I don’t share everything in an effort to provide a little security. What people see here is about as much as someone could learn if they were to see us out in public. Especially Cordy’s name, as I tend to yell it over and over as she runs away from me.
For now, buying domains for my children is not a pressing issue, but I can see why some people would want to do it. What do you think? Have you bought your child’s domain name? Would you consider doing it? Why or why not?
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Yeah, I don’t think I’d do a domain with my son’s name on it… THere are too many crazies out there… And so many of them LOOK sane… 🙂
LOVE your little girls’ names. LOVE!
I wouldn’t do it. I did snag a Gmail address for my daughter, but it’s just her first and middle name. (Unsurprisingly, her first name was already taken.)
No way. First of all? What’s wrong with being CaydenSmith47 instead of just CaydenSmith? No problems in my opinion. Other than the fact that, as you said, everyone that ever types in your name can find your information. No thanks! I like that I can invite whomever I want or don’t want. If you happen to luck upon me, with careful research, so be it. But a psycho that careful would have found me anyway, so the site I have is no worse than, as you said, yelling their names on the playground.
I’ve thought about snagging MY name but, at the same time, by the time the kid(s) hit school(s), I’m planning on changing the blog to a more anonymous type of format ANYWAY. If they want to create a site with their name, they can wait until they have their own bank account to pay for a domain. 😉
Oh, btw, you were totally in a dream of mine while I was just napping. *blinks* I was introducing you to someone… else… who was pale. But I can’t remember who right now. It might come to me later.
This never occured to me. I don’t think I would bother. I suppose saving the money I’d spend on the domain name is wiser in my opinion.
Never before had I considered tying down the Inmates names for a domain name… and now that I have, I’m still not itchin to do it.
I have to fight with my minions toget them off of the gamesand whatnotalready, last thing I need isfor them tohave their veryown site.. the crazies out there are just to much.
Jenna – I was in your dream? At least I was pale and not sunburned. 🙂
Seems like most of us agree that it isn’t worth risking exposing our kids to the creepy weirdos out there to have domains with their full names. I like Aimee’s idea of domains using nicknames instead.
I just bought my own name (like a few days ago!), mostly to make sure no one else did; but I wouldn’t consider buying my kids’. As it is I paid extra for private registration for my full name domain and my two blogs.
Good post. And since we do web stuff, we did talk about buying Declan’s name for a URL after he was born. But I agree with you on the child/protection issue in that I would NEVER use it as he was a child. We were thinking more in terms of saving it for him. But I also agree with you that there is no guarantee on what the future holds for the net, so that is why we settled for greeblemonkey, which were actually Declan’s 2 nicknames when he was in vitro. I wasn’t even blogging under this name at first and my hubby was using it for a testing site for his 3D stuff. And then when I wanted to change my blog name, a friend said “hello, you already have the perfect name and URL!” Anyway… we figure that the money is better spent elsewhere as Jennifer said and if and when he is ready for a URL, he can have greeblemonkey, or I am sure we can figure SOMETHING out. 😉
I do not think I would want their domain names… Who wants a web site with their kids full names for weirdo’s to find??? I dont that’s for sure!
We did it when I was pregnant with Emily. When we made the birth announcement, we unveiled the site. Geeks!
However, the novelty wore off and we no longer felt like updating or paying for her site. So we let it go.
Also, once we had another kid we certainly weren’t going to maintain two sites. Nope, my kids are on their own when they decide to enter the World Wide Web!
I wont be looking for Tatum’s anytime soon … she can make that decision later in life! Great post!
Cristina,
There was a front page article in our paper a few days ago about the dot com parents. My first thought was the same as yours…what about the kids safety? My kids can do their own when they are adults if they choose. Until then…not for us.
Oh my god. That article and idea/practice make me want to puke. And we thought that the current generation of teenagers were the “ME” generation? What will our kids’ generation be – the egomaniacal generation? Yuck.
We are also privacy freaks – though obviously not to the point of keeping pictures of our kids off my blog – so no way, no how would we get them their own domain names. IF when they’re older that’s the way to network (by having your own name-URL), there will be alternatives. More creative alternatives. We would never surrender their privacy now just in case they *might* want their own name-URL in the future. This reeks to me of priviledge, or at least pretension.
I really dont see a point in buying these domains. Funny thing is I actually added private registration after some one called me regarding some content on one of my sites. Either way I’m still not that worried. Just add private registration and you should feel a lot more secure
Aargh! Something is either “unique” or it’s not. There is no such thing as “very” unique or “rather” unique. Your children’s names are very beautiful, very unusual, very literary, and very lovely. They are unique. They are not “very” unique.
Anonymous: as you can probably guess, I have a History degree and not an English degree. At this point in my life, I’m just glad I’m not working with someone named Veri’Unique asking “Would you like fries with that?”
And unlike the professionals, I don’t have the luxury of an editor. (Seriously, have you seen the writing of some journalists before an editor gets it?)
It’s only me here, flubs and all.
Interesting idea, though I can’t imagine checking for domain availability before deciding on a name.
Sorry if my comment sounded overly judgmental or bitchy – I’m beyond exhausted and wrote down my kneejerk reaction – and was kind of surprised that I felt so strongly about it. ha ha –
I’m with you. My kids can decide when they are older if they want to do this. Like you they all have names that aren’t popular or I’ve spelled them differently. By the time mine are adults there is no telling what the internet will be like so why worry about it now? Technology is moving way too fast.
I love the BudyBodyBook:) I am a schedule freak anyways!! I think I agree.. right now, domains arent a big issue for my kiddies!
We have an email address for the kiddo ([email protected]. The email address was originally so that we could make a wish list on Amazon.com, at his grandparents’ request. Our friends get cute now and again and invite him separately on evites – we let him bang on the keyboard in the response fields.
Reserving a website though? Who knows what the format or even the web will be in ten years?
Interesting to see other perspectives! We bought a domain for our daughter when she was a few months old – it’s her firstnamemiddlename, since I figured that for one, it makes her a little less “visible”. I made the registration private, so it’s pretty anonymous.
We use it to post (password-protected) tons and tons of pictures and other info that we want to share with her grandparents, great grandmother, cousins, etc. who are spread all over the world. It actually feels safer than Flickr or some other public service, since I’m completely in control of what’s there and who can see it.
(It helps that both of her parents do/have done internet-stuff for a living, and the $6 a year isn’t a big deal at all.)
That would get very expensive if you have more than one kid.