When I started blogging in 2007, I didn’t see anyone else with the name of “Barbara” commenting on the blogs I frequented, so “Barbara” become the name I signed onto blogs with.

Within a short period of time that changed and I started seeing other commenters with the name Barbara.

By that time I knew I wanted to build my online presence so I added my last name.

Today’s Lesson

When I travel through blogosphere, I see many bloggers who only use their first name as their online identity.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with that, however, it can be confusing, and can be a detriment.

Example: Let’s say your name is Clifford AND you don’t use an avatar*. You comment on blogs, build your online presence and soon become well known in your area of expertise. All is good in your world.

Than along comes another avatar-less Clifford, who begins to comment on the same blogs as you do, AND his blog is in the same niche as yours.

Those of us who follow links, may assume Clifford #1 and Clifford #2 are the same person.

They’re not. but we don’t know that because there’s little or no information to differentiate between the two.

The work Clifford #1 has put into developing his online presence could take a hit while Clifford # 2 could have just gotten an unexpected boost to his readership and reputation.

That said, I realize many bloggers choose not to use their real last names, nor do you have to.

Some choices are:

1. Choose a very unique log in name

This can work well for those who blog anonymously, however if the day comes when you want to “come out”, it may be necessary to do a large “media” blitz to notify those who know you by your pen name so they continue to follow you.

2. Make up a fictitious last name.

Keep in mind, if you do this and you want to build an online presence, be consistent and use the same pseudonym on all blogs and social media sites you frequent.

3. Use your first name and the name of your blog

Something like “Barbara @ BWAB” (Blogging Without A Blog) is something I had considered, however at that time I already had two blogs and wanted the option of linking to either one without changing my log in name.

4. Use only the name of your blog

This can work well, except it may appear impersonal to some.

5. Use keywords

Many bloggers like to use keywords to describe themselves and their sites, however depending on the keywords, your login name can appear spammy.

For anyone trying to build their online presence, the name we use becomes crucial as it can follow us forever on the world wide web.

What say you?

Today’s Assignment

How did you choose the name you use online?

Have you ever encountered confusion because two or more bloggers have the same name?

Care to share?

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This post was inspired by part of what Kelvin Kao said in his comment on the *Who’s Who In Blogosphere post,

I am someone that needs a last name to attach to a person since a common first name, like, say, Jennifer can be anyone. Also I have a habit of changing the names of rss feeds in my feed reader to the blogger’s name, so I tend to have better recognition for blogger names than blog names.