Blogombos: What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet"

Romeo and Juliet
(II.ii.43-44)
William Shakespeare

What does one name a blog? Perhaps the better question is, 'How does one name a blog?' The naming of a book, a story, or article should be reflective of the content of the written material. A blog, however, is not yet written. Despite the intent of the author, a blog may transform, grow, stagnate, or die. The naming of a blog seems to have more in common with the naming of a child. With great hope and expectation, a parent names a child with no real understanding of what that name will one day mean to the parent or the child.

So how should I name my blog? Should I give it a name of what I hope it will become or should it be flexible enough to grow into anything? Should I try to find some clever use of the word "blog" in my name? This was my first hope and surely, I thought, I can find some clever blog combo name (here-on-out known as a blogombo--you heard it here first...wait let me check...google says yes, you heard it here first). Alas, all the truly clever names have been used. Try it. Add blog to any word, google it, and presto...someone laid claim to it years ago. I discovered this when National Review held an online contest to name their media blog. They haven't announced their winner yet but my guess is it won't be a blogombo. Some random examples from my research: Blog+godzilla=blogzilla; blog+fantastic=blogtastic; blog+terrific=blogarrific; blogjam; all taken, though blognailinthefoot appears to be unclaimed as of yet and I found no reference to agogblog...take them if you will (but give me link).

Okay. A blogombo is out. What then? My second thought was to create a descriptive name. But what am I describing? It doesn't exist yet. Then I remembered the classic line from Romeo and Juliet. The Bard, speaking through Juliet, tells us that the name doesn't matter! If something is sweet, the name can't change the sweetness! I would so much hve liked to believe that this is true as it would make the task of christening my blog much easier, but I have to take exception to this argument. I think that a name can make or break any endeavor. If a rose was called a stinkweed, a satanblossom, or a hateflower, I don't think millions of dozens would be sold every February.

A poor name can sour a sweet thing. My mother is an excellent cook. Unfortunately, during the seventies and eighties she cooked, it seemed to me, nothing but casseroles filled with water chestnuts. There were two things amiss here. One, the name "casserole" filled me with dread. It is a terrible word filled with Kerry-esque nuances and should never be used in conjunction with food (my tastebuds commit mass seppuku in mere contemplation of the word). Secondly, water chestnuts. Why do they exist? My mother would try to calm my pre-meal query concerning the use of water chestnuts in the day's meal preparation with "You can't really taste them." I heard that line a lot (I always countered with, "Then why did you put them (or it) in?"). With water chestnuts it is true. You can't taste them. But you can feel them. Always added to a soft casserole to give a crunch, they would turn up like old turds on the lawn or roaches in the salad. Their crunch made me ill. Despite this, my mother did create some casseroles I could tolerate and even enjoy. One was "tater-tot casserole". The name is so promising at first, "tater-tot"! What fun! Then, the downer, "casserole". Eventually I was able to convince the management that the name "Tater-tot Extravaganza" would be much more palatable. The name stuck and I still make "Tater-tot Extravaganza" for my family today (sans water chestnuts).

While a poor name can sour a sweet thing, the reverse is not true. A good name cannot sweeten a sour thing. I have tried this in my classes. In AP US History we do an exercise called a DBQ (document based question). They hate it. It is challenging, timed essay that few do really well on. They got to the point where they dreaded the "DBQ" like some dread the "IRS" or others the "GOP". Anyway, I changed the name to "History Extravaganza". They were so excited to do the first one. The looks on their faces were priceless...until I handed out the assignment, and they looked like they had just bitten down on a big, crunchy water chestnut in their own wedding cake. So even if I come up with a great name, there is no guarantee that the blog will rise to the greatness of its name.

So why did I choose the name "The Ohoopee Letter News"? I will leave the story of my blog's name for another day.

Peace