Monkey think, monkey do
Does your blog have a cool name?
Mine does…
Indie Thinkin’.
What do you think? Do you think Indie Thinkin’ is a cool name for a blog? I hope so. I like it. I especially like the hanging apostrophe indicating a sense of humor or—at the least—a non-formal approach. You know, chillin’ and all dat.
Besides my irreverent nature I think ‘Indie Thinkin’’ might also convey a little of what I like to blog about too, themes which might be summed up under these two headings: Independent Thinking and Independent Publishing.
1. Independent Thinking
One thing I love about the internet is it offers an alternative to the mainstream media. There are a lot of intelligent people out there—writers, freelance journalists, and informed computer chair philosophers—taking the time to report on important world issues. Many such folk do so without the intrenched bias subjectivity that comes from being edited forced—however much they might or might not try to resist—to propagate a corporation’s opinion. Not all Free Thinkers are conspiracy theorists simple because they offer seldom cited evidence to support seldom presented claims (the brave people behind Remember Building 7 come to mind right now). Similarly though, no man is an island and as such I don’t pretend all my thoughts are original but I do value the opportunity to give voice to ideas which seem sound to me but go unheard by many.
2. Independent Publishing
I’ve had a DIY ethic for a long time. Before independently publishing my first novel this ‘just get on with it’ approach was responsible for me producing three self-penned plays and four original CDs. I didn’t know it at the time but way back in 1990 when I sourced artwork, designers and manufacturers for an ‘Independent Cassette’ (for my then band, Why Not?) I was taking my first steps on the journey of an independent publisher. Even today, as I prepare to press ‘publish’ on this post I am continuing my exploration of what it means to present my work to the world without the need for a complex system between me and…you.
So there it is. A simple breakdown of why this blog is called what it is. But even though I like Indie Thinkin’ enough to have bought the domain name (the url isn’t linked through just yet) that doesn’t mean I didn’t think up a few other names first. After all, making a choice requires options.
Here were some of the other names I considered in my brainstorming:
- Think, Write
- Think n’ Write
- Indiethinkin’ (one word)
- Alternative News Sauce and Alternative Opinion Sauce—even did some mockup art for that one…
It’s good for you too!
As you can see it wasn’t a long list I needed to make before settling on Indie Thinkin’. Maybe though, if I had found this blog name generator before choosing Indie Thinkin’ I could easily have ended up with too many to choose from. Check out these randomly generated blog names:
- Snobby Column (there’s enough of those already)
- Heart Life (as in I ‘heart’ life OR the expiry date of teen romance perhaps?)
- Nude Chronicles (good for a video blog maybe?)
- Bugger Updates (possibly appropriate for a private school boys’ blog)
- Violet Ramblings (my name’s not Violet)
- Geeky Blatherings (don’t know enough about tech stuff)
- Feisty Fantasies (hello hello!)
- Cool Thoughts (if I had enough of those to fill a blog I probably wouldn’t be a blogger considering ‘Geeky Blatherings’ for my blog title)
So how about you? Has your blog got a cool name? Any name at all? Maybe ‘cool’ isn’t the best word? Maybe your blog’s name is memorable, funny, perfectly descriptive or totally irrelevant (and irreverent)?
Feel free to whack a link to your blog in your comment too.
mewelljr
/ May 29, 2012Bored Dandy Emotional…
I write when I’m bored, I’m generally pretty dandy – and like the Dandy Warhols – I write a bit about anxiety so… Plus I like the Triffids album it rhymes with. Decision made in a rush, but it the name takes on its own meaning as the blog establishes its identity.
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 29, 2012Cool. So is listening to your ‘Dog Eared’ song as I write this reply.
Sometimes those decisions made in a rush are the best ones. No time for the tick-tock mind to get in the way of…instinct?
mewelljr
/ May 29, 2012Bored Dandy Emotional
(http://boreddandyemotional.blogspot.com)
Basically, blogging’s a passion to avoid boredom, I’m generally pretty dandy – and like the Dandy Warhols – and write a bit about mental health. Plus I like the Triffids album it rhymes with (that’s basically where it came from).
Idea formed quickly but these names attach to the identity of the blog and take their own meaning in time, like band names. Who’s have thought The Beatles would sound cool?
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 29, 2012Good point (s). By name The Beatles should be England’s version of The Wiggles. Which raises important questions like ‘What colour would John be?’ and…no, that’s all I got.
BTW I agree with what you said in one of your posts – ‘Life begins at the acceptance of death.’ That’s why all we need is love, right? And a blog to spread it.
mewelljr
/ May 30, 2012Eep, didn’t realise I’d posted twice!
Cheers. Yeah, love is the drug! We all need a good dose from each other from time to time
Good stuff at EWF btw
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 30, 2012No worries. The more posts the…postier?
Thanks for your kind words about EWF too. Now I’m wondering where abouts in the audience you were? Next time say Hi (now that we’re comment buddies and all!)
mewelljr
/ May 30, 2012Indeed
Actually I was in the front row at the ‘Structure’ session… You handed the cards to me to start passing along!
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 31, 2012Cool. We have had both actual and virtual contact. Vactual :)
Zen
/ May 29, 2012Indie Thinkin’ is a definitely cool name, and I like the way its designed!
Mine is Zen Scribbles (http://zenscribbles.wordpress.com), and it’s nothing special. My name’s Zen, and I scribble… yay creativity? I was just lucky to find that it wasn’t taken, since it’s also the name of my author site.
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 29, 2012Thanks Zen. I instinctively took to the art of Zen scribbling with the closest Kilometrico pen and that was the result. Well, with a little digital cut and paste’n and tweakin’ in my graphics application (Acorn if anyone’s interested).
Like your minimalism thing going on too (at your blog). Keeps the focus on your words.
Write on.
Elyse
/ May 29, 2012What a fun post! I too like your blog’s name.
Mine? Not so much. It’s a pretty stupid name, but I am sticking with it. Here’s why: http://fiftyfourandahalf.com/2012/01/17/people-my-age/
And Ben, when will your book be available on Nook?
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 29, 2012Thanks Elyse.
Fiftyfourandahalf is a great blog name. I remember reading and enjoying (and liking) that post too. And though I’m not bound to ‘fessing up my age by the title of my blog I do find myself dropping enough hints to indicate my four dec’s (short for decades, man!). I try not to worry about getting older but I do take offence when my Twitter-friendly more youthful #friends casually refer to one of my polite funnies as a ‘Daddy joke’.
Daddy joke? Me? Yes, I’ve got two lovely baby girls but I’m too edgy to be dorky aren’t I?
Shit, I just used the word ‘dorky’…oh, well, bring on my next birthday.
PS. Hopefully have the Nook version of The Last Great Day available before Christmas!
Elyse
/ May 29, 2012Since I am no longer 54.5, well, I am no longer fessing, I am blatantly lying.
I don’t want to wait until Christmas — I will have to get the hard copy! I’ll contact you shortly for that.
And just because you are a Daddy doesn’t mean, necessarily, dorkiness. At least not until your girls are teenagers.
jouljet
/ May 30, 2012Ha, that blog name generator has come up with some interesting ideas!
My blog’s name means “like”, or more specifically “to love in your heart” in Khmer, which really resonated with me when I spent time in Cambodia, and when setting up my blog to start some travels, I hoped it would be the theme! And it has, and continues to be!
B.G. Mitchell
/ May 30, 2012‘To love in your heart’ sounds intriguing.
So I clicked on your avatar but…no link!
Hmm, maybe I can google it…
Sabra Bowers
/ June 2, 2012Yep, I do think you blog name is cool. It reflects your independent thinking and humor. My blog name comes from an answered prayer. Slater is my maiden name. My blog is http://sabrabowers.wordpress.com
B.G. Mitchell
/ June 2, 2012Thanks Sabra.
‘Later, Miss Slater’ is a return to your roots, hey? I imagine it’s also a hint to how you pronounce your maiden name?
Sabra Bowers
/ June 3, 2012I’m a poet you know…probably have that going on with later and Slater. I use later a lot when signing off on emails, notes, etc. with friends I’m always in contact with. Also, in relation to my blog, it says that now is the time for good things to happen to Miss Slater (because it is later) and for good things to happen for you! It is later, but not too late.
miche123
/ June 6, 2012The name of your blog is catchy and I like the meaning behind it. Mine is The Labyrinth of chemical sensitivities http://thelabyrinthofthechemicallysensitive.wordpress.com/ because that’s what I’m trying to escape from; however, I’m also a writer so it’s just a place to release that really.
Cheers
B.G. Mitchell
/ June 6, 2012Thank you Miche (is it?).
Your blog name got me in straight away (as you can probably tell from my recent visit). I like how you’ve gone for…distance (?) too. Man, I want to see that blog name on a business card. It’s almost as long as a tweet! :)
Benjamin Solah
/ June 20, 2012I like your name, Benjamin. It suits you.
I’ve gone back to calling my blog by my name, Benjamin Solah but for a while there, I called it ‘Blood and Barricades’ mixing the horror fiction element and the radical political element of my work. It worked for a bit, except now there is less horror genre in my work and my identity and themes change so often that it’s best to just call it my own name.
B.G. Mitchell
/ June 20, 2012Your blog was one of the first to show me the benefits of having a name (back when it was ‘Blood and Barricades’). Apart from the catchy alliteration I felt it also showed what you were about as a writer.
But, as you say, it can be limiting having a ‘named’ blog too. Luckily your surname is pretty unique, so you still stand out from the crowd (and the Benjamins)!
(Check out Benjamin at Benjamin Solah)
Deanne
/ June 20, 2012The Obsolescence Project, as you know:) But I started hashtagging it as #projectObso so I kinda wish I’d gone with that:)
B.G. Mitchell
/ June 20, 2012Name great, tag also. After starting my Year of Living Sober blog I opened my @yearoffbooze Twitter account and thought maybe it would have been better to have the blog and the twitter names the same but, you know, swings and round-abouts.
I like #projectObso because you could start a trend with that. Which gives me an idea…:)
TansyBradshaw
/ July 3, 2012When I think of ‘Indie Thinking’ I think of those people in skinny jeans with checkered shirts and slicked back hair…. not independent…. but anyway….
http://www.wantsashybard.com
B.G. Mitchell
/ July 4, 2012Oh yeah, there is that angle too. Maybe I subconsciously wanted to evoke my inner-urban hipster too? I do wear converse sneakers.