A New (Site) Name
I've had alanwsmith.com since 20001. I didn't use it as my primary domain at first. Everyone was wary of having their online identities tied to their IRL ones back then.
I don't remember when I switched to using it as my primary site. The first blog entry is from 2005. That was originally on BlogSpot/Blogger2, but I think I moved to the named site pretty quickly thereafter.
What's It Called
As fun as having the domain is, two things bug me about it:
- It a little formal sounding. Especially because of the middle initial3.
- It's long. Eight syllables is a lot.
Also, my site isn't me. It's its own thing. I poke around for other names from time to time. Looking for something shorter. Lighter. Independent.
Today, I found one:
I'm surprised no one had it. It's been used for spamy link sites and cyber-squatted since 2000. The last snapshot in the wayback machine is Feb. 2023. So, it freed up some time after that.
Moving Days
I'm going to move all the content from alanwsmith.com over to al9000.com. That includes the 100+ subdomains. An extended project, to be sure.
Kickoff won't start until I've made the new version of Neopoligen. The new domain will where I kick the tires4.
I can't wait.
-a
Endnotes
I'll lose SEO ranking with the move. I'm not worried about that though. With all the AI slop it's harder and harder for anything to rank. Also, I'm not selling anything on the site or trying to make ad revenue off it.
Footnotes
The DNS history records say "alanwsmith.com" was first registered on July 13, 2000. I'm pretty sure I had another domain before that. I have distinct memories of putting photos up when I was working in the Alabama Athletics Dept. Sometime around April 1998 which is when this snapshot is from.
I don't remember what it was though.
Originally at "anotheralan.blogspot.com". That's been removed, but the archive still exists.
I would have had alansmith.com in the '90s but you had to have a server/IP address to point the domain to back then. Something my college budget couldn't afford.
Having the new domain just sitting there waiting will act as good motivation to get Neopoligen upgraded.