Weekend Debate: What’s in a name?

Lately, I’ve been wondering if maybe “Puddintopia” is perhaps not the greatest name for a blog I’d like to attract people to.  That’s not to say I don’t like the name.  Quite the opposite, actually, I like it quite a bit.  It’s very indicative of who I am, and when I started this whole nonsense, that as much as anything else was part of the ol’ mission statement*. 

Still, I can’t help but question whether it might be off-putting to people who don’t know me.  And as a writer who someday would like to count himself among the published, attaining more readers is unquestionably a good thing.  I mean, I know an increased readership comes with it’s own set of problems, but I look forward to some of those.  I’ll be happy like a little girl with a cheap festival Kewpie doll when I get my first blog troll.

So, then, as much as I like the title of my blog – I mean, have you ever seen or heard one like it? – it’s difficult not to consider the possibility that perhaps if this blog was instead titled with actual, you know, English words, more people might be interested in seeing what I’m rambling on about. 

I’ve had people tell me that it’s a good thing to have such an unusual name.  That in a world with more dot coms than dippin’ dots, such an unorthodox title would be remarkable and memorable to people.  But then, that assumes people have actually heard it, and I don’t think that’s the case here.  It’s the internet version of the chicken and egg: sure, it might be memorable at a certain critical mass, but is the oddness of the name (and URL) a factor in preventing people from finding their way here. 

Which is to say, have you ever not clicked a link because it led to a website that sounded a little…odd?  I’m not sure I’d follow a link to “SquishyXanadu.com”, if you know what I mean.  In other words, the internet is a scary place, and I wonder if people don’t have more trust issues than “Puddintopia” can overcome.

Hey, look, I’m rambling again.  Shocking, I know.

The weekend’s debate, then, isn’t so much a debate as a question in which I’d like some opinions.

Puddintopia: Is it a bad name for a blog that wants to grow?

The associated Poll of Epic Usefulness:

Seriously, I’d like some feedback.  If you don’t want to leave a comment, at least answer the poll.  Don’t make me come knocking door to door.  I can find your IP addresses, you know**.

*No, I don’t have an actual mission statement.  Are you kidding? I can barely decided what my mission for lunch should be on a daily basis.
**I can’t really.  I mean, I probably could, but it’d take a lot of effort and probably some law-breaking and well, guys like me don’t do well in prison