Man Bites Dog; Makes Plea for Your Input on the Name “Ishmael’s Corner”

Would you have reached this point if the headline simply read, “A Plea for Your Input on the Name ‘Ishmaels’ Corner’?”

It doesn’t matter.

You’re here; clickbait be damned.

Here’ the situation.

The “look and feel” of my blog harkens back to a time when AOL dominated and MySpace was hot. I believe my first notion to redesign the blog occurred four years ago. Obviously, acknowledging a problem and doing something about it are not one and the same.

But the moment has arrived.

The redesign of the blog is officially underway.

This is where I need your helping hand. If you could take roughly 30 seconds out of your crazed schedule to share your opinion on this blog’s name “Ishmael’s Corner,”  I would greatly appreciate the input.

In short, should I keep the current name? Yes or no.

Of course, if your perspective goes deeper than this question, by all means continue on. I value any and all comments.

Every time I consider the pros and cons, I end up in a psychological maze with no way out.

A little bit of historical context —

Since storytelling underpins the blog, I wanted a name with such a connotation. This led to the novel “Moby Dick” and the quasi double entendre:  Not only does Ishmael narrate the story, but he also starts the saga with one of the most famous lines in American literature, “Call me Ishmael.”

That’s how I ended up with the name “Ishmael’s Corner” when I launched the blog in 2008.

It wasn’t until years later that I figured out that no one under 40 knows this Ishmael character with the exception of bible scholars who think of Ishmael as the first son of Abraham. Not exactly my target audience.

My good friend and colleague Steve Farnsworth (a.k.a. @Steveology) has chided me on numerous occasions over Hobee’s coffee cake to change the name.

I’ve resisted because I felt that even if people missed the literary connection, there’s a certain amount of equity in the name after 600 plus posts. And there’s no getting around the fact that one gets comfortable with a name after reading it again and again and again.

But with the decision to bulldoze the site a done deal, now would be the logical time to change the name if, in fact, I do so.

Hence, the question, should I keep the name?

You can send your answer via Twitter (@LouHoffman), a posted comment or email LHoffman@Hoffman.com.

Thanks.

Before signing off, three names that I find clever:

• Dave’s Killer Bread: While “killer” has been overused, sandwiched between the founder and bread creates a name that sticks in your brain.
• Spin Sucks: The word “spin” symbolizes bad communications. It took guts to play off this heartburn in naming a blog that serves communication professionals.
• The Rude Baguette: This is an English language blog that covers the startup scene in France. I’m not sure an adjective has ever been put to better use.

And no, I’m not going to change the name of my blog to “Lou’s Rude and Killer Spin.”