Choosing A Name For Your Blog - The Rules Are Simple

The first task in starting a new blog involves picking an available blog name (aka "URL").

The rules for picking a blog name are reasonably simple.

1. Pick a blog name.
2. If "Create a blog" gives you that name, it's yours. Continue with #4.
3. If "Create a blog" shows "Sorry!", pick another name, and continue with #2.
4. Setup your new blog.

Some folks need even simpler rules.

1. If "Create a blog" gives you the name of your choice, it's yours.
2. If "Create a blog" does not give you that name, you have to pick another.

Which ever rules you wish to go by, the "Create a blog" wizard has the final say.

There are several reasons why "Create a blog" may not give you the name of your choice.

Some people think that deleted and dormant blogs should be subject to different rules.

I see

Sorry, the blog at thenameofmydreams.blogspot.com has been removed.

Who do I contact, at Google, to have "thenameofmydreams" re issued, to me?

and

The blog at thenameofmydreams.blogspot.com has not been updated for over a year. Who do I contact to have it re issued, to me?

There are several reasons why a blog may have been deleted - and each reason produces different availability issues.

1. If you are (were) the owner, and you deleted it under 90 days ago, you are allowed to un delete it.
2. If you are (were) the owner, and you deleted it over 90 days ago, it is gone.
3. If someone else is (was) the owner, and they deleted it, they likewise have up to 90 days to un delete it.
4. If Blogger deleted it, the owner (you, or another person) has eternity to have it reviewed (and possibly, recovered).

Dormant blogs are simpler to discuss - since dormant blogs, in reality, do not exist. There are no requirements for posting frequency or volume.

If the name is made available by Blogger, then "Create a blog" will be able to assign it to you - if it is available, when you request it. If it's not made available, you can't have it.

Blogger Support said it, so simply.

Blogger accounts and Blogspot addresses do not expire. Therefore, we can't take away somebody's blog address to give to you.

If it's not available, they will not re issue it to you.

If you have a blog to start, pick an available name, today - and get started, today.

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The "Create a new blog" Wizard Is Not Prescient

We're seeing some odd problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about blog creation.

I entered just the first letter of the name which I wanted, and I immediately saw

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

How am I supposed to create a blog, if all the names are taken?

What intrigues me here is not that people see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

It's that people don't ask the next question.

How did it know what name I was typing, before I finished?

How do you explain that you have to type the entire name, and have that name checked, before giving up, disappointed?

Maybe the "Create a new blog" wizard is too good, for its own good.

Too much transparency actually makes it harder, for some people, to use it properly. Having the name checked for availability, as typed, one character at a time, may be a bit excessive.

Had I been creating this blog, long ago, as "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com", I would have typed "bloggerstatusforreal" - and the "Create a new blog" would have checked, one by one

• b
• bl
• blo
• blog
• blogg
• blogge
• blogger
• bloggers
• bloggerst
• bloggersta
• bloggerstat
• bloggerstatu
• bloggerstatus
• bloggerstatusf
• bloggerstatusfo
• bloggerstatusfor
• bloggerstatusforr
• bloggerstatusforre
• bloggerstatusforrea
• bloggerstatusforreal

And I will bet good money, that I would have seen

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

during much of the typing.

• b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bl Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blo Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blog Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogg Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogge Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogger Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggers Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerst Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggersta Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstat Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatu Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatus Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatusf
• bloggerstatusfo
• bloggerstatusfor
• bloggerstatusforr
• bloggerstatusforre
• bloggerstatusforrea
• bloggerstatusforreal

Since I created this blog, long ago, as an imitation of "bloggerstatus.blogspot.com", obviously "bloggerstatus" was taken. Most likely, the shorter names were likewise taken.

Then again, even if "bloggerstatus" was taken, that does not say, for sure, that "bloggerstatu" was. Or "bloggerstat".

• b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bl Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blo Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blog Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogg Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogge Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogger Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggers Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerst Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggersta Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstat Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatu This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatus Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatusf This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusfo This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusfor This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusforr This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusforre This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusforrea Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatusforreal Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Yes, I actually checked, one character at a time - and that's what I saw.

The bottom line here is that you have to type - and check - availability, one character at a time. And, you have to be persistent.

What would have happened, if I had given up, immediately.

• b Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Dammit, all the names are taken!!

Well, you would not be reading "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com" now, would you?

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URL Availability Competition, During "Buy a Domain", Is Similar To "Create a Blog"

Some Blogger blog owners, trying to setup a new blog, discover the hard way that other people are trying to do the same thing.

When I try to use "Create a blog", I keep seeing

This name is not available.

or

Blogger is saying it's available - but as I begin to register, it says that it has already received a request for this name.

Other blog owners discover that the competition between Blogger blog owners, when using "Create a blog", also applies to "Buy a domain". And worse yet, "Buy a domain" involves competition with would be website owners outside Blogger / Google.

Besides the competition with other buyers, there's a problem that the domain purchase process takes time - and during the purchase process, someone else can be purchasing the same domain also.

The longer the purchase process takes you, the greater the possibility that someone else may "steal" the domain from you. You, and the unseen other person, may start the purchase at the same time - but the person who gets the money to their registrar first gets the domain.

Let's use "Create a blog" as a simple example of an address selection process.

1. You type the blog name, of your choice.
2. With every character you type, Blogger checks for availability.
3. Initially, with not enough characters typed, you see bad news.

   Sorry, this blog address is not available.

4. When you have typed enough characters so you are now requesting a unique name, you see good news.

   This blog address is available.

5. Since you have, hopefully, already entered a Title and selected a Template, you now hit the "Create blog!" button.
6. Hoping that you were fast enough, the address which was available half a second previously is available as you hit the button - and the blog name of your preference becomes your new blog name.
7. If you were not fast enough, someone else might have snuck in front of you. Instead of seeing your new blog, you now see the bad news.

   Sorry, this blog address is not available.

The "Create a blog" wizard is simple.

1. You see good news.
2. You hit "Create blog!".
3. You are done.

Even with a "Create a blog" selection period of 1 second - and if your reflexes are not that good, it could take you longer - you could lose out. What if the selection process was longer - instead of 1 second, say 5 minutes? The "Buy a domain" process is a bit more complicated, than "Create a blog".

1. You enter an available domain URL.
2. You hopefully see the good news.
3. Now, you pay for the purchase.
4. You enter all of the details, about your bank account.
5. Google charges your bank a token amount, to verify that you actually entered a valid bank account number.
6. You hopefully see more good news.
7. Now, Google passes the purchase to the registrar.
8. The registrar sends the actual purchase to your bank.
9. Your bank credits the account of the registrar.
10. The registrar then registers the domain, in your name.
11. Google can then setup the addresses in the domain.
12. Blogger can then publish the blog, to the domain.
13. And hopefully, the blog is now live (and In Transition) with the domain URL.

The "Buy a domain" wizard is not simple.

1. You enter an available domain URL.
2. ...
3. The registrar registers the domain, in your behalf.
4. You are done.

Unfortunately, during the amount of time that it takes your bank to pay your registrar, somebody else could be buying the same domain, from another registrar. The longer that it takes your registrar to get paid, the greater the chance that someone else may register the domain, which you have supposedly paid for, before your purchase is complete.

Unfair? Certainly. But, based on the worldwide Internet based domain registry system, it can happen. What's worse, the symptoms of an unsuccessful domain purchase are similar to an attempted purchase restart.

And that leaves you with the uncertainty, when you post in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

Blogger is saying it's available - but as I begin to register, it says that it has already received a request for this name.

And sometimes, after you wait the legendary 2 to 3 days, you find that someone else bought the domain, while you were waiting.

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Renaming Your Blog Requires Choosing An Available Blog Name

Like creating a blog, the task of renaming your blog involves one very important step - choosing an available blog name.

When you rename your blog - as in change the blog address - you have to pick a name (address) that's not in use. Both creating a blog, and renaming a blog, suffer from one key detail - you can't identify an available address before you get started.

When you create, or rename, a blog, you can only get to the task at hand, and start with the best choice.

Like "Create a blog", you'll only find out about an available URL after you have successfully chosen that URL for your blog. Unlike "Create a blog", the Blog Address wizard does not verify availability in real time.

1. Paste or type the desired blog name (Only the "yyyyyyy" in "yyyyyyy.blogspot.com").
2. Hit Save.
3. If the name was available, you'll be looking at the initial Blog Address display, with the new address "yyyyyyy.blogspot.com" identified - and "yyyyyyy" will now be unavailable.
4. If the name is not available, you'll get the sad news

   Subdomain: yyyyyyy is not available.

   And now, go back to Step #1, and try again.

If you want to do the rename with the least stress, you make a list of possible choices before you start, and sort the list in decreasing preference. Decide which names you like the most, before you start. Then start the above process with Step #1, and your top choice. If you end at Step #4, pick the next choice in the list, and go to Step #1, again.

As with "Create a blog", you should plan to go through your list as promptly as possible. Hesitate too long, when making the next choice, and your alternate choices could be unavailable.

If your choice of name will affect design work on the existing blog, yet you wish to change the blog design before renaming the blog, setup a stub blog - and pick the best available name for the stub blog, now. Once that's done, make the necessary design changes on your current blog - then swap names between the stub blog and your current blog. You'll likely use the stub blog, later.

As with creating a new blog, please note that addresses previously taken will not be reissued to you by Blogger - a 10 year old blog remains valid, whether published once daily for 10 years, or once 10 years ago and never again.

And as soon as you get the new name successfully chosen, be prepared to continue the renaming process, as promptly as possible.

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When You Create A Blog, Only Type The Blog Name, To Check For Availability

Too many would be blog owners are unable to create a blog, because they don't understand how to check for availability.

I can't seem to type in a URL, without it saying it's not available.

Some people don't understand that you do not type a URL - you just type a blog name, when checking for availability.

This is the (BlogSpot) URL of this blog.

http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com

This is the (BlogSpot) name of this blog.

bloggerstatusforreal

If I was going to use the "Create a blog" wizard, and create this blog, I would type the name - "bloggerstatusforreal". If I typed the entire URL "http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com" - even if "bloggerstatusforreal" was available (and no, it is not ever going to be available), I should expect to see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

It's that simple - only type the name, to check for availability.

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Would Be Blog Owners Report Inability To Create A Blog

We are currently seeing frustration, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about new blog creation.

Would be new blog owners have various concerns

I can't create a blog - the "Create" button is grey (inoperative)!

or

It keeps saying

Verifying availability

when I enter a blog name!!

or even

It said

This blog address is available.

until I hit "Create blog!" - then it changed to

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Each of these problem reports - and others - may come from people who don't read the instructions, for using the wizard. Alternately, some folks may be complaining about yet one more case of over done layered security.

The most obvious problems, in the blog creation process, come from people who don't understand how to use the "Create a blog" wizard.

Not every would be blog owner understands that 3 things must be done, to make the "Create blog!" button operative - and all 4 must be done, before the blog is actually created.

1. Enter a Title for the blog.
2. Enter an acceptable and available Name for the blog.
3. Select a Template for the blog.
4. Hit "Create blog!", with "This blog address is available." displayed.

When you choose a Name (aka "address" or "URL"), enter your choice properly.

• Only enter the "xxxxxxx" part of "xxxxxxx.blogspot.com".
• Only use lower case alphabetic characters ("a" - "z"), numeric characters ("0" - "9"), and dashes ("-").
• Do not use a trailing dash (You cannot publish "xxxxxxx- . blogspot . com").

Besides the syntax issues when entering a blog name (URL), there is the unfortunate issue of competition in the creation process. Blog owners who are anxiously creating a new blog, based upon a current event - maybe a popular movie star, or an important political campaign - will be dismayed to see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

If you are competing in real time, with other would be blog owners, for the name of your choice - and you take too long between Steps #1 - #3, and Step #4 - you may still see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Many people want to setup a blog, based on that blog name. Some may see the bad news, repeatedly, leading to one frequently seen complaint.

All the good addresses are taken!

And sometimes, to a more imaginative suggestion.

How do I get Blogger to re issue me the dormant address?

The latter question is one of futility.

Finally, the anxious blog owner may see

Checking address availability

for some time - possibly forever - if an overly ambitious cookie / script filter, or an intrusive security add-on is installed in the browser. In this case, the magical advice to

Clear cache and cookies!

or

Try a different browser!!

will be effective - though absent any attempt to diagnose the problem, one may not ever know what actual underlying problem may have caused the plaintive cry

I can't create my blog!

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Blog Owners Report Mysterious Blogs Added To Their Dashboard Blog List

We are seeing a small but steadily increasing stream of problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from Blogger blog owners, wondering where these mysterious blogs, being added to their dashboard "My blogs" list, are coming from.

Is anyone else experiencing random blogs being added to their dashboard? I login, and I notice that many blogs have been made - and they're all with names that are just a jumble of letters and numbers, but no posts. All of them lead to the same blog though.

Here's a random list of the names of 7 such blogs, which were recently created in the "blogspot.com" name space. If you wish to examine these blogs, and these have not yet been deleted by the Blogger anti spam processes, I strongly advise that you use a proxy server, or similar isolation technique. Never examine any hacking / spam attack component, unprotected.

yyxfkfgpiy
x24xd2wtu1
4o4fq0rqp9
26djmc3xyh
m9s5tdor2l
h62wo5uthr
bsojvu43gk

Some blog owners are seeing dozens of these mysterious blogs. Adding to the confusion, a couple owners have even thought that their legitimate blogs have been replaced. Fortunately, what is happening is that the legitimate blogs are still there - just not visible in the noise.

When queried for details, many owners report having received, and accepted, an offer involving FaceBook, and the suggestion to "Change your colors". Apparently, if logged in to both Blogger / Google, and FaceBook, this mysterious "FaceBook app" will simply setup quantities of BlogSpot hosted spam blogs, frighteningly reminiscent of blogs created as part of the long ago observed Russian Business Network spam blog farms.

Each blog created has the same initial content - a display, with the offer to "Change your FaceBook colors". The link to accept the offer then leads to a non Google website, which installs the malware, which creates the mysterious spam blogs, in mass quantity. For your examination, here is one example spam blog - which may or may not currently be online, using a proxy server link.

http://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/http://yyxfkfgpiy.blogspot.com/

We don't yet know what, if anything, is being installed on the computer used in the blogs creation - nor how malicious the virus is, when installed on one's own computer. Our advice is simple - avoid becoming a victim. If you are receiving invitations for this service, it's possible that your FaceBook friends, supposedly sending the invitations, are the current victims. If you ignore the offer, you should be safe.

It's possible, too, that this attack is enabled by the massive attacks of seemingly purposeless spam comments, being published on various blogs.

If you are concerned about this situation, you might want to check all of your blogs for unfamiliar code - then review your current protection, and even consider using Google 2-step verification.

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Creating A New Blog

In terms of questions which seem, to me, to be on the level as the legendary question

Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?

the question, asked by some folks in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?

How do I setup a new blog?

would seem to be at the top of the list. But, it's not necessarily so, for everybody.

The process of setting up a new blog, using the New GUI "New Blog" wizard, seems reasonably obvious - for those who have already done one, anyway.

• Hit "New Blog".
• Enter a Title.
• Enter an accepted and available Address.
• Pick a Template.
• Hit "Create blog!".
• Get started - develop your blog - and make it valuable.

But, there are details, which not everybody gets the first time. And Blogger blogs are all about the details - unpleasant at they may be, sometimes.

If you're like me, and create new blogs periodically, note the limit of new blog creation per Blogger account.



The Title

The Title (sometimes referred to as the "Name") is entirely your choice. Any number of blogs can have the same Title - and you can change the Title of your blog now, or any time in the future.

The Address

The Address (also sometimes referred to as the "Name" or "URL") is your choice - but subject to acceptability, and availability. Even with an acceptable and available address verified in real time, if you take any more than 0.00 seconds to hit "Create blog!" after verifying availability, somebody else may steal your choice.

You can change the Address later - but again, subject to acceptability and availability. And if the Address / Name / URL acquires any reputation, you will do well to plan the change, before making the change.

The Template

This is the most daunting selection, for many people - but it's easy enough to change, later. One mistake made sometimes involves people creating a blog intended to be private, and selecting a dynamic template ("Dynamic Views").

Just remember, the longer that you take to get from entering the address, to hitting "Create blog!" - even 1 second - may be too long for some popular blog names.

The Button

One of the most mysterious parts of "Create a blog" is the button

Create blog!

Sometimes, you hit the button, and it does nothing - just sits there looking at you. What now, is Blogger broken? Most likely, you have failed to enter an acceptable and available blog address. Go back to The Address, and try again.

More Advice

You may find more advice, in Blogger Help: Getting Started Guide, and Blogger Help: About URLs.

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