It’s about time that our kids, ages four and seven (twins), begin to establish a web presence. Not really but I’m considering registering their personal domain names so that they’ll have them for later.
By a personal domain name I mean something like [first name][last name].com.
Pros
What are the advantages of being proactive about reserving the domains? Is it really worth spending the extra money every year? I think that it could be. I’m somewhat on the fence about it.
It’s a Gift
They’ll be appreciative later that we thought ahead. More TLDs (Top-Level Domains such as .com, .me, and .co) will surely be added over time but it’s not likely that their exact firstnamelastname domains will continue to be available.
Future Education, Career, and Business Purposes
Having a dedicated and personalized site may be attractive to employers, colleges, and/or customers. It could serve as their resume or portfolio.
Positive Online Reputation
We could begin developing a positive online reputation by showcasing their achievements. By getting the domain, we could keep a bad guy (or gal) with the same name from standing up a questionable site.
We don’t know what the future holds but the internet is becoming more of a central part of our lives every day, making online reputation (web presence) increasingly important.
It’s Neat
As a technical guy I think that having the personal domain is neat because of the possibilities that comes along with a website. It’s your very own little slice of the web that you can control (to an extent) and possibly impact the world.
Cons
I have to weigh the disadvantages as well.
Cost
At today’s rates, you’ll typically pay $10 to $15 per year to hold a domain registration for the more popular TLDs. I’ve got three kids so that’s $30 – $45 per year for the next ten to fifteen years given that the cost stays the same and the kids take over the renewals fees.
Possible Waste
I’d hate to hold the domain for years to find that it’s never used. The web will be around for a while though and it’s likely that personal domains will increase in popularity over time. It’s likely that the kids will want to keep their domain name.
I’m interested in what you think about securing domain names for kids, personal, or one for your family. Please leave a comment if this is something that you’ve pondered or if you can give any insight around the topic.
