Jul 11, 2013 / Beginner

Choosing the Perfect Blog Name: Museum in a Bottle

Museum professional and writer Alli Burness discusses how she selected her blog name, Museum in a Bottle.

We stumble upon sites across WordPress.com with great names. Periodically, here on The Daily Post, we’ll chat with bloggers on how they chose the perfect blog name. Recently, we talked with Sean Manning at Talking Covers. Today, we’d like to introduce Alli Burness, the writer and museum professional at Museum in a Bottle.

Museum in a Bottle

Tell us about your site, Museum in a Bottle.

I write about the museums I visit as I travel though Australia, Europe, and South America during 2013. The site is still young, as I launched in January this year when I began my journey.

I work in the museum sector, so this is a way to record my ideas and experiences and stay connected with others in the profession. I connect bigger ideas in the profession to my individual experience in museums, big and small, around the world.

How did you decide on the name?

I was inspired by my workplace at the time — a maritime museum — as well as my upcoming travels. I created a shortlist of ideas over a couple of weeks, and then pared it down to the two strongest options: Museum in a Bottle and Museum Pilgrim.

There’s a lot of inspiration behind Museum in a Bottle, which I wrote about in my first post, “Spin the Bottle.” It has many layers of meaning, about museums more broadly and to me personally. And underneath it all, the title echoes a song by a favorite band, The Police. Until now, I hadn’t told anyone that!

The second option wasn’t wasted, though. It became the hashtag on Twitter for my travels: #museumpilgrim.

Do you use this name on other sites? (If not, would you consider using it elsewhere?)

My online presence is mostly professional, so I prefer to use my real name. I was already using my name on Twitter and other sites, so I wouldn’t change that now.

However, I don’t know what will happen to Museum in a Bottle when I return home. I’ll see where my travels, the project, and the site name take me.

Did you buy your custom domain, museuminabottle.com, from WordPress.com?

Yes, I purchased the domain name when I signed up for my WordPress.com account. I like neat and orderly arrangements — it’s a stereotypical trait of a museum registrar — so the idea of a simple domain name appealed to me.

The purchase of the custom domain was easy; the available options and their costs were clear. Actually, I remember it being more affordable and far easier to select the domain than deciding on which theme to use!

Got advice for bloggers choosing a custom domain name?

I recommend taking your time when choosing a site title. I spent one day choosing a previous site’s name and that was a mistake in the end (although I did learn a lot)! Even if you come to a new blog with a great title idea from the start, you should first take your time to research its meanings to you and your audience, as well as its availability.

Thanks for sharing your tips on choosing a blog name, Alli!

For more on choosing a blog name:

For more info on domains:

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  1. Love the name! And 100% agree – the name is so important! We spent days and days deciding our name – and much longer than we’d like to admit just on the preposition between “liberty” and “less” but we’re glad we did!

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  4. The name is a catchy one!! Our blog’s name didn’t need thinking as our family would accuse us of having wheels on our feet, since we travelled ever so frequently

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  8. I like the name too. My pen-name (that I use for blogging) was decided long before blogging was ever invented. When blogs were introduced, I had no confusion about the name that I wanted 🙂

    Destination Infinity

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  9. I wracked my brain to come up with my site’s title, and it wasn’t my favorite. I still consider changing it from time to time. After this, I might.

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  14. the names of my blogs… “Liars, Hypocrites and the Development of Human Emotion”
    “This Is Not A Harlequin Romance”

    I believe the titles are intriguing enough…what do you think…

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  16. Museum in a Bottle is an awesome name! As soon as I read it, I heard The Police song going through my head. I like it, too, bbecause it lets you know what the blog will be about. Sounds like a great niche and a blog I’d like to follow.

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  17. my blog name is simple. robotul (en: the robot) i have change many blogs, because i change my mind about the name. this name i dnt know is the right. anyway, wath do you thing about my blog name ?

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  26. I agree Museum in Bottle is a great title. I have tossed and turned about mine. I feel it states exactly what it says, One Voice, Among Billions. Its just me. I must admit sometimes I just read the titles on WordPress. I enjoy a good title; its like a miniature story. Peace, Light, and Love.

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  27. I just quickly typed mine out as a ‘it’ll do in the meantime until I come up with a clever and witty moniker’ while I was organising my new blog, which is full of ravings I sent back to my family and friends while I was travelling. Then it kind of grew on me…

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  29. Ooo I like it. Like “Spin the Bottle” I also used a coined term to help name my blog. I named my blog Little Bliss Book, after the term ‘Little Black Book’ and used ‘Bliss’ because my favorite quote is to ‘Follow Your Bliss’ or essentially to do what makes you happy. My tagline is The Blissful Living Playbook..I think ties in well..at least I hope. But then again what do I know, I’m not the reader. I guess I should ask. What do you guys think? Anyone willing to share your opinion of what kind of blog you would think ‘Little Bliss Book’ would be from a first impression stand point? Let me know, I’d love to hear opinions:)

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    1. I think that’s fantastic! You achieved what you were trying to accomplish. I chose Life & Snapshots because I am always changing what my focus is (either writing about life or photography) so I figured naming it that leaves me freedom to post as I please without leaving people wondering why in the world I posted it.

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      1. Good tie in with snapshots and ‘changing focus’, I think it’s perfect. Readers get a general sense what your blog is about but know its still open to other topics.

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