What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;
Yes, a quote from Romeo and Juliet by that most most esteemed of playwrights, Shakespeare. You have to hand it to him really, his views and philosophies concerning the human condition ware rather brilliant, even now som four hundred year later. But, does a name really matter? Yes.
I have a weird name. Taraz. My last name isn't any less strange to most people. At least, where I grew up and also, where I now live. Having a strange name has pros and cons to it. The Pros centre around the idea that being unique and standing out of the crowd has its advantages, the Cons are that being unique and standing out of the crowd has its disadvantages. But, we are not here to talk about my name, we are here to talk about yours. Maybe.
Do you know the account 
@
steemawesomeness, steemalicious, steemking, steemmeupscotty, whalesteem, supercrypto, steemwhalecryptoking45, wha1esteemitsteemysteem, steemi7whalelord, cryptowhalelambo, steemitcryptotrader756, cryptosteemtraderwhale, steemit-tradercrypto, cryptocoin-whalesteem, whalesfromthecrypto ........
I don't think they are real but, you get the idea (that last one is awesome and available btw). My point is, that when it comes to standing out of the crowd, these names just don't cut it. Yes, I know, I know 
The reason is that there are only about 500,000 accounts registered so far but, that is expected to rise quickly. You may think that it is great to get a Steemit, Crypto or Whale name now but, unless you are going to make that name big, it is going to blend in with all of the others out there now and those to come.
Nearly every time I click on one of these types of names, I can almost be guaranteed that they are a Duster with 15.003 STEEM POWER. There is nothing wrong with that and it is great to be optimistic, but calling yourself steemwhalekingofthenorth is going to look silly if a year down the track your account is 15.428 STEEM. Sure, it may make you feel awesome to have such a powerful name but, this is the blockchain.
With so few accounts on the platform, you can have almost any name you could possible want. This is a ground floor opportunity really and, even if you don't want to use it now, perhaps you might want to reserve your real name for the future. Especially if it something like Bob Smith as if this really does take off, you might want to go legit because bobbybigdick-69 might not be suitable for marketing to clients looking to get your expert advice on blockchain technologies.
At some point, the hope is that getting a name here is like getting a google email address, all taken. So, for those joined and creating alts or, those onboarding people, think through your naming practices and advice you give a little. I am not saying you have to use your real name with social security number and it might not mean much now but perhaps in the future, you will think differently.
This goes for the app developers too, especially those that are looking to build SMT projects. Hopefully, some of your projects will absolutely boom but, think about the naming of them now as it is terrible for you and confusing for users if you must rebrand later because the name was poorly chosen.
It is also smart to remember that Steemit and the Steem blockchain are different. Steemit need not survive for the Steem blockchain to be massive. Steemit is just one of the frontends. But, the account names will survive even if Steemit doesn't as they are the ID of the account itself.
Yes, it is good to have a name that stands out but, remember that it is a name that stands out and is easily remembered so, it makes it a little easier to find if you behave well, or poorly as the case may be.
Also, if you are looking for engagement, j0hn5m1th is not easy to type and since tagging doesn't work, you are likely adding steps to someone's ability to remember and find you. Not wise in an attention deficit disorder world.
There are lots of things to think about when choosing a name but look at it kind of like a tattoo. Sure, at 18 that spider on your face seemed a brilliant idea but now that you just finished your law degree and need a job, hindsight says differently.
Just some thoughts to be thought.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]