Pay $1000 for a Domain Name? Not This Guy!

Today was a good day. I finally removed “.wordpress” from this site’s address. As insignificant as that may seem, it has reminded me of the importance of starting projects even when available resources are insufficient.

I had started this website with a free account because my scale of preference at the time didn’t favor paying for a domain name. I mentioned this in my first post on this site. Since then, I’ve focused on putting enough posts on here so that when I start sharing my posts, readers will have enough content to consume. Last Friday, the omniscient Web 2.0 snitched on me. My sister discovered this site, and she offered to buy me a domain name. 

When I decided to create this website, I wanted to name it “Yinks.com.” “Yinks” is short and memorable. Some friends call me “Yinks.” Also, the “ink” in “Yinks” would suggest that the website is for (and about) writing. Brilliant!

Immediately I made the decision, I typed “yinks.com” on my web browser, only to discover the domain name had already been hoarded by one of those companies that deal in domain names. Yikes! 

When I tried to bid on the domain name, I realized the lowest amount I could bid was $100. If $100 was the lowest amount I could bid on the domain name, there was no way I would get it for that price. That’s just Capitalism 101. But I like to dream, so, I placed my $100 bid regardless and waited for a representative of the company to get back to me.

After some back and forth with a representative of the company hoarding yinks.com, they said, “this will cost you nothing less than four figures,” and I started to chuckle. The chuckle grew – as fast as a celebrity scandal – into a burst of loud laughter. There was no way I would spend about $1000 on a domain name. I could buy a good plot of land in Nigeria with that amount. Oh, I had a good laugh. In fact, when I finally settled down, I replied the representative, “You’ve made my day. I hope you enjoy the rest of yours.”

Still, that encounter felt like meeting a serial killer who makes his victims laugh as he stabs them. As funny as the conversation with that representative was, it resulted in the death of a dream. 

But must it be the death of THE dream? Of course not. Yet, I had to do some soul-searching to reach that obvious conclusion.

You see, all along, the domain name, olayinkaoladosu.com, was available, and I knew that way before I started to create the “Yinks” concept. I had been reluctant to name my website after myself because I thought that could easily be interpreted as narcissistic. If you’ve read this, then, you already have a glimpse of my experience with narcissism.

So, how did we get here?

We are here because I decided to value the important things. Having my name attached to this website keeps me in check every time I post here. Every time I post here, I remember that when friends, family members, curious strangers, and future kids read my content, they know they are peeking into the mind and life of Olayinka Oladosu. 

Often, my mind, like an albatross at sea, wanders and perches on the various ships of creative ideas stuck in me. Sometimes, I get scared that those ideas will die with me. But this collection of the tiny pieces of my life will exist, and it should be named “Olayinka Oladosu” because this is a collection of the documented thoughts, creations, and experiences of Olayinka Oladosu.