You must have a virtual domain name in order to do business online. I know, I know, you can get free sites, free hosts and some will even offer free ISP services. Eventually, you end up with a domain name as long as a six-foot black snake and about as identifiable and trustworthy. (:>))

Getting your own domain name is really easy and very inexpensive if you do some research.

Here are some resources to give you a heads-up when you set out to get that virtual domain name and some reasons for doing so.

You are more likely to be seen as a having these qualities if you have a VDN.

1) Serious marketer--You thought enough in your online business to spring a few bucks for name.

2) Honesty- With your unique name, you are perceived as more identifiable and therefore more trustworthy.

3) Dependability- You have become more dependable because you have invested in your share of cyberspace.

How to get a domain name 1) Selecting a name--Try to avoid something cute. Clever is okay...cute is out.

Avoid names with dashes in them. They are too easily missed and harder to type. Keep it as short and memorable as possible. Try to include a word or phrase about your business central theme. ( E.g.., If you sell flapjacks, hopefully flapjacks.com is still available.)

You and I are probably both guilty of creating and abandoning a lot of auto-responders, free sites, etc., if you have been online for any length of time as I have.

It does happen.

Years ago folks bought things to last a lifetime. A good watch is an example. Now, we can get a watch in a cereal box that keeps better time, and when it quits you just throw it away and get another one.

Not all that is abandoned is free. Many sites and services that were bought have been abandoned too. There are many abandoned empires lying around net.

An area that I haven't even touched on is that of SPAM. There is a topic that adds a great deal to this potential problem that we have dealt with in previous articles.

As we change to new computers, change email addresses, ISPS, and web hosts, we lose contact with a lot of things we have created and maintained. The normal flow of email reminders that it even exists is now cut off.

What happens to all of that junk ?