When I decided to set up this website, one of the first decisions to make was what to call it. It may appear to be a no-brainer, after all my name is Andy Mitchell and my work is in Media - but a quick google threw up a wealth of potential competitors.
Among the host of other successful Andy (or Andrew) Mitchells working in media-related roles, in football and in business there is the director of news and global media partnerships at Facebook, the news editor at Radio Wave in Blackpool, and the managing director of video advertising platform BrightRoll, or a product designer. Outside the media sector, I have to fight for online presence with a former Rangers footballer, the head physiotherapist at Wigan Athletic, and a singer/songwriter. In politics, I definitely don't want to be associated with my namesake the Tory and his 'Plebgate' shenanigans, while there is also a former Minister of Agriculture in the Canadian government. The list goes on! Several of them have their own websites.
Undaunted, I checked out some URLs. The simple andymitchell.com is owned by a consultant cardiologist in Jersey, while mitchellmedia.com is a software developer in Texas, but to my surprise andymitchellmedia.com was available. I snapped it up, and for those who have never bought a domain name, it may come as a revelation that the cost can be tiny - under a fiver in this case.
So here I am with a permanent online presence. And as I raise a glass to all the other Andy Mitchells out there in media world, can I also say: sorry, you'll just have to forge your own identity.
Among the host of other successful Andy (or Andrew) Mitchells working in media-related roles, in football and in business there is the director of news and global media partnerships at Facebook, the news editor at Radio Wave in Blackpool, and the managing director of video advertising platform BrightRoll, or a product designer. Outside the media sector, I have to fight for online presence with a former Rangers footballer, the head physiotherapist at Wigan Athletic, and a singer/songwriter. In politics, I definitely don't want to be associated with my namesake the Tory and his 'Plebgate' shenanigans, while there is also a former Minister of Agriculture in the Canadian government. The list goes on! Several of them have their own websites.
Undaunted, I checked out some URLs. The simple andymitchell.com is owned by a consultant cardiologist in Jersey, while mitchellmedia.com is a software developer in Texas, but to my surprise andymitchellmedia.com was available. I snapped it up, and for those who have never bought a domain name, it may come as a revelation that the cost can be tiny - under a fiver in this case.
So here I am with a permanent online presence. And as I raise a glass to all the other Andy Mitchells out there in media world, can I also say: sorry, you'll just have to forge your own identity.