T Campbell's Blog
Writer of Penny and Aggie, Fans (also called Faans), Rip & Teri, Search Engine Funnies and A History of Webcomics. Experienced webcomics editor, currently seeking full-time work and working on strange and interesting new things...Monday, March 21, 2005
Will Google Kill "T Campbell?"
A moment of truth has arrived in my career. It's the kind of moment that could only take place in the age of search.
I had an opportunity recently to get published someplace important (no, I can't tell you where-- yet), and they asked me "You're sure you want your name listed as T Campbell?"...
...and I hesitated.
I've been "T Campbell" all my adult life. I like the name; I feel like it's more me than "William Terrell Campbell, Jr." (just not a "junior" kind of guy) or "Bill Campbell" (too many of those on the market, including the guy who played the Rocketeer, the former mayor of Atlanta, and my dad) or "Terrell Campbell" (my default name for years but apparently too much trouble to spell or pronounce correctly, if my growing-up experiences are any indication).
Thing is, either my self-promotion needs more work, or "T Campbell" just isn't very Googleable.
My recent Google scores are actually an improvement. Until recently, it indexed this blog and tcampbell.net, but didn't put them anywhere in the top 200 results. (I know how it looks that I took the time to research that far, but come on, tell me you wouldn't do the same.) Yet I'm still ranked below other people whose names don't even comfortably shorten to "T Campbell."
And we're *just* talking about my *site.* Never mind all the other mentions of my name out there that have to take a back seat to Dwightenmeyer T. Campbell in a simple search.
You CAN find most of them by searching "t campbell" comics-- but who does that?
Technorati is even worse. Technorati doesn't even ALLOW one-letter search terms, which means I get lumped in with every other "Campbell." As I write this, the #1 and #2 listings refer to Campbell's Soup.
When I eight, I used to get mocked on the schoolyard by rapier wits who chanted "Campbell's... Soup Is Good Food." All they needed to know about me was my last name-- they didn't even bother to tease me about something I actually controlled. This feels a little like that.
This publishing opportunity means that people will see my name for the first time. And some of them will research the name. And instead of learning about my proudest accomplishments, they'll find... nothing.
This bothers me. I don't hold the regard of strangers higher than the regard of friends, but I do hold it somewhere, especially since my future earnings depend on the reputation I make now.
(Incidentally, there is some tradition of name change among comics creators, though generally not for this reason.)
So, yeah. Bothered. Doubting. Considering.
Back to "Terrell Campbell?" Or something even more pretentious like "T Kampbell?" "T7 Campbell?"
It's my name, dammit. I shouldn't be having to make this choice. My friends shouldn't have to put up with the awkwardness.
Anyone reading this, feel free to use the "comments" link. I'd appreciate some perspective.
I really do like Google and Technorati. I just wish they liked me.
I had an opportunity recently to get published someplace important (no, I can't tell you where-- yet), and they asked me "You're sure you want your name listed as T Campbell?"...
...and I hesitated.
I've been "T Campbell" all my adult life. I like the name; I feel like it's more me than "William Terrell Campbell, Jr." (just not a "junior" kind of guy) or "Bill Campbell" (too many of those on the market, including the guy who played the Rocketeer, the former mayor of Atlanta, and my dad) or "Terrell Campbell" (my default name for years but apparently too much trouble to spell or pronounce correctly, if my growing-up experiences are any indication).
Thing is, either my self-promotion needs more work, or "T Campbell" just isn't very Googleable.
My recent Google scores are actually an improvement. Until recently, it indexed this blog and tcampbell.net, but didn't put them anywhere in the top 200 results. (I know how it looks that I took the time to research that far, but come on, tell me you wouldn't do the same.) Yet I'm still ranked below other people whose names don't even comfortably shorten to "T Campbell."
And we're *just* talking about my *site.* Never mind all the other mentions of my name out there that have to take a back seat to Dwightenmeyer T. Campbell in a simple search.
You CAN find most of them by searching "t campbell" comics-- but who does that?
Technorati is even worse. Technorati doesn't even ALLOW one-letter search terms, which means I get lumped in with every other "Campbell." As I write this, the #1 and #2 listings refer to Campbell's Soup.
When I eight, I used to get mocked on the schoolyard by rapier wits who chanted "Campbell's... Soup Is Good Food." All they needed to know about me was my last name-- they didn't even bother to tease me about something I actually controlled. This feels a little like that.
This publishing opportunity means that people will see my name for the first time. And some of them will research the name. And instead of learning about my proudest accomplishments, they'll find... nothing.
This bothers me. I don't hold the regard of strangers higher than the regard of friends, but I do hold it somewhere, especially since my future earnings depend on the reputation I make now.
(Incidentally, there is some tradition of name change among comics creators, though generally not for this reason.)
So, yeah. Bothered. Doubting. Considering.
Back to "Terrell Campbell?" Or something even more pretentious like "T Kampbell?" "T7 Campbell?"
It's my name, dammit. I shouldn't be having to make this choice. My friends shouldn't have to put up with the awkwardness.
Anyone reading this, feel free to use the "comments" link. I'd appreciate some perspective.
I really do like Google and Technorati. I just wish they liked me.
Comments:
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You came up 4th when I clicked on your google link. I concur about keeping your name. I'm female, so when I got married I had the option of taking my husband's last name. However, I'd had my original name for over thirty years; I didn't see any reason to complicate things for the sake of someone else's convention. (Also, I didn't want the initials PP!) Admittedly, it was a different situation from yours, but you gotta go with what seems right to you.
I understand the frustration. As an academic I write under the pen name T.L. Long as it is less feminine than my given name, and is more likely to be taken seriously by my peers. (A fact that I learned early as an undergraduate when TL made a letter grade higher on average than Tracy.) Thus, while my wife calls me Tray, people who have only looked at my confrince papers adress me at TL. All I can tell you, however, is that your reputation T, is bigger than google makes it out to be. Those who know the medium can not help but to hear your name, it gets tossed around liberaly. For you then, changing your name at this stage would be more of a liability monitaraly for you. T Campbell means something, and has the recogintion that you want, and has Marvel talking to you. Last I checked they weren't knocking down my door. The people who need to find you have, so in this case google be damned, keep the name.
Seems to me your answer is going to be to assess your influence and then ask your (ha ha) fans to begin a campaign of Google bombing.
I don't think there's anything illegitimate about asking for specific links.
I don't think there's anything illegitimate about asking for specific links.
Look at the big picture. You already have some connections and notoreity under 'T Campbell'. And people who really want to learn about you, if they don't find anything in the first search, will search for 'T Campbell (Title of book)', or 'T Campbell (Thing they're researching)'.
T Campbell is also a whole lot more sharp and memorable than 'Terrell Campbell'.
Or maybe you could just stick a link to your website somewhere in your work. If 'T Campbell' is the name you really want to use, you should use it.
T Campbell is also a whole lot more sharp and memorable than 'Terrell Campbell'.
Or maybe you could just stick a link to your website somewhere in your work. If 'T Campbell' is the name you really want to use, you should use it.
Personally I'm inclined to suggest just going first and middle initial with last name. You get away from the one-character issue but keep the theme mostly as it was.
Have you considered simply treating the full spelling as a middle name? Such as "T Terrell Campbell" or "T William Campbell." That way you gain the searchability, but for conversational purposes, it naturally shortens back to "T Campbell." And once you're more established, you can conveniently drop the middle name from your credits without it really throwing people.
Stick with T Campbell. Those who want to find you, will. Those who find you by accident, will also.
Considering you can buy your way to the top of Google, or most popular search engines, these days, being hard to find in a search engine is a silly reason to change something you're obviously comfortable with already.
Considering you can buy your way to the top of Google, or most popular search engines, these days, being hard to find in a search engine is a silly reason to change something you're obviously comfortable with already.
The name T Campbell is much more memorable than Terrell Campbell to me as well. The T gets stressed a little extra in pronounciation which I think is what makes it stick better.
On Google, tcampbell.net and faans.com together hold the spots 4, 5 and 9 on the first page of ten results when I search for "T Campbell" (with or without the quotes). Then you continue with spots 12, 13, 17 and 19 on page two.
With only a little more work on promoting the T Campbell Comixpedia page and the T Campbell blogger identity as being related to the "T Campbell" keyword, half the first page will be related to you, with relevant information. It doesn't have to be harder than including the name in the underlined text when linking to those two pages a few times.
If those running Technorati have chosen not to index one-letter words, that is a flaw in their index which they will hopefully fix some day.
On Google, tcampbell.net and faans.com together hold the spots 4, 5 and 9 on the first page of ten results when I search for "T Campbell" (with or without the quotes). Then you continue with spots 12, 13, 17 and 19 on page two.
With only a little more work on promoting the T Campbell Comixpedia page and the T Campbell blogger identity as being related to the "T Campbell" keyword, half the first page will be related to you, with relevant information. It doesn't have to be harder than including the name in the underlined text when linking to those two pages a few times.
If those running Technorati have chosen not to index one-letter words, that is a flaw in their index which they will hopefully fix some day.
Here is another tip, by the way.
Google is doing a surprisingly good job when pointing out tcampbell.net as related to "T Campbell", since the word "Campbell" never actually occurs on the front page (except in the TITLE tag).
Here is a simple tip that might boost you from number four to 2 or 3:
Replace where it currently says:
<CENTER><IMG BORDER=0 SRC=campbell.gif WIDTH=648 HEIGHT=72>
with something similar to this:
<H1 style="text-align:center"><IMG alt="T Campbell" border=0 SRC="campbell.gif" width=648 height=72></H1>
Google can't read text in images, but in this way you let Google (and blind users) know the important information the images on the page are supposed to convey. The H1 tag that surrounds the image might also tip the search enginge that the alt text should be considered a heading, and given extra weight when counting search hits.
Check that the H1 fits your layout though. You might need to fiddle with the extra top margin most web browsers include before a headline. Where it says style="text-align:center" you can also include other CSS commands, such as style="text-align:center;margin-top:2px;margin-bottom:2px;".
You can continue all over the page with other similar substitutions:
<A HREF=mailto:tc@tcampbell.net><IMG BORDER=0 SRC=email.gif WIDTH=56 HEIGHT=21></A>
replaced with
<A href="mailto:tc@tcampbell.net"><IMG alt="E-mail T Campbell" border=0 src="email.gif" width=56 height=21></A>
Google is doing a surprisingly good job when pointing out tcampbell.net as related to "T Campbell", since the word "Campbell" never actually occurs on the front page (except in the TITLE tag).
Here is a simple tip that might boost you from number four to 2 or 3:
Replace where it currently says:
<CENTER><IMG BORDER=0 SRC=campbell.gif WIDTH=648 HEIGHT=72>
with something similar to this:
<H1 style="text-align:center"><IMG alt="T Campbell" border=0 SRC="campbell.gif" width=648 height=72></H1>
Google can't read text in images, but in this way you let Google (and blind users) know the important information the images on the page are supposed to convey. The H1 tag that surrounds the image might also tip the search enginge that the alt text should be considered a heading, and given extra weight when counting search hits.
Check that the H1 fits your layout though. You might need to fiddle with the extra top margin most web browsers include before a headline. Where it says style="text-align:center" you can also include other CSS commands, such as style="text-align:center;margin-top:2px;margin-bottom:2px;".
You can continue all over the page with other similar substitutions:
<A HREF=mailto:tc@tcampbell.net><IMG BORDER=0 SRC=email.gif WIDTH=56 HEIGHT=21></A>
replaced with
<A href="mailto:tc@tcampbell.net"><IMG alt="E-mail T Campbell" border=0 src="email.gif" width=56 height=21></A>
This is the web, so why not adopt a unique Web Moniker, in addition to using your name? For example, a friend of mine uses "Casharelle". Do a search on casharelle on the web, and lots and lots of hits on relevent web pages...
Nice thing about nick-names is they don't necessarily involve denying you have a real name. Hell, you could in places refer to yourself as T "Tartanpenguinwithzits" Campbell.
PS
Something tells me you're not going to adopt the nickname TartanPenguinWithZits...
Nice thing about nick-names is they don't necessarily involve denying you have a real name. Hell, you could in places refer to yourself as T "Tartanpenguinwithzits" Campbell.
PS
Something tells me you're not going to adopt the nickname TartanPenguinWithZits...
T, I respect and admire you, and I know that most of this is just because you're nervous about this new opportunity. But where you land in Google is a silly reason to base your identity on.
Sheesh, I picked out the BookWorm for web and fanfic activities and when anyone who knows me online finds out my real name they switch to that. In retrospect, I probably didn't do that good a job hiding it. But for what I'm going to get paid for writing, I'm going to use the name on my birth certificate. But then I like it. :)
There's too many ways to influence search engine rankings for that to be your only criteria.
Sheesh, I picked out the BookWorm for web and fanfic activities and when anyone who knows me online finds out my real name they switch to that. In retrospect, I probably didn't do that good a job hiding it. But for what I'm going to get paid for writing, I'm going to use the name on my birth certificate. But then I like it. :)
There's too many ways to influence search engine rankings for that to be your only criteria.
T, you're T. Period.
I agree I think your name carries more weight than you might give yourself credit for and that will do you well. Also, if what you're up to is as big as it sounds those google results will change with it. If you're doing something mainstream it's going to be on their site and reviewed all over the place hence increasing the amount of T Campbell-ness on the web. Let google change for you, not the other way around. If you're really hung up on this though, I think Alexander's solution is a good one.
Of course, if I were you, I'd go by Junior, just so everytime anyone called me by name I could go "DON'T call me Junoir." and then waste a bunch of Nazis. It'd be awesome.
tim.
I agree I think your name carries more weight than you might give yourself credit for and that will do you well. Also, if what you're up to is as big as it sounds those google results will change with it. If you're doing something mainstream it's going to be on their site and reviewed all over the place hence increasing the amount of T Campbell-ness on the web. Let google change for you, not the other way around. If you're really hung up on this though, I think Alexander's solution is a good one.
Of course, if I were you, I'd go by Junior, just so everytime anyone called me by name I could go "DON'T call me Junoir." and then waste a bunch of Nazis. It'd be awesome.
tim.
The internet is, if anything, malleable. The contant flux in search engine improvements will eventually catch up to your rising star. You do not Google well - yet! I'm reasonably certain that the name was only breifly in question; just use the search engines as a popularity index. Like marking children's height on the wall. 21 March 2005: Google ranked me X.
Honestly, T, I'd go for "Terrell Campbell". Why? Because "Terrell" is pretty unique. By now everybody in the community knows you as T Campbell already, so you can have that as your nickname still. Terrell sticks to the memory. Also, if you thought Terrell was hard to spell, think about the zillion times you have to remind people you're not T. but T, right?
Maritza
CRFH.net
Maritza
CRFH.net
I'd say, keep "T". "Terrell" sounds good, too. It provides for nice backwards compatibility.
For a moment there I had thought about suggesting "Tee Campbell", an alternative, but still valid, spelling for your usual moniker that would solve the one letter problem.
But, not being a native speaker of English, I'm not sure how that would look to a native eye. Plain, simple 'T' is clearly a letter. 'Tee' makes me think of pipes, because it's the only case in which I've ever found it spelt out explicitly.
Besides, I've read so many good arguments in favour of 'T' and 'Terrell' that I'd suggest you go with either of those.
--
MatteoDL
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For a moment there I had thought about suggesting "Tee Campbell", an alternative, but still valid, spelling for your usual moniker that would solve the one letter problem.
But, not being a native speaker of English, I'm not sure how that would look to a native eye. Plain, simple 'T' is clearly a letter. 'Tee' makes me think of pipes, because it's the only case in which I've ever found it spelt out explicitly.
Besides, I've read so many good arguments in favour of 'T' and 'Terrell' that I'd suggest you go with either of those.
--
MatteoDL
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