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31 Dec 2014, 11:30 AM | #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 8
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Which username do you think is best?
Hi everyone,
I'll be graduating from grad school with a master's degree soon and I don't plan on using my school assigned email address (which I've been using this entire time) once I graduate. For resume/professional (networking, etc) use, I previously created a gmail account that consists of my first name, middle initial and last name so if my name were Jane Z. Doe my username would be: janezdoe. But my actual name is much longer than that and is actually 14 characters long. The only other format in which I was able to get my name was first name initial and full last name followed by first name initial & middle name initial. It looks like jdoejz. It's shorter than the other one and I'm trying to avoid numbers. I don't necessary like the idea of having my entire full name (with middle initial included) as my email address. Do you think that the second option would be appropriate to use for professional/resume use or should I just use the one that consists of my full name even if it's long? The other option that I was considering...was adding the initials of the profession that I'm going into at the end of my first name initial and last name. However, because I'm not licensed yet and will only have a master's degree, I don't want to risk giving people the wrong impression or rubbing them the wrong way. I've also considered looking into Outlook.com for better usernames but, considering that gmail seems to be the most popular, I figured I should stick to that. Which of these options would you use? Thanks |
31 Dec 2014, 11:44 AM | #2 |
Intergalactic Postmaster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Irving, Texas
Posts: 8,926
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Welcome to the EMD Forums!
I think that either of your ideas (long full or short form jdoejz) would work fine. The shorter one is probably preferred, since if people are manually entering your email address they don't want one which is extremely long. You could also consider purchasing your own domain name and using it for email (and other purposes, such as websites). If you take the extra effort to set up your own domain email, you will have complete control over your email in the future, and can move the hosting to other companies if needed. You will also not have to worry about the advertising and data harvesting of Google or other companies which offer "free" email. If you want to try this, I recommend Fastmail (www.fastmail.com), which has a subforum here at EMD. Their Enhanced account level allows you to use your own domain (which you can purchase from any domain reseller) for email, and also use your domain for data storage (simple websites, photo sites, and password-protected document upload and download for others). Check out the recent Fastmail description of their service on their blog here: http://blog.fastmail.com/2014/12/01/...l-advent-2014/ You should think carefully about your options, since you are just starting out in the professional world and you many want to keep your address for a long time. That's why I suggested purchasing your own domain, which can have any name you wish. This domain might remain with you for the remainder of your life (if we are still using email and websites several decades from now). Bill |
31 Dec 2014, 01:34 PM | #3 |
Ultimate Contributor
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Canada.
Posts: 10,355
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I agree with Bill, that you should consider purchasing your own domain name, and creating email addresses at that domain - if you do that you will be set up for the duration, for as long as you wish. You do need to give it some thought though, and pick a domain name that suits you (for professional and personal use)
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31 Dec 2014, 03:19 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 164
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You can use without problem:
jane.z.doe Or register a domain like: www.doe.email Remare, if you register a domain your privacy can be more exposed (example Whois directory and other problem) And you mister remember to renew every year the account. |
31 Dec 2014, 10:18 PM | #5 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 8
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Thanks for your input guys and thanks for welcoming me to the forums n5bb! I'm glad to be here. I understand where you guys are coming from by suggesting that I register a domain but, what you could consider the best option for a username?
n5bb seems to think that shorter is better whereas Agx thinks something such as jane.z.doe would be good. I need a tie breaker and if someone thinks that they can come up with a better username than the options that I currently have, feel free to share. |
31 Dec 2014, 10:43 PM | #6 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Manchester UK
Posts: 2,616
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1 Jan 2015, 12:03 AM | #7 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 4,943
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1 Jan 2015, 02:29 AM | #8 |
Ultimate Contributor
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Canada.
Posts: 10,355
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Most small, independent, professional folk I have worked with (in Canada) use their first initial, lastname, combination @ their own domain name, but that may just be a coincidence.
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1 Jan 2015, 08:12 PM | #9 |
Cornerstone of the Community
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 536
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For my domain, I use the first letter of my first name and last name, followed by "mx". mx stands for "Mail eXchange".
So if my name was "John Doe", my domain would be "jdmx". The email could then be "john.doe@jdmx.com" or .net or whatever. I think it looks good. Something good about this system is that it doesn't give too much information about you in the name of the domain, so you could use it to register to different sites, this forum for example. PS: I agree with all the others who said that you should use your own domain. I also think you should go with a paid provider, or at the very least, a provider that does not actively violate your privacy, such as google/hotmail, etc. Last edited by 17pm : 1 Jan 2015 at 08:27 PM. |
1 Jan 2015, 10:28 PM | #10 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 8
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I want to thank everyone for their input thus far. I honestly see where you all are coming from by suggesting that I register a domain (which I agree would be the best option) but, I honestly don't think I can afford it at the moment. I have a job but I don't make much and contrary to popular belief, I am not one of those students who receives financial support from their parents. Anyway, without getting too personal, I think a free service provider is my best bet. At least for the time being.
I noticed that my firstnamelastname (janedoe) and firstname.lastname (Jane.doe) are available at outlook.com Has anyone here used outlook.com before? I have an old hotmail (outlook) account that I still get email sent to (mostly junk) but I've never actually it used to send emails. Based on what I've seen, outlook seems neat and organized. It also seems to have cool/useful features. However, I'm more accustomed to gmail because that's what I use at school and work. Would you guys suggest that I stick to gmail or should I try to use outlook instead because of the username that I can have? |
1 Jan 2015, 10:39 PM | #11 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 4,943
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1. May be you know it already, but registering a domain costs some $10-$15 per year if you shop around. Of course you may decide it's too much anyway.
2. If the address of your choice is available in outlook.com, go for it. There is nothing basically wrong with that service, and it's unlikely to suddenly disappear one day |
2 Jan 2015, 12:51 AM | #12 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,281
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In my opinion, if you use one of the free services such as Gmail or Outlook.com it doesn't really matter much what user name you create -- provided it does not contain something obnoxious like too many X's in succession. It's probably best to use something containing last name (such as last name plus first initial) when the address is used for anything other than friends and family.
I agree with the above posts recommending registering your own domain; however, your email service is no longer free, but you have the benefit of not being presented with advertising and flexibility. It does require a little effort and a little money annually to register and maintain your own domain. It's worth it -- almost expected -- for business or professional use. Finding the best user name with your own domain is actually more difficult compared to free services since you do not want to be too familiar (e.g a nickname) or redundant (since custom domains often contain last name). |
2 Jan 2015, 01:58 AM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 164
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I think that Outlook.com is better than Gmail.
Gmail invade withou problem your privacy and every aspect of Google is scary... do you want to sell your entire life to Google? Gmail... google maps... google search... every service is cretaed to create a perfect profile of the person... and make $$$ with this profile. I think that in the new digital era... we must reconsider our privacy and the value of our personal information. During the second World War... some government violate the privacy of private citizen and for example in Germany and Italy, the Mail are object of censure.... now we are free digital people... but what made from Google is the same... read our mail, read our interest... for extract valuable information about us. Only for... create a perfect profile of us. |
2 Jan 2015, 02:11 AM | #14 | |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Manchester UK
Posts: 2,616
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Quote:
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2 Jan 2015, 02:22 AM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 164
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Ha has created a Gmail account and he evaulate if use it or not... and I think that is important to evalutate the implication of the use of Google service.
IMHO |
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