Goodbye, Mamasphere (AKA Want To Win 100 Smackeroos?)

Contest time is here!

THE BACKSTORY

So I went to see if mamasphere.com was available, and it was! Well, of course it was, right? Who else would want mamasphere.com? I totally had a monopoly on that name. Why I didn't buy it right then and there, I don't know. I think I thought I had to know more about web hosting. When I went back to buy it about a week later, it was GONE.

Yep, someone else had grabbed my .com. I hired GoDaddy to make an offer, thinking that someone had just snatched it up to sell. But then I noticed when I did a mamasphere search (please tell me you guys do that, too) that mamasphere.com was pretty high up on the list.

Turns out a parenting forum had bought the .com and was in the midst of designing the site so they could move their forum over. I was really bummed. REALLY bummed. I had come up with that name all on my own (one of my few bursts of creativity ever), and was going to have to share it. I went ahead and bought all the other domains and decided to go with .net as my main page. Yes, we could share space. It was going to be fine.

THEN I noticed that there was a giant TM after mamasphere on the .com page. What??? They want to TRADEMARK the name? That only means one thing. They want it all to themselves, with no sharing (and with trademarks, you can't use any variation of the word, so mommasphere and the such are out).

There is no way they didn't know about me. And I'm pretty sure my blog is the reason they decided to trademark the name, so they could send me a lovely cease and desist letter at a later date.

Believe me, lawyers were consulted. The other people hadn't submitted their application for the trademark yet, so I could get one in fast and probably win if they contested because I've been around for a heck of a lot longer. But it could get expensive. And I still wouldn't have mamasphere.com.

So I've decided to avoid the stress and the drama and just rename my blog! I can't for the life of me come up with a new name, though, and need some major help.

That's where you all come in.

THE CONTEST

Help me rename Mamasphere!











Here are the contest rules:

1) the .com must be available (you can check at GoDaddy.com)
2) the name must not already be in use by another blog (I don't want to have bad karma)
3) the name must be four words or less (unless you have a kick ass longer name)
4) entries must be EMAILED to me and not left as a comment (email is in left sidebar)
5) entries will be accepted through October 24th! The winners will be announced on October 25th.

How to enter:

1) just send an email with a name! Oh, and please include YOUR name, and blog address if you have one.
2) or write a post and mention the contest (email me with post link)
3) or place contest button in sidebar and link back to this post (email me with blog link)
4) or do all three!

Prizes:

1) The Grand Prize is a $100 gift card to Target! If you win and don't have a Target in your area, I can work with you on an alternative.
2) The Runner Up Prize (for my favorite name that isn't used) is a $25 gift card to Target.
3) All other entries will be tossed in a hat and a random winner will walk away with a $50 gift card to Target.

So even if I don't pick the name you submit (and as long as the name adheres to the rules, you can submit as many times as you like), you still have an opportunity to win!

THE WRAP-UP

I'm sorry to see Mamasphere go. It's been such an important part of me. But since I have to do it, I'm excited to move on to something new. Better to be excited than depressed, right?

Please help me rename my blog!