When I initially started this blog 15 months ago I was unsure what to expect. I had no experience blogging and was quite busy pursuing my Phd at the University of Calgary (I am still quite busy). So far I am happy with the results. But I would like for it to be better and am asking for some advice on what could make it better. I have thought of two ideas which I will mention below and am looking for some feedback on those as well as others that I may not have considered.
(1) The name of the blog seems not to fit any longer. “A” Philosopher’s Take seems to suggest that the blog is made up of only one contributor. It’s not. Then again, it could just refer to the author of any particular post. Regardless, with contributors from other disciplines (law) soon to give their take on issues it seems that a name change is in order. So, I am asking you for suggestions on what the name ought to be. Thus far the blog has been fairly philosophical in nature with many posts centered around central philosophical problems, CFP’s in the field, and ethical quandaries in the media. If I had to categorize the content of the blog I would say it has 3 main components.
*Philosophy or Philosophical Discourse (focused on Metaphysics-Free Will, Ethics, and Epistemology)
*Events happening in the field of Philosophy (CFP’s, etc.)
*Ethical thinking regarding News and Sports.
I’m not sure how to go about naming it since the blog has a wide array of posts. Given that the contributors have been mostly graduate students in Philosophy I was thinking that the title should have the word Philosophy in it. Then again I’m not so sure. I do plan on engaging in more central problems within the discipline but I would prefer to have this be the first and last name change that could make sense even if the blog became a bit more narrowed in scope in the future. Here are some half-baked blog name ideas below.
*Uncertain Analysis
*Philosophy ETC (Got the idea from Ethics ETC)
*Philosophical Musings
*Tapestry of Thought
*On Philosophy
*All Things Philosophical
I think I am leaning toward “Philosophy ETC”.
(2) Another change will be to add a page for contributors. At the moment thre is only a side bar widget to see who the contributors are. In the coming weeks I will create a page at the top of the screen (Near the ‘About’ and ‘Write for a Philosopher’s Take’ links) which will include a blurb about the contributors (their interests and institution affiliations and links to their websites, etc.).
There are changes coming. I have mentioned two here. I am open to hearing further suggestions and I am hoping to get some feedback on the two proposed changes, specifically, I would like to know what you think about the proposed new name for the blog.
Keep in mind that the purpose of the blog is to offer critical and self-critical commentary on philosophy, and whatever other topics draw our attention.
Thanks in advance.
A Philosopher's Take 
Landbeyond
August 30, 2013
Given the components, of the name ideas you list, “Philosophy ETC” seems the most appropriate, though I think it should be “Philosophy Etc”. The site you mention is “Ethics Etc”.
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Justin Caouette
August 30, 2013
I like Philosophy etc as well. Thanks for the feedback.
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Adam Benevides
August 30, 2013
How about “Thinking Outside the Sphere”, “The Intellectual Observer”, or “The Speak Easy”…
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Justin Caouette
August 30, 2013
Thanks for the suggestions.
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Adam Benevides
August 30, 2013
Personally I like it the way it is…. I wouldn’t do Philosophy Etc. The way it is now is pretty catchy.
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Justin Caouette
August 30, 2013
I like it too. I’m just trying to have a name that does not imply that all the contributors are Philosophers (though most are). At least with something like “The Speak Easy” or “Philosophy etc” it seems less misleading.
I like the way the community has grown (940 followers over 15 months) I would like to see the number of contributors grow and I think a more neutral name change might do the trick.
We’ll see. If many agree that it is fine the way it is I might keep it that way.
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eddy
August 30, 2013
how about “NotJustPhilosophy”
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amy
August 30, 2013
I really like Tapestry of Thought (but it looks like Philosophy etc is in the lead =) )
and now that I read the post above “The Speak Easy” is another good one =)
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Miss Hannah
August 31, 2013
“Philosophy (phers) in the round”…..the blog, (thought) which is center stage???..just a thought (lol)
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aaronrtb
August 31, 2013
I like Philosophy Etc, but the current title is quite catchy. I don’t imagine the current title will alienate a great many possible contributors given the overlap between philosophy and law, politics, economics, &c.
I do think a contributors page is a good idea — I for one like to know something about the authors of blogs I’m reading.
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Nelson
September 2, 2013
As a non-philosopher who reads the blog, I like “A Philosopher’s Take,” but also like “Philosphy, etc.” What I would find interesting would be co-authored posts – perhaps a non-philosopher proposes a topic, idea or question and a philosopher discusses how to look at it from an academic/philosophical perspective. It already happens in the comments, but perhaps starting out with a discussion in the “public forum” would be interesting.
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Justin Caouette
September 3, 2013
Thanks for all the suggestions. After talking with a few contributors I have decided to keep the old name for now.
Nelson, I really like your idea. Would you be interested in co-authoring a post? Send the topic or idea via email to Justin at aphilosopherstake(at) gmail.com.
Thanks again for all the ideas!
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