Idolator posted an interesting story about hip-hop artist The-Dream, and how apparently the ridiculous hyphen in his name is actually a smart move when it comes to online presence. Internet guru Anil Dash notes how the rapper was able to improve his otherwise un-Googleable moniker using a single character.
The-Dream is one of the first successful pop acts in the world to have deliberately incorporated search engine optimization into his stage name. (If you’re fortunate enough to not be familiar with the practice, SEO is the effort that many people put in to making their content easier to discover on the web. It’s part necessary evil, part spam-inducing cargo cult.)
You see, without the hyphen, “The Dream” would have been almost impossible to find on Google or iTunes or YouTube before he got famous. In fact, unless you have a fairly distinctive (at least in English-speaking parts of the world) name like I do, this can be a common challenge. But I posit that the hyphenation of his name made him unique enough to be easily discoverable even before he had hit songs. Simply showing up when people are searching for music or videos is a pretty important part of getting your name out there if you want to be a big star.
In summation for web-savvy metalheads, IWrestledABearOnce is in good shape, Children is not.
