The Gift That Keeps on Giving

This Christmas, we bought our kids their own Internet domains. As of December 18, 2010, both tessrichardson.com and tuckerrichardson.com are parked in an online garage, with my wife and I holding the key, so to speak. Not that I was expecting the kids to jump up and down like we'd given them front row seats to the next Glee Cast Concert Tour or anything. But I guess I was expecting a bit more than a confused look and a polite "Um . . . uh . . . thanks, Mom and Dad." I mean, they are 11 and 13 after all.

Maybe they would have preferred us to scoop up their own Facebook domains instead when they became available last year. We just didn't have our collective acts together on that one. The Facebook domains in their names have already been taken. So is mine, by the way, by a Will "Cuddle Bug" Richardson!

In "Publishers, Participants All," I note that some parents check the availability of domains before choosing names for their newborns. Way back at the end of the last century, the thought never really occurred to me. But it's not such a bad idea at the end of the day to give our kids the gift of an online home for their digital lives, a collection and curation point for all their creations and contributions.

At some point down the road, after they've found their passions and begun creating and sharing and really learning online, I'm betting the kids will come up to us, sheepish grins on their faces, and say, "You know that domain name thing, Mom and Dad? Well, we just really want to thank you for that. It's helped make us the successful adults that we are today."

Hey, a Dad can dream.

What do you think?