/Interview/ The brains behind: Choose My Name
29/03/2007 | Filed under Discover > Interview
His brother swapped a paperclip for a house, which inspired Scott MacDonald to run an auction to change his name (choosemyname.blogspot.com). He now goes under the name of Mr Freebeestore.
.net: How do you like your new name?
MF: I love my new name. The official, legal name is Mr Freebeestore, but my friends call me Free-A-Store-Us-Rex.
.net: Why did Freebeestore.com change it from Free-A-Store-Us-Rex to Mr Freebeestore at the last minute?
MF: Right after the auction, they decided to have the legal name be Mr Freebeestore. It gets their company name across better than anything else. But I’ve already got a nickname that’s been floating around the internet, Free-A-Store-Us-Rex. You can’t go wrong with that.
.net: Which name would you have preferred?
MF: There’s a couple I really liked: Finest Freshest Fastest was good, so was Oprah Winfrey, and you can’t go wrong with Retired Movie Star Dave Leroux, but I’m happy with Mr Freebeestore. Imagine filling out forms – it’s going to come up as Mr Mr Freebeestore.
.net: Are you happy with the $37,000.01 you got or were you hoping for more?
MF: I’m more than happy. It’s a lot of money which will go towards future internet projects and to charity. I never imagined receiving that much as the final bid. It started as a fun auction, then gained so much momentum.
.net: How did you come up with the whole idea? Why did you do it? And how big an influence was your brother Kyle ‘oneredpaperclip’ MacDonald?
MF: The idea came after seeing projects like my brother’s, and several others, and how successful they are. The internet is really allowing these types of projects and I wanted to get involved. I did the project for fun; to meet people, have new experiences and see where it goes.
.net: Why did you decide to give 10 per cent to charity, and why to the Im Jai House?
MF: It’s a personal choice, and without getting too deep, we have it good, lots of people don’t. The Im Jai House was recommended by a friend who volunteered there. I talked to them, they loved the idea and came across as the right people.
.net: What will you do with the rest of the money?
MF: I’m planning more projects and this will help finance them.
.net: How long do you have to keep the name?
MF: I will keep the name until at least 2 February 2008. I don’t foresee it being too difficult. It’s been a lot of fun this far so I see no reason why it will stop.
.net: How tricky was it to change your name legally?
MF: It was a lot of paperwork, a criminal record check, fingerprints, and then I was playing the waiting game. It takes about six weeks to finalise the name change.
.net: Do your friends, family and girlfriend think you’re nuts?
MF: Yes, but in a good way. Like peanuts, not like bitter, hard-to-open walnuts.
.net: How’s the overall response to Choose My Name been?
MF: I received many emails every day. Lots of people wanting to do similar projects and asking for advice, press and bloggers from around the world and bidders or potential bidders looking for more info.
.net: What are your plans now? Are similar projects in the pipeline?
MF: I’m finalising all the name change details and heading to Thailand to deliver 10 per cent to the Im Jai House. I’ll volunteer my time for a while, too. After that, I have several projects lined up, so stay tuned.
.net: Will you return to ‘Scott MacDonald’ in 12 months and get confused with the mustachioed Scott MacDonald again?
MF: You never know. I have 12 months to decide, or 12 months to grow a bigger moustache!
Comments
Mathew Browne / 20/05/2007 / 17:19 / http://www.mbwebdesign.co.uk
How long before some unscrupulous parents set up a similar site soon where some unfortunate child gets lumbered with the name "GoldenPalaceCasino.com" or similar?
