Copyright, in *my* footer?!

[Note: This post applies to my previous Wordpress blog]

I struggled for a bit with what to put in the little black bar at the bottom of the page. I poked around at some websites that I like the design of. Two had the little copyright symbol, and one didn't.

I like the copyright at the bottom because it seems more "professional". But mindlessly mimicking professionalism is dumb. If I actually paid the $35 and registered my site with the Copyright Office, then I'd put that down there in a heartbeat. Still, I don't seem to need to do that in order to justify the symbol:

The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office.

But, really, do I care if someone uses my design or words? No.

There are three things that I want down there:

  1. Notice that I was the one who designed and implemented the site.
  2. What year it was "born" (might be cool in 20 years to show that gabedurazo.com has been around that long)
  3. "Gabriel Durazo", to help search engines link this site with my name. "Gabe Durazo" (URL) and "Gabriel J Durazo" (In the header) both point here no problem, but not "Gabriel Durazo" yet.

But if I have those three things, I may as well toss in a © and be done with it.

Tue, Aug 4, 2009 | For updates follow me on twitter