RIP 6birds: Rebranding to Janepedia!

Edit March 2021: I have rebranded yet again with a new name! Rebrands don’t always include changing your site name, but thus far…all of mine have. 😅 That Adult is the new name of this blog.

If you click through, you’ll find my blog, formerly known as 6birds.net, is now janepedia.com. After much thought and several drafts, I decided to format this post similarly to the way Georgie did with Hey Georgie, especially since I can only assume there will be questions, and maybe it’ll feel less intimidating.

Why ‘janepedia’?

It’s…personal, but also more than so: the suffix “-pedia” relates to learning; it’s a specialized encyclopedia about its prefix. It’s scary, because it’s slightly defining, but I’m excited to post on a site that is about defining who I am now.

In my personal life is a common theme—a common complaint—about how I’m apparently closed up and no one knows me. The sad part is, I’ve been shut up so much in the past that speaking up now is pointless to try. Another theme is so many people who supposedly know me assume things that aren’t true, or grow so upset they start talking up rumors—like how I signed up for the same college as a cousin because I was jealous of her life (or something like that).

Up until about one or two years ago, I let others shove me into the mold they wanted me to be in. I was really unhappy. Mid-June, I broke my self-harm sobriety of two years because I’d been pushed so far into Trigger Mode and over-stimulation I couldn’t take it anymore. I wish I could say everything is cool and chill, but…it’s not; I feel like shit.

I may be $400ish and policophobia away from changing my name, but…I can still work towards defining myself as Jane.

Late 2017 edit: I began using “Janepedia” instead of lowercasing it altogether.

Etymology of “Janepedia”

“Janepedia” is a portmanteau of “Jane” and “encyclopedia”. Portmanteaus are my Thing, and my friends and family often call them Lizisms or Janeisms.

Jane is the name I wish and plan to change my first/given name to.

Janepedia chronicles my life and the things in it, from food to life to green living, and whatever else I feel like writing about. Since I’m autistic, my posts greatly depend upon what my special interests are at a given time.

Won’t this just be like Seek Liza or something?

No, because with Seek Liza, I was trying to continue being this person people wanted and expected me to be, all the while trying to be who I wanted to be. I was in an environment I was not allowed to be myself in, surrounded by negative influences I have since separated myself from.

No longer is my life my mother’s, her husband’s, or anyone else’s but my own. My body is my own.

I’m not trying to find myself, because I was never lost to begin with.

Why did you move from 6birds?

Do you ever lose interest in something, but try to keep up with it anyway? For over a year, 6birds has felt like an on/off relationship that only keeps going on because both parties in the couple have too much history together to start with someone new, with whom they’ll create new history.

I’ve outgrown 6birds, a domain name I’ve always imagined being a boy. I think the feeling is mutual, too, because things are just…not working out. 6birds represents an era of innocence and self-discovery, and as weird as it feels to say, I’m not that girl anymore.

The CW’s The 100 did a great job of portraying this feeling/change in the third episode of season 3: In a flashback, the delinquents board the ship to go to Earth; the song is a cover of “Radioactive” by Koda—which is a big full-circle deal, because the series’ pilot episode featured the original version of the song by Imagine Dragons as they exited the ship.

They’re different. So much has changed, and it’s so hard to accept how innocent they once were—that’s kind of how I feel. I’m not the same person I was in 2010, 2012, 2013 or 2014.

Plus, maybe it’s cliche, but I would like to brand my blog and self and work, and I want a logo, and…I just don’t see myself doing that with 6birds. I also want an easy-to-say site name, because I’m tired of saying, “My blog is ‘6birds’,” and people replying, “What? Six what?”

All in all, there is zero resemblance between what 6birds began as and who I am today. Whereas I once thought it a blog that could grow with me, I now realize it can’t—such thoughts and expectations amateur. I am no longer a fledgling.

Will you keep 6birds.net?

Yes—I mean, I can’t just abandon a domain name people remember me by. You stay on a domain for over six years, and people begin to associate you with it.

Plus, whilst I always thought I’d blog at 6birds.net, I can’t see how I could ever drop it.

However, this basically means it might just forever forward to Janepedia.

Edit (10/30/2017): It no longer redirects, but there is a notice redirecting traffic to janepedia.com.

Is anything else going to change?

Yes.

  • I’m also changing my “Projects” category to “Behind the scenes”, because it sounds more hip and fitting. It’ll take a bit for me to resituate everything, though.
  • I will be open to more sponsored content. This is a touchy subject in the personal blogging community, but…I am shifting away from being a mere blogger and into influencer territory.
    • If you guys support me in this, it would be great. If not, I cannot not do this because I’m afraid people will be disappointed in me anymore—that’s not who I am in reality, so I’m not going to filter myself so much anymore.
    • I do have a code I stick to, though, so I’m not gonna get all sleazy or anything.
  • I’m going to try to stop holding back so much. I’m going to try to do more of the me I actually am, because I have more confidence when I do. I’m going to share more of my experiences, too—from living green to #adulting-related things. Also prepare yourself for food fails, because I don’t do well with baked goods.

This is nerve-wracking, but I truly believe it is for the best! ❤

If you have any questions other than what answers and details were provided here, feel free to ask away! I don’t bite hard.

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Comments on this post

As someone who changed their name (legally) more than half their life ago, but who is still having to explain it to people, I can absolutely say “been there; here is better”. Be who you are, that you are comfortable with, and present to the world accordingly. You owe no apologies. (When I encounter people who want to change their name, or even just be known as something different without making a legal change, I encourage them. I was so unhappy with my birth name, from a very early age, and nobody understood until I met someone else who didn’t like theirs either. Many people will never understand, unfortunately. The best we can hope for is that the majority will resepect our wishes.)

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Love this!

In my case, people bring up the argument that I should appreciate the name my parents gave to me and keep it as a sign of respect, to which I say, “Except they didn’t name me!” A name is just a name unless it actually means something. Mine was selfishly selected because the modern choice was not traditional, and my grandmother (who even approves of me changing it) didn’t like the modern approach.

I’m beginning to think the issue comes from people who think names are unchangeable, who put a lot of thought into names; whereas I, on the other hand, find that heavy thought to be pretentious, like naming a girl “Chastity”.

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*nodding* Well, I was named after someone but it was a feminised and Anglicised version and people had trouble spelling it and there followed a whole lotta aggravation and the less I say the better, or I will rant, and this is not the place. My father was very insulted that I didn’t want to keep the name he gave me, never trying to see it from my side (typical of our relationship). But anyway… I chose my names based on people who were important in my life. I think everyone should be free to rename themselves if they so wish, particularly when young. I have some personal pet peeves about names (which I won’t air here) but I do agree with you on “Chastity”. Yikes!

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[…] thank the peeps who have purchased things via my [few] affiliate links from this blog (or perhaps when it was 6birds.net). Seldom do I discuss my homelife hereon my blog, because I don’t know what is even going to […]

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[…] My previous blog is gone. I’m back here, on 6birds. I’ll be here for a while—or not; it depends on how I feel about this domain. If I start to dislike it, it’ll go. […]

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I totally get the change. Seriously. I don’t know who is telling you who you have to be (or how or why or anything else for that matter), but I just want you to be happy. Happiness will help us all go a long way in life. I remember 6birds because I always thought it was fun & sweet. You previously linked to my ribbons on Fly High, Rocketship! I had that site for eight years. Eight years of my life exposed and vulnerable; people took advantage and they ruined me. I decided a change was in order, too. However, I am not so keen to change my name name, but if that’s what you need to do to feel like “you”, go girl. I’m proud of you for recognizing the things you need to do in order to give yourself a better, happier, more content life. 🙂 Janepedia will be equally, if not more so, great as 6birds! You’ll see 🙂

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[…] changing my blog URL! ? I was really nervous, but then I realised I could just add hej.gay as a parked domain, […]

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I loved this post so much. I think it is not only because I could relate, but because you totally owned it. You totally owned your feelings and what you felt strongly for. That is the best part.

An on-off relationship is incredibly hard to let go of, and I can understand how you must have felt. I had one on-off relationship when I was very young, and it took me a while to get over it. A year, in fact. I didn’t feel like I had closure. More recently, a few years ago I was in a relationship where were weren’t officially together, but our feelings were so toxic that we would have been better without each other. And so that’s how we were, in the end, when one could finally let go.

Also, I barely noticed that you used my format as inspiration. It looked like you wrote everything you needed to write. 🙂

I am so keen for Janepedia. And the new theme I have rollin’ for you. It’s gonna be SO GREAT.

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Yeah. ? On/off relationships suck. I was in one I only share details with people about if it’s absolutely necessary, just because the relationship was that toxic…and also because I have moments wherein I’m like, “But we were great when things were great,” and then wonder why we just…couldn’t go back to that.

Thanks! ❤ I rewrote this post several times, but this one felt the most fitting and well-articulated. ? I wanted to get my points across without it being too traumatizing, or whatever. I used some of your questions, but I guess the more I wrote the post, the less I totally stuck to your format. ? Funny how inspiration works. ?

YAS. ??? I am SO EXCITED.

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Sometimes good things come to an end. If you don’t have a connection with your website anymore, then is better to just end the relationship. There’s no point in trying to hold on to something if it doesn’t feel right anymore.

I am glad to hear that you have so many plans for the future regarding this website. I hope it all goes well and I am sure you’ll not disappoint.

You are allowed to be yourself, you are unique and had your own life. Nobody owns you, nobody should judge your choices because they haven’t lived your life, they haven’t been in your skin and they haven’t felt what you did. You just ignore the stupid rumors and enjoy yourself, be proud of the decisions you’ve made and if you are happy with yourself, everything is going to be ok.

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