Your own domain name is like a business card that never goes out of date. Mine is frjosh.com. It costs me about $15 a year through Namecheap, and it's one of the best small investments I make.
Here's why it matters: we're entering an era where authenticity and accuracy will be increasingly valuable. As AI-generated content floods the internet and phishing attempts grow more sophisticated, people are learning to be suspicious of unfamiliar URLs. When you share a link from some service they've never heard of - even legitimate platforms like Loom for video hosting - many people hesitate. It looks unfamiliar. It could be a scam. But your name? Your name they know. When the link says frjosh.com, people who know me trust it immediately. That trust is worth something, and it will only become more valuable as the noise increases.
The practical side is simpler than ever. Once you own a domain, you can point it anywhere - a personal website, a blog, a video hosting service, whatever you need. And in the age of AI agents, the technical setup that used to require hours of Googling now takes minutes. Ask an AI assistant how to configure DNS records, and it will walk you through step by step. The barrier to entry has never been lower. For the cost of a few coffees per year, you get a permanent address on the internet that belongs to you. Buy it. Hold on to it. Future you will be glad you did.