Get your hands off my brand.

• Author: Cote, Mike

"Cote's Colorado."

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Sure, it sounds kind of cocky, but this new moniker for my column creates an alliterative bookend to the beginning of ColoradoBiz that can pair with Jeff Rundles' "Rundles Wrapup" at the end.

It's the name we've been using for my weekly video commentaries at cobizmag.com. Online Editor Keith DuBay came up with the title, and it stuck despite my initial reluctance.

But now I have a brand to protect, and I'm staking my claim.

In a recent Google search of "Mike Cote" or "Michael Cote," I didn't find anything having to do with me until the eighth reference.

That's because there are too many Mike Cotes out there, and they're kicking my butt when it comes to Google positioning.

DJ Mike Cote and actor/comedian Mike Cote, both from my home state of New Hampshire, command the first and second "Mike Cote" search positions respectively. Mike Cote, the CEO of Atlanta-based Internet security company, Secure Networks, comes up repeatedly.

Keep looking and you'll find Texas country singer Michael Cote--he uses the traditional French accent on the e--and Mike Cote in Maine who markets gourmet food. Bishop Michael R. Cote, the Roman Catholic bishop in Norwich, Conn., even has an entry on Wikipedia.

I wrote about some of these other Mike Cotes a few years ago, but back then I was just doing your basic vanity search. This time around, it's business. OK, it's ego, too. Damn, those other Mike Cotes! (Except for the bishop.)

Like every other medium with its roots in print, ColoradoBiz has been making greater investments in its website. Over the past couple of months, we've added video news updates with Interactive Media Manager Becky Fenton and launched several blogs: "Wiesner's World" by WiesnerMedia founder Pat Wiesner, "Executive Wheels" by columnist Jeff Rundles, "Politics from the Center" by Publisher Bart Taylor, "The Green Giant Report" by Managing Editor Mike Taylor, "New Media" by Keith DuBay and "Poppin' Circumstance" by this Mike Cote.

So where "Mike Cote" or the names of our other online columnists, video anchors or bloggers come up during online searches might affect our page views.

For example, if I ever want to post one of my "Cote's Colorado" videos on YouTube, I have to contend with Mike Cote the comedian, who posted a video in which he impersonates former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. (Search for "Mitt Romney Hunting Squirrels.")

The...