Comments on: By any damned name

By: Jim Treacher

Jim Treacher — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 06:51:48 +0000

Jim, I cringe at the thought of YOU naming ANY business! I think you would be a wee bit too honest.

True; my suggestion for Burger King’s new Chicken Fries was Bird Flu Is Quicker Than a Massive Coronary. They said it was too long to fit on the box.

Of course, we all know what happens when I create a subdomainâ€¦

I don’t. What happens?

By: Noel Guinane

Noel Guinane — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 02:43:06 +0000

Now that you mention it, yes it did.

By: ArtD0dger

ArtD0dger — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 00:18:41 +0000

Did anyone else notice that their first logo looked like the brown ring of quality?.

By: Arthur

Arthur — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 19:47:05 +0000

Scott, I understood your point, but I was trying to make a larger point than just online businesses. If all you want is something that’s easy to remember, it doesn’t have to be the name of the ‘concept’. e.g. Amazon, Yahoo, etc. Of course lousy content will sink the business, but that simply seems to underscore my point, which was that names don’t matter, attaching them to good business and/or online content is what counts. I think Pajamas Media is a fine name, mostly because avid blog readers already know why they’re using it. I agree with Jeff that the business seems a little ,er, unfocussed, right now. I have a sinking feeling that rather than follow their collective instincts, they’re paying for “advice” on what to put on the site. The design also looks like it was designed by someone with a graphics degree but no passion for the business.

By: Kevin Marks

Kevin Marks — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 19:37:32 +0000

Hah, I was just about to post that Ruth Shalit article from Salon too – it is a classic.
I did in fact buy dogfood online this week; it can make sense if they get the logistics right, and the delivery infrastructure that makes eBay work applies here too.
My new criterion for names is that you should not need to spell the URL when speaking it, eg when sponsoring PBS or a podcast.

By: William

William — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:57:48 +0000

The name game - A classic Salon article about naming companies ("What you have here is clients being taken for a ride.").

By: Scott Ferguson

Scott Ferguson — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:02:15 +0000

Adam, pets.com didn’t die because it had a bad name. It died because buying cat litter online is stupid.

I don’t think Pajamas Media has a name problem.

By: Karl

Karl — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 17:42:54 +0000

Lawrence, I just read your post (http://isfullofcrap.com/oldcrap/2005/11/solving_the_paj.html) at your site. I think it’s a must-read by PJM management.

By: Noel Guinane

Noel Guinane — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:58:07 +0000

I’m glad they went back to Pajamas and I like the logo. It’s fun. Now if they could loosen up a little on the design of their site to match the logo a little more …

By: Adam Saunders

Adam Saunders — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:49:57 +0000

A name like Pets Inc. or Pets.com is okay in the short term, but terrible in the long term. The problem is that once you have build a business up with a generic name, you will find many other businesses with similar generic names trying to steal your business. Customers will probably not make much of distinction between Pets.com and Pet.com, and you will find it very hard to defend your right to a generic name like this. In the same way, Open Source Media is a terrible name when compared to the name Pajamas Media. The number of companies with “Media” in their names is already ridiculous, and adding “Open Source” to “Media” makes for a totally generic name. I can’t imagine who thought this was a good idea.

By: Laurence Simon

Laurence Simon — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:47:49 +0000

I guess if we’re on the topic of unfortunate names, I’ve just created a subdomain and installed forum software in it for a centralized discussion of OSM/PM’s problems. I figure that there needs to be a discussion board for members as well as the public.

Of course, we all know what happens when I create a subdomain…

By: Scott Ferguson

Scott Ferguson — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:04:06 +0000

Arthur, that was basically my original point. However, having a name that can be remembered and typed easily WILL help get you hits to begin with. Pets.com is a good name for a website that sells pet supplies. But in that instance, it couldn’t save a business with a lousy concept.

By: Arthur

Arthur — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 15:46:43 +0000

I think you’re missing the point on names. Names don’t mean anything until you define them for people. Case in point: McDonalds, which has nothing to do with fast food, until you market it and now it’s synonymous with hamburgers and fries. Compare that with the perennial second place Burger King, which bears some relationship to the business it is in.
Is Toyota a good name for a vehicle manufacturer? Apple a good name for a computer maker? Cialis a good name for a drug? Or Nexium? The problem people have with naming projects, (and I’ve done a few) is that people expect the name to carry the weight of transmitting, instantly, the qualities of the product or service being named. (OSM being the latest example). Almost everybody tries too hard, or thinks it’s too hard, which is why they hire “branding” companies. (My feelings about them are another matter, which would take too much rant space to go into here.)

By: Scott Ferguson

Scott Ferguson — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 15:20:55 +0000

Jim, I cringe at the thought of YOU naming ANY business! I think you would be a wee bit too honest.

By: Jim Treacher

Jim Treacher — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 15:14:07 +0000

Coming up with names for things is easy. I can do it. Somebody please pay me to do that.

By: Elmo

Elmo — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 15:13:17 +0000

If it walks like a ........

By: Scott Ferguson

Scott Ferguson — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 15:01:16 +0000

The name isn’t important. It’s the content. A good name might get you a kick-start, but if the content sucks, they won’t stay.

By: Nick Douglas

Nick Douglas — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 14:57:15 +0000

Do what Nick Denton does — roll around phonemes and connotations and word roots for hours. Honestly, e-mail me and I’ll take a few cracks with you.