My thoughts on…Web 2.0 sites with stupid names
Have you noticed that websites nowadays, especially in this age of “Web 2.0″, have some of the dumbest names ever conceived by man? I mean they are totally illogical. You can’t look at them and tell what the site is about. Do you know what Zorpia is about, or Wakoopa? Bebo? Plaxo? Trulia? And my all time favourite, Qoolsqool? Back in the day, domain names were logical. Amazon, Google (which, contrary to popular belief, is an actual word), eBay, etc.
It seems like nowadays, with websites being sold for millions, sometimes billions of dollars, and the Internet growing each day, site owners place less emphasis on creativity. They no longer try to sell the brand through the domain, but just slap on some random name. I guess they do this by throwing a bunch of Scrabble tiles together and choosing the arrangement that makes sense, or doing it the easy way by dropping the last vowel or inserting a bunch of periods (e.g. Flickr and Del.icio.us). Or maybe they can’t, as all the choice domains have already been taken.
After spending all of two minutes deciding this name, they simply add a social element to it (to pander to the millions who have nothing better to do with their lives) and watch the big bucks roll in! I guess they’re following the bigger sites with dumb names that have been big successes, like Del.icio.us. Yeah. I’m dissing Del.icio.us. Good site, worth truckloads, but the name’s still dumb. This isn’t bound to stop anytime soon, because as I said before, the thought of one’s site blossoming into a cash cow is too much to resist, even if your site’s name sounds like an exotic disease.
must be the fallout from all the texting and instant messaging which has forever truncated the english language and created some weird acronyms. I’ve got issues with these dumb names and misspellings cause they creep into general society and drive me crazy
jdid’s last blog post..98 lb weakling
Got your facts wrong again. Google is not a proper word, at least not until it became a brand name.
The word I think you refer to is Googol, meaning a 1 followed by 100 zeros. This was coined in 1920 by a 9 years old.
But I get what you mean about dem crappy sites. imagine one actually named “Jumbie’s Watch”.
Jumbie’s last blog post..Two sides to a story
Thanks for that Jumbie. I was thinking of Googol too but I often get the number and the brand mixed up.
This blog post is worth zilch in my opinion.
Google as the guy said really wasn’t word
secondly Do you have any idea how odd the name sounds to the person outside of the information technology sphere.
Secondly the web is not what it was 5 - 10 years or even a year ago. it is evolving each day with new uses and application. Everything must evolve and adapt to survive in its ever changing environment. With the type of people that come online now all those odd names you speak of sound and probably are spelt pretty normal to them. You know why you find it odd leon… your getting old. time is shifting we are heading to where our parents where when we were at school. and the students now are saying stuff like how lame and old is a name like amazon. if you get where i’m going.
Also relative to naming There is power in name yes but its quality that everything really thrives on. You could have the most bad ass name on the planet if your product is bullshit its still just bullshit with a cool name.
taylor2nd’s last blog post..The dark knight approaches how long will the darkness stay.
Rather strong opinion there Taylor. I can see if you disagree, but calling my post zilch? You can’t use people outside the tech field as an example. Pretty much everything tech related would be alien to them. I corrected myself when it came to the Google thing. And yes the product itself matters, but you need a good name to draw customers as well. It’s like putting a good present in a dirty, crumpled box. You’ll naturally assume that what’s inside is of low quality.
I did a search for possible names for a site I wanted to do, but all the good names were either taken or parked. I guess with this immense number of sites, it is hard to get something that represents your idea, so any name that is catchy will have to suffice! Also, people use these “weird” names as a form of self expression considering that there are so many personal sites out on the web theses days.
Stunner’s last blog post..Rat-aliation! (I Smell A Rat II)
was google always a word, or did it become a word because of google..
chicken or the egg?
In my spare time I still feel like sitting around thinking up names to patent and sell to others.. a girls gotta have her dreams.
Cranky Putz’s last blog post..Rat-aliation! (I Smell A Rat II)
I think you are a bit too kind to Amazon. The name alone doesn’t tell you what the company does.
I always found it annoying that after Flickr came onto the scene, we started getting other sites with a similar naming convention - such as Frappr and Tumblr.
Ben Barden’s last blog post..Give and get
Yeah, Ben. I think I may be. But at least their name is logical.
Yeah but irrespective of those names Amazon, Flickr, Digg (look at that site name come on) are all well reknowned. THE NAME DOES NOT MATTER ON THE INTERNET GET REAL. i’m a web professional I see this all the time. it helps if the domain name is catchy, short (worst hing you can do is have a domain name that no one will remember). matter of fact based on STATISTICS i can tell you that people dont even type website address in address bars ne more. they use google to find it.
taylor2nd’s last blog post..The weekend Aproaches what are your plans
today i discovered Badoo when i stumbled upon a site called lemon.tonic…. i was intrigued. i tried to google/wiki it to find out what it was, but nothing. what on earth is a badoo?
dalia’s last blog post..major suckage : feeling exposed : time for a break
I think it’s just people trying to be creative and stand out from everyone else. Everyone wants their site name to be a word spoken by everyone else even if it does sound dumb.
marsha’s last blog post..7 March 2008 Videocast
You are wrong about the whole naming thing.
As Taylor says, the name isn’t that important at all, either on the web or in much else. There is a whole lot of value in the name being catchy as well. If names were so important, why are the most popular sites on the internet not reflective of that fact.
Mad Bull’s last blog post..7 March 2008 Videocast
I see that madbull has figured out the whole thing as well.. Good going dude. the name is not a problem. you dont like it but thats just you.. and a few other bloggers here. YOU ARE THE MINORITY. as well as your getting old. if it site was called darthcedius you’ld probably find it cool cuz your into that kind of stuff While normal people (basic non tech, non fantasy non fanfic non starwars people) would say wtf is that.
its about how your socialized which will inevitably lead to how you interpret the website name. If you’ve lived online and keep up with tech trends nothing seems strange.
taylor2nd’s last blog post..Photo Junkie at large