agree, dont think any name could pass every one. but if it fails a few, you know you have a bad name.
the hardest is probably "Meaningful – customers 'get it'". google, apple, etc dont say anything about what the company does. microsoft passes that test.
but take a few YC companies: dropbox, dailybooth, indinero, airbnb, reddit, hirehive, 1000memories, fanvibe, those all pass.
but plenty dont and are still awesome: heroku, hipmunk, lanyrd, rapportive, 280 north, divvyshot, all those have some problems but hasn't prevented them from success.
haha, actually i think your hipmunk frontpage isn't nearly as effing awesome as the results page. the homepage is "eh, another travel search". the results is OMFG.
I've struggled with this very issue for a long time.
I named my site RunFatBoy.net back in 2006. It was an emotionally charged phrase for me, evoking memories dating back to gym class in Junior high.
Fast forward five year later, and the title still seems to divide my users. Some feel offended, others convey it as some sort of self-deprecating humor, a few have had it evoke the same emotional memories that I have..
With so many of the common words/phrases already taken, it's hard to find something that is a win across the board.
Also, is it offensive slang in some other language?
A site I worked on (unintentionally) chose a name that means "lazy idiot" in some cultures. Oddly enough it seemed to do more good than harm. It's a bit ironic because the site was a productivity tool.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 41.9 ms ] threadhttp://eatmywords.com/blog/announcing-award-worst-brand-2010...
What do you do after several of them copy you?
the hardest is probably "Meaningful – customers 'get it'". google, apple, etc dont say anything about what the company does. microsoft passes that test.
but take a few YC companies: dropbox, dailybooth, indinero, airbnb, reddit, hirehive, 1000memories, fanvibe, those all pass.
but plenty dont and are still awesome: heroku, hipmunk, lanyrd, rapportive, 280 north, divvyshot, all those have some problems but hasn't prevented them from success.
I named my site RunFatBoy.net back in 2006. It was an emotionally charged phrase for me, evoking memories dating back to gym class in Junior high.
Fast forward five year later, and the title still seems to divide my users. Some feel offended, others convey it as some sort of self-deprecating humor, a few have had it evoke the same emotional memories that I have..
With so many of the common words/phrases already taken, it's hard to find something that is a win across the board.
A site I worked on (unintentionally) chose a name that means "lazy idiot" in some cultures. Oddly enough it seemed to do more good than harm. It's a bit ironic because the site was a productivity tool.
A great company builds its name rather than letting the name build the company. There's a reason Amazon passed on books.com.