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Ask HN: What to name a CDN for images which also does image resizing on the fly?
I'm sure this post doesn't exactly contribute anything, but I've been at it for weeks and I can't figure it out.
I'm building this service for images, which is basically to resize them on the fly and distribute them via a CDN.
I have a long list of names, right now the thing is called LivePipe, which is fine but doesn't make you think of anything. I also have RocketGrid which I like, but it has the same problem.
What could be another cool name?
Any help greatly appreciated. Get me out of this :-)
- lsiunsuex 10y agocloudinary.com is an awesome service for on the fly image / video modification and the name "cloudinary" doesn't at all describe their service IMO. It's in the cloud for sure (what isn't now a days) but that's about it. No mention of image manipulation. (unless I'm missing something) LivePipe sounds like a cool name and has more meaning than cloudinary I think.
- nkkollaw 10y agoThanks for replying, I'm struggling with this. I agree with what you're saying. My theory for "LivePipe" would be that a pipe takes things somewhere, and "live" can mean "online". It's hard finding a logo, though. Do you like RocketGrid at all?
- lsiunsuex 10y agoMeh... IMO, the name really means nothing at the end of the day. Especially for a product like this, where your targeting developers. If a product is good and it delivers on what it promises; the name means nothing to me. I'll remember it / bookmark it and use it. If it's just another clone of something else popular and doesn't cause me to look at it again a second time; a good name won't change that. Few names explain what the product are now a days. Gone are the days of finding a product name like Microsoft or Rackspace or AWS or Facebook - those names are "descriptive" in what they do. Tell me what Digital Ocean does by just it's name, or CloudFlare or Apple for that matter. The name is a place holder; a point of reference. The products features and quality determines if it's of value.
- nkkollaw 10y agoThanks. The product is nothing revolutionary. There are other services that do something very similar. The differentiator is that it's aimed at the Polish market. Everything is in Polish—including documentation, support, etc. While it's definitely true that developers generally know English very well, some might be more comfortable using their own language, and this is what the service is for.
- dazc 10y agoThere are already similar services established so the choice of name is going to have little to no bearing on your success. Just call it LivePipe or RocketGrid and get on with it. Toss a coin if you can't decide.
- nkkollaw 10y agoThanks, you're definitely right. I appreciate your help.
- brudgers 10y agoimageresizercdn.com cdn4imaginresizing.com melovesthiscdn.com Picking the perfect name is pretend work. If the business is successful, it can buy any name on the CEO's whim. If the business is seeking to raise money, investors are going to care about the metrics. When the company hires, talent is going to care about the tech, the pay, and the culture. Good luck.
- nkkollaw 10y agoThat's true, but to market you need a decent name, or people might not even look at it. I know because sometimes I get lazy and don't check out things because I don't like the name...
- brudgers 10y agoIf marketing is SEO then maybe there's some value in a name. But if the marketing is SEO why go through the trouble of building a CDN? There are much less demanding options. Good marketing for a CDN is identifying potential users and reaching out to them directly and in person and converting them into users. Getting people to care is harder than building the product and getting people to use it is harder than that and getting people to pay is almost impossible. And the name has almost nothing to do with it, e.g. Akamai.
- nkkollaw 10y agoI don't have a lot of experience, but what you're saying is pretty close to everything I've been reading these past few years. I should stop putting all this effort into finding a name, perhaps.
- brudgers 10y agoWhen I went hung out my shingle as an architect, I designed a business card, built a website, created brochures, joined the local CoC, bought an office couch, a new computer, a pile of code books, etc. All of that was easier than creating a pipeline of projects [that there was something new called 'subprime' on the financial pages didn't help]. Put appropriate effort into the name. For the most part nobody cares about the name. It doesn't solve their problems or improve their bottom line. It doesn't solve any of your big problems or improve your bottom line. All it does is provide a plausible reason to avoid the unpleasant task of cold calling and the rejection that comes from it. When you're working for someone else, the business can still move forward while you have fun picking a name. When it's your business, picking a name, building a website, and buying a couch is all that happens. It's hard.