4 ms·

While much of this is good advice, the "name that says what you do" is tricky. Product names should say what they do, but companies sometimes find it more usefu

by seldo 16y ago

While much of this is good advice, the "name that says what you do" is tricky. Product names should say what they do, but companies sometimes find it more useful to remain vague. Consider: Yahoo, Google, eBay, Amazon. None of these words had, when invented, any associations in the public mind. This allows those companies to grow and change their brands and their focus. Imagine if Amazon had been called "Bookery". Or if Google were called "Searchio". Great names for what those companies started doing, completely misleading now -- especially in Amazon's case.

ig1 16y ago
One of the biggest mobile phone retailers in the UK is called "Carphone Warehouse" - people don't think twice about the name. People treat the name as a brand rather than a literal interpretation of the words that make up the brand.
- TotlolRon 16y ago
  "International Business Machines" is also doin a ok.
- barrkel 16y ago
  However, they seem to think the understandability of the name is important. Internationally, they are more likely to be known as "The Phone House".
jcurbo 16y ago
Well, "amazon" is from Greek mythology and wasn't really invented recently, but the rest of your point still stands.
- agravier 16y ago
  It was possibly mostly associated with the river in people's mind at launch time. Amazon is a smart name, exotic rivers and books go well together.
  - chopsueyar 16y ago
    The company was originally named Cadabra, Inc., but the name was changed when it was discovered that people sometimes heard the name as "Cadaver." The name Amazon.com was chosen because the Amazon River is the largest river in the world, and so the name suggests large size, and also in part because it starts with 'A' and therefore would show up near the beginning of alphabetical lists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com
quanticle 16y ago
Not to mention those that changed their names into made-up words: Standard Oil of New Jersey -> Exxon.
chopsueyar 16y ago
If Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay were late-comers (much later to Google's search dominance), would these companies have used these names? Particularly now, I would assume it is much more difficult to "brand" a company (a search engine, auction site, or super-powered ecommerce site) with so much disparate media, particularly with Google as the gatekeeper. Newspapers, television, and radio does not have the impact it once had. Amazon was the only name based off of a real noun. Whenever I buy from Amazon, I still wonder what the name has to do with the business (besides being the largest river and having alphabetical priority). It is interesting to watch Google's influence on business names, particularly for local businesses. Unfortunately, for most businesses today, the public mind is "censored" by Google search reslts. Not intentionally, but because Google knows better than you. Name your businesss after popular search queries. It is better to name your restaurant "townname foodtype", rather than anything unqiue. springfield bar b q vs. tex's bbq pit springfield chinese vs dragon phoenix springfield plastic surgery vs

by seldo 16y ago

ig1 16y ago

One of the biggest mobile phone retailers in the UK is called "Carphone Warehouse" - people don't think twice about the name. People treat the name as a brand rather than a literal interpretation of the words that make up the brand.

TotlolRon 16y ago
"International Business Machines" is also doin a ok.
barrkel 16y ago
However, they seem to think the understandability of the name is important. Internationally, they are more likely to be known as "The Phone House".

jcurbo 16y ago

Well, "amazon" is from Greek mythology and wasn't really invented recently, but the rest of your point still stands.

agravier 16y ago
It was possibly mostly associated with the river in people's mind at launch time. Amazon is a smart name, exotic rivers and books go well together.
- chopsueyar 16y ago
  The company was originally named Cadabra, Inc., but the name was changed when it was discovered that people sometimes heard the name as "Cadaver." The name Amazon.com was chosen because the Amazon River is the largest river in the world, and so the name suggests large size, and also in part because it starts with 'A' and therefore would show up near the beginning of alphabetical lists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com

quanticle 16y ago

Not to mention those that changed their names into made-up words: Standard Oil of New Jersey -> Exxon.

chopsueyar 16y ago

If Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay were late-comers (much later to Google's search dominance), would these companies have used these names? Particularly now, I would assume it is much more difficult to "brand" a company (a search engine, auction site, or super-powered ecommerce site) with so much disparate media, particularly with Google as the gatekeeper. Newspapers, television, and radio does not have the impact it once had. Amazon was the only name based off of a real noun. Whenever I buy from Amazon, I still wonder what the name has to do with the business (besides being the largest river and having alphabetical priority). It is interesting to watch Google's influence on business names, particularly for local businesses. Unfortunately, for most businesses today, the public mind is "censored" by Google search reslts. Not intentionally, but because Google knows better than you. Name your businesss after popular search queries. It is better to name your restaurant "townname foodtype", rather than anything unqiue. springfield bar b q vs. tex's bbq pit springfield chinese vs dragon phoenix springfield plastic surgery vs