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When Facebook started, it was just people, a couple pictures, their contact info, their classes, and a Wall. There was no messaging or News Feed. It really wasn
by BrandonM 16y ago
When Facebook started, it was just people, a couple pictures, their contact info, their classes, and a Wall. There was no messaging or News Feed. It really wasn't much of a social network at all compared to what it is today.
I would argue that some sites benefit from having a non-specific domain name. If Google had been searchengine.com, maps.searchengine.com and mail.searchengine.com seem a bit weird. Having a less specific name allows a company to pivot without changing its branding.
- ultrasaurus 16y agoFor Google it might even hurt them at this point. Lots of users don't know their browser, but they know that Google=Internet. "Yahoo Search Engine" would be a lot more competitive with "Search Engine" from a branding perspective.
- user24 16y agoyep, totally. Likewise if amazon had been called books.com they'd have a hard time diversifying into the huge repertoire they have now. The same's true of just about any popular site you care to mention. What does flickr mean? del.icio.us? What does ycombinator have to do with startups? etc etc etc.
- BrandonM 16y agoAmazon is a much better example than the one I used.