Does the name of a website matter?
In responding to another person’s question I found out another word for “fluther” is “smack.” I can’t imagine myself joining a website named “Smack.”
Does the name of a website mean as much to you as it does to me, in terms of participation?
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18 Answers
I think so, it’s what drives people to websites in the first place. Same thing applies to store names.
Although, I do think that I would like to join a website called Smack!
Yes, just like brand names play a vital role in creating an image that patrons buy into.
I always just assumed fluther was a made up word…
Yes, to a certain extent.
I’m pretty sure if you made a website called “deportallmexicans.com” it’d matter to someone.
“Smack” sounds like a site for bondage and that sort of thing.
In my opinion, the name, unless you want it to be obscure, should describe what the website is about as fully as possible in as few words as possible.
@wundayatta I totally agree… But in this instance, it could draw up two completely different visions! :)
Sure it does… Freebeer.com, 0%interest.com, KYA.com etc. let alone all the obvious sex related titles all would attract large audiences just on the virtue of the URL alone!
Yes, not only in an atractive way, but it is also very easy to acidently go to a website that has a simular name because of poor name choice.
Yes, it matters. If Hulu was called ShitboxTV, I doubt as many people would watch.
Depends on the audience you’re trying to attract.
Rotten.com (sooo NSFW) certainly gets a different audience than cuteness.com.
I visited Monstercock.com expecting to view some large chickens,imagine my shock.Twas like looking in the mirror.
Entrepreneur and investor Luke Nosek once told me his theory that websites with two-syllable names are the most likely to succeed (presumably because they are the easiest to remember).
There’s an impressive list of examples supporting this theory: PayPal, eBay, Yahoo, Google, Orkut, Gmail, Craigslist, Flickr, Baidu, Blogger, Wordpress, Hi5, YouTube, LinkedIn, Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, Fluther.
The most notable exceptions to this rule are Wikipedia, Amazon, Bing, IMDB, MSN, AOL and a few other initialisms.
I think that if Fluther were named Smack, a lot more trolls would come here and the UI would be more exciting and confusing. But it would be called Smack, and that’s a freaking awesome name for anything.
In terms of using two syllables, I nominate BitchSlap first.
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