Is the dropped vowel trend here to stay?

[Truespin Domains]

Flickr
Grindr
Tumblr
Scribd

Nowadays it seems like a mainstay of domains. But some people seem to really hate it and call it a fad - despite being a 'fad' for well over a decade at this point.

The biggest criticism is the so called "radio test" implications, but with a generation completely used to disemvoweling, I'm not convinced this is a real problem. Especially if the domain is short and can be spelt, or if you can say something simple like flicker without the e".

What are people's thoughts? Again, I personally really like it if used sparingly and with the tight word.

 

[creataweb]

Yes

 

[Truespin Domains]

Thanks for clearing it all up

 

[Kate]

For sure, there are a couple high-profile websites that use 'disemvoweled' names like these, but it's not a mainstream trend at all.
They are able to differentiate themselves precisely because not everybody is doing it... But the primary motive was obviously not paying a premium for a good domain, so they went for names like these, whatever was unregistered and short enough.

Building a strong brand on a typo is not easy and not always sustainable in the long term.
For example Flickr was leaking a lot of traffic to flicker.com and there are other examples of website operators who ended up buying the 'right' domain. Delicious is another example but with the double dot in their original domain the brand could only be crippled forever.

 

[karmaco]

No doubt these will continue to have some usage for people unable or unwilling to pay the price for the real name. Also an option if the real word is in use.

Doesn’t affect the pronunciation in the examples given. More confusing are ones with the last letter removed.

 

[Truespin Domains]

For sure, there are a couple high-profile websites that use 'disemvoweled' names like these, but it's not a mainstream trend at all.
They are able to differentiate themselves precisely because not everybody is doing it... But the primary motive was obviously not paying a premium for a good domain, so they went for names like these, whatever was unregistered and short enough.

Building a strong brand on a typo is not easy and not always sustainable in the long term.
For example Flickr was and there are other examples of website operators who ended up buying the 'right' domain. Delicious is another example but with the double dot in their original domain the brand could only be crippled forever.

It's far more than a handful. Even domainr does it.

 

[hxp]

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I think droppd vowls are here to stay !

(Being serious though, thanks for drawing our attention to an interesting trend. I think with so many .com names not just being registered but also being unavailable too, has driven branding people to see this as a way to find legally unchallengeable ways to brand (sort of like they replacing y with i movement).

Does anyone know the degree to which the domain industry is taught in colleges/universities in courses dealing with brand identity, marketing, and related issues?

 

[urlurl]

its not a new thing, most likely used by bootstrapped new startups because of money constraints - obviously these co's became bigger.

dropping the vowel or double consonants at the end are ok i certain circumstances and must evaluated on a case by case basis... along with all the other suffix's currently being used.

 

[NameGroove]

So, almost 7 years later. Did dropped vowels make it? Are they still a thing?

 

[robs01]

Why not finish the job and do something like flckr, tmblr, etc?

Many of these disemvoweled names would be much more memorable if they stripped all the vowels rather than just one.

Here's one: G L D B G . C O M

 

[MKA]

So, almost 7 years later. Did dropped vowels make it? Are they still a thing?

No. And they never stood a chance.

If I tell you that there's this new crazy app called "winter" your intuition isn't to look up wintr.

What you pay for with winter.com is that it's easier to get the ball rolling. It's precise and effortless to communicate, and it's going to sav you a fortune in ads.

That's what you're paying for. Wintr.com offers no such advantages, and is only something you pick if it's available.

 

[enterscope]

No. And they never stood a chance.

If I tell you that there's this new crazy app called "winter" your intuition isn't to look up wintr.

What you pay for with winter.com is that it's easier to get the ball rolling. It's precise and effortless to communicate, and it's going to sav you a fortune in ads.

That's what you're paying for. Wintr.com offers no such advantages, and is only something you pick if it's available.

"Wintr" is registered in 26 extensions which shows some high demand.

Every year thousands of new business are started, and there are only so many domain names. I think we will see more and more creative diversity in branding and keywords as time goes on.

 

[MKA]

"Wintr" is registered in 26 extensions which shows some high demand.

Every year thousands of new business are started, and there are only so many domain names. I think we will see more and more creative diversity in branding and keywords as time goes on.

You're missing the point.

Winter.com has inherent value because it's simple.

Wintr.com on the other hand is inherently confusing. People will call it "winter" but it's not "winter" it's "winter without an e." There'd be a loss of traffic and consequently a loss of conversion. Could it still work as a brand by capitalizing on this trend? Sure. But trends are transient, simplicity is forever.

 

[NameGroove]

You're missing the point.

Winter.com has inherent value because it's simple.

Wintr.com on the other hand is inherently confusing. People will call it "winter" but it's not "winter" it's "winter without an e." There'd be a loss of traffic and consequently a loss of conversion. Could it still work as a brand by capitalizing on this trend? Sure. But trends are transient, simplicity is forever.

Flickr.com started the trend and Grindr and Tumblr followed. My question isn't what is better. Obviously, if you can get it, Flicker is better. As another poster stated, those companies couldn't get Flicker, Grinder, or Tumbler. So they went down the drop the last vowel path.

My question is, are companies still using this concept, and thus acquiring names of this type?

I am not asking if you (or anyone else likes the idea). I am asking if companies like and use the idea.

 

[MKA]

Flickr.com started the trend and Grindr and Tumblr followed. My question isn't what is better. Obviously, if you can get it, Flicker is better. As another poster stated, those companies couldn't get Flicker, Grinder, or Tumbler. So they went down the drop the last vowel path.

My question is, are companies still using this concept, and thus acquiring names of this type?

I am not asking if you (or anyone else likes the idea). I am asking if companies like and use the idea.

No. Why would they? From a marketing perspective it is a disaster, and you're going to have to pour millions into advertisements just to normalize it.

Chances are that these domains were hand-registered to begin with.

 

[NameGroove]

No. Why would they? From a marketing perspective it is a disaster, and you're going to have to pour millions into advertisements just to normalize it.

Chances are that these domains were hand-registered to begin with.

So you keep saying. I've mentioned companies that have used the "drop vowel" concept successfully. I get it. You PERSONALLY hate it. That's totally understandable. I hear you. There is no need for you to provide your personal opinion again.

But again, I am not asking for your personal opinion. I am asking for factual data. You do not know if companies have stopped using these names... the ones I mentioned are still using them. Fact: After all these years and "millions poured in" they never changed their names.

So again, I appreciate your personal opinion. But that is not the question I am asking.

I am asking, for those with direct knowledge in this space, are companies still buying and using drop vowel names?

 

[MKA]

So you keep saying. I've mentioned companies that have used the "drop vowel" concept successfully.

A company can be successful without a good brand, it's just going to be more difficult to get off the ground. Which is exactly why people will pay a premium for good brands.

As an example, take Google. It's successful. But the brand had no raw equity.

I get it. You PERSONALLY hate it. That's totally understandable. I hear you. There is no need for you to provide your personal opinion again.

Then you don't get it, because it's not my personal opinion. It's objectively terrible for marketing.

I am asking for factual data. You do not know if companies have stopped using these names...

Just scroll through the most recently listed trademarks?

https://www.trademark247.com/recent-trademarks.html

the ones I mentioned are still using them. Fact: After all these years and "millions poured in" they never changed their names.

Because changing domains after the fact is expensive. Not just to acquire the domain, but also to manage all the backlinks, security features, and SEO.

opeansea.com redirects to opeansea.io, and twitch.com redirects to twitch.tv.

 

[NameGroove]

Then you don't get it, because it's not my personal opinion. It's objectively terrible for marketing.


Just scroll through the most recently listed trademarks?

https://www.trademark247.com/recent-trademarks.html

I'm going speak your terminology;

It's objectively terrible. Companies use objectively terrible domains as their name. But my question remains unanswered; are companies continuing to buy and launch vowel drops as their name?
(for clarity MKA... not should they, but are they?)

The idea of scrolling through TMs is a good one, I went through about 50 pages. Lots of tough names in there, but not easy to find specifically the answer to my question. I suppose I could check YCombinator to see if funded companies are still using vowel drops.

One other note for MKA which may break through our communication difficulties - your idea of scrolling through TMs was good. Do it yourself. Notice anything? Do you see any terrible names in there? I'm going to guess you do. And yet, these companies have launched and trademarked these names. Do you understand now why I continue to ask if companies are using vowel drops? You may find them terrible. You can call them objectively terrible. But as we can see with the TM search, companies use all sorts of names. Some you may find absolutely awful. But clearly someone saw enough in them to register and trademark. I'm not defending their choice. I really don't have an opinion one way or the other. What I do as a domainer is serve the end buyer. If they buy (meaning there is demand), I sell. We could find 1000's of opinions on domain names from 100's of domainers. All I care about are usage & sales (demand). Therefore...

If anyone has seen and vowel drop sales or companies using vowel drops recently, let me know.

 

[MKA]

But my question remains unanswered; are companies continuing to buy and launch vowel drops as their name?

I don't recall ever hearing or seeing an aftermarket sale of such a domain, and I frequent Namebio daily.

But if you want actual data you'd likely have to research it yourself. Because I think it's systematically difficult, because there's not some kind of easy pattern you can follow. So you'd likely have to do is ask ChatGPT to come up with some snappy ones and then post them one-by-one into Namebio.

Do it yourself. Notice anything? Do you see any terrible names in there? I'm going to guess you do. And yet, these companies have launched and trademarked these names.

I agree. Most trademarks are of terrible brands, and no domainer in their right mind would try to pre-emptively intercept these kinds of brands because it's a waste of money.

If you want to make money off domains then you get good domains... that's it. You cater to clientele that understand that what you have in your portfolio are valuable assets. You don't jump on trends, misspellings, and certainly no both at once. That's what newbies do.