Well, if you want to challenge the big boys out there you'll need to start with a better brand name they currently have (not just in this particular case but for any new startup in any niche).
Personally I don't understand what Rob is trying to achieve with these contests and polls, but if you really want to setup a new venture, better go out there and privately purchase the best name you find and afford.
Asking the opinion of 40, 50, 100 people from different backgrounds, with different education levels and different interests to vote for the brand name of my future venture, well I for one, not quite a fan of it. If you would have asked 100 of the world's best branding experts, that would have been quite a different story.
You just can't pick your startup new brand name based on what 100 (more or less) domainers vote for. Just my opinion of course, Rob is a very smart guy and he surely know better than myself how to conduct his own branding research.
I beg to differ. I think it is logical to have a poll and seek the opinion of the people 'specialized' in the domain branding field ( of course, it is a open forum and not all are exactly specialists). It gives a good 360 degree perspective. It also helps to identify issues which could have been overseen ( TM issues, etc).
Lastly and most importantly, it helps build the community in terms of learning and sharing perspectives and helps each of us grow.
Also the past experience of such polls, i guess have been successful in finding good names, potential features and connections for these projects. Also has been a good and insightful experience for domainers.
Lets just enjoy the experience. Everyone has something to gain and nothing much to loose
You say it as if the audience is just some random folks. While there are indeed some of the world's best branding experts here, who envision and eventually sell names eventually used by businesses worldwide.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this process. What makes me laugh is that nobody else asked or discussed who the target end user is for the brand. That's the most important thing as from that you can eliminate a lot of names and possibly create a few other cool ones.
I hate saying this .. but it's also unfortunately true that NamePros members are not all "
branding experts" .. it's just an sad fact that the vast majority of new domainers fail at domaining specifically because they lack the marketing, branding and language skills required to build a profitable portfolio. Beyond that .. even some of the best domainers then might not have the required knowledge or information on the specific niche and intended market to understand the domain characteristics and traits that would make the ideal brand.
Also, if it were me, the poll result would only be about 10% of it .. it's the debate and pro/cons that are much more important. However, with this being an open part of the forum that Google can index, then it's not ideal because anything negative against a domain will remain there long after the poll ends .. there would likely be a lot more relevant and helpful critical feedback if the discussion/debate were behind closed doors.
All that said .. I think as these polls go on,
@Rob Monster and his team is going to focus less and less on the poll results. At the moment one of the very few names I actually thought was usable is in the lead .. but there seems to be strong trademark issues .. so obviously Rob will quickly look into to it to be sure either way, and then eliminate it as a choice if it's a potential problem. That's one thing where this thread can be very helpful.
Another important point I mentioned a couple of pages ago, regarding domains with industry abbreviations and tech terms .. if the ultimate LCD (Lower Common Denominator in terms of encryption/tech vocabulary) of the target market is found to not be very tech savvy, then many domains unfortunately can't be considered from the start.
For example, does the intended client think the certificates they need to keep their website secure is linked to their domain, or the hosting service, or webpages themselves? It's not about what it actually is, it's what the target-audience perceives. That's why SSL is used in most of the branding for such certificates, even if certificates can not be "SSL" .. it's because the term SSL is actually used as a brand at this point .. and not just any brand, but at the generic industry umbrella term like "Bluetooth" or "DVD", etc.
It's for this reason why many companies try to choose brands that are completely generic. However, based on previous choices, it seems Rob prefers keeping at least one word industry specific (non-generic). Which actually is still a good thing
if your brand is pretty set in what it's going to be and the majority of the intended target audience is familiar with the word components that make up the brand.
The key for such "contests" to be effective is for there to be direction and feedback as the process moves along. There hasn't been much of that in this contest .. and we still don't even know who the intended target audience is .. so the feedback, debate and lists of pros/cons aren't going to be as relevant as they could be. Hopefully a bit more precision and clarity will be given this week as Rob returns from his conference.
