A new start up pattern is emerging overnight in the content space. First you form a team, then you get a little funding, put out a beta site and generate some buzz. Then, naturally, you change your name. Within days of each other we had news that community and guide content player Vailoma is now called TripSay (announcement) and content/review aggregaor Kango is now called UpTake (announcement). Could be a strong sign that finding a good URL and a name that means anything is now near impossible. That it is faster to get the product out than it is to secure the rights to or think up a decent URL. In Kango's case it is also because of the confusion they were experiencing with auction ad meta-tool Kaango.A did a little piece here that involved these two players if you want some more background.
8 comments:
Uptake is a poor choice in name....it does not sound strong enough for a brand name. Kango is a great name ( even if kaango exists)
@Tim, I love the campy graphics!
@Anonymous, sorry you don't like UpTake. I think (I hope!) it will grow on you. Names often start as an "empty vessel" and then get filled with meaning. When our product feels much more full of the collective intelligence of travelers on the Web I hope the tie in to UpTake will be more clear and you'll feel more energetic about the name!
Elliott
Twitter: @elliottng
UpTake.com / (the site formerly known as Kango)
"Then, naturally, you change your name." :-) I wonder if we'll get more followers to this emerging pattern.
I totally confirm that it's difficult to find a URL and a name that means anything. We almost managed to do that with Vailoma: it is a clever (?) wordplay in finnish language. But the name just didn't work when speaking with our english speaking friends.
Luckily we came up with TripSay, which we are very happy with!
cheers,
jussi
TripSay.com
@Elliott - I claim to be a lot of things - but good at graphics is not one of them !!
Heard that a certain meta-comparison engine in Singapore may soon be following this same route with a name change.
Have been searching for domain names lately for an unrelated project, but I have found an interesting domain for an OTA or a meta-search company:
Hotelcast.com
http://sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=hotelcast.com&tracked=&partnerid=&language=us
"seems it is easier to buid a product that get a good URL these days"
I've got the opposite problem, registered alltravels.com a long time ago but I'm having trouble getting the product/site out of the garage.
Well, we own World.com, USA.com, India.com, Tokyo.com, Rome.com and many more, for which we are currently exploring ideas. Anyone have a good product for us?
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