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How 6 Memorable Tech Companies Got Their Names

Posted by samzenpus on from the what's-in-a-name? dept.

itwbennett writes "If Larry Page and Sergey Brin had stuck with the first name for their search engine, we'd be 'BackRubbing' instead of Googling. But the fun doesn't stop there. The unforgettable Go Daddy was first saddled with the eminently Seussian moniker 'Jomax Technologies.' And as for Yahoo!... its original name just rolled off the tongue: 'Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web.'"

13 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Apple? by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sure, I probably need to RTFA, but I think maybe this is in apple.slashdot.org just because a quota needed filling.

  2. Make or break names by CarpetShark · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If Larry Page and Sergey Brin had stuck with the first name for their search engine, we'd be 'BackRubbing' instead of Googling.

    No, we'd be using something else.

    1. Re:Make or break names by pz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If Larry Page and Sergey Brin had stuck with the first name for their search engine, we'd be 'BackRubbing' instead of Googling.

      No, we'd be using something else.

      Quite likely AltaVista.

      --

      Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
    2. Re:Make or break names by StikyPad · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, we'd be using something else.

      Doubtful.. names don't seem to help or hurt at all. Few people knew what a googol was before Google, and most people probably still don't.

      Of course, if the name BackRub had been selected, we'd all be "rubbing one out" right now and talking about the new InstaRub feature.

      So... pretty much no change at all.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    3. Re:Make or break names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Names don't make much of a difference if they are pronounceable and don't have unintended second meanings.

      If it were called Akfarlopagop, I'd get tired of typing that and feel like an idiot when trying to tell someone about it....and they would likely misspell it. And it's not like they can use google to look up Akfarlopagop because....google would be it.

      Or if it were called Smallwinky. You should smallwinky that. Let me smallwinky that for you.

      Names make a difference, it's just really hard to notice it until you take it to the more extreme/foolish names.

      Google is easy to spell when you hear it.....and not so hard to pronounce that you'd have a lot of people saying it differently.

  3. Jomax! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The unforgettable Go Daddy was first saddled with the eminently Seussian moniker 'Jomax Technologies.'

    Why didn't they use that? That's a way better name. I can't stand the name "Go Daddy". It's reason enough not to deal with them (although there are plenty of others).

  4. Re:Bite out of the apple by Nerdfest · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I always thought it alluded to it sucking you in with the shiny sweetness, but quietly unleashing evil lock-down and a walled garden. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

  5. Re:So if it wasn't for Google... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "Just fucking google it" becomes "Just fucking backrub it", or "Just fucking rub it". I dunno, that last one isn't too bad.

  6. Naming a company today ... by perpenso · · Score: 3, Insightful

    1. Register a domain. The most difficult step.
    2. Check for trademarks yourself.
    3. Pay an attorney to check for trademarks. They will find conflicts that you never imagined and that you disagree with, however they understand the trademark office better than you.
    4. Now create that s-corp, llc, etc.

    and of course it has to be added:

    5. ?
    6. Profit!

  7. Atari by ArcadeNut · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They were originally going to be called " Syzygy".

    Talk about dodging a bullet...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari

    --
    Visit the Arcade Restoration Workshop @ http://www.arcaderestoration.com
  8. Re:Microsoft by AfroTrance · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't believe that for one second. How did he get a girlfriend before Microsoft made him a crapload of cash?

  9. Re:Names really do make a difference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    when is the last time you heard of anything at all worthwhile coming from there

    humans

  10. Re:Bite out of the apple by acid06 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This post should be modded Insightful, not Funny.
    Brilliant, sir.