I'm actually the lead dev on PlaceBo- er, TripTrace. They did make us change our name... this was our FU to them...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AW3tYWtEn0&feature=player_embedded
Seriously though, I can honestly say that we did not name ourselves PlaceBook, because of Facebook. Of course we noticed he similarities, we're not idiots. But we believe our claim to the PlaceBook was entirely justifiable. As Ecuador stated we are a site where you book places. Beyond that, our site is a book of places. As our homepage suggests, we're going to have a set of "place books", (i.e. Atlas, Travel, etc.) We ARE NOT a social site. In the end, we thought it would be easier to just change the name. But we're all pretty bummed about it. As for free publicity. Yes, having Facebook tread all over you does spark a little interest, and we hope that translates into people becoming fans of our site. In my experience though, having a good, memorable domain name that reflects what it is you do is more valuable than some cheap publicity. And as names go, PlaceBook, described us perfectly. And I believe Facebook's claim of infringment was completely unfounded.
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I'm actually the lead dev on PlaceBo- er, TripTrace. They did make us change our name... this was our FU to them... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AW3tYWtEn0&feature=player_embedded Seriously though, I can honestly say that we did not name ourselves PlaceBook, because of Facebook. Of course we noticed he similarities, we're not idiots. But we believe our claim to the PlaceBook was entirely justifiable. As Ecuador stated we are a site where you book places. Beyond that, our site is a book of places. As our homepage suggests, we're going to have a set of "place books", (i.e. Atlas, Travel, etc.) We ARE NOT a social site. In the end, we thought it would be easier to just change the name. But we're all pretty bummed about it. As for free publicity. Yes, having Facebook tread all over you does spark a little interest, and we hope that translates into people becoming fans of our site. In my experience though, having a good, memorable domain name that reflects what it is you do is more valuable than some cheap publicity. And as names go, PlaceBook, described us perfectly. And I believe Facebook's claim of infringment was completely unfounded.