naming a new different type of social media

August 27, 2009 8:24 AM

We're building a new different type of social media system - yes I know you may have heard that before - but we think this is pretty d4rn cool. So we're looking to the hive mind to help us find a great name for it. What would you suggest we name our new baby? And why? What's its significance? (and no, I can reveal very little of what our great new beast will actually do). Of course the disclaimer is that we may actually use your suggestion };-D - we'd give you credit of course.
posted by iTristan to Computers & Internet (34 answers total)

Without knowing what it does, it's going to be hard to put a name with the face, so to speak.
posted by cooker girl at 8:25 AM on August 27, 2009 [4 favorites]

Are do you prefer names for which domains are currently available?
posted by hermitosis at 8:31 AM on August 27, 2009

Are
posted by hermitosis at 8:32 AM on August 27, 2009

"Yes, Dorothy" is a splendid name for whatever superb service you're building. I take PayPal.
posted by monocultured at 8:32 AM on August 27, 2009

Avoid onomatopoeia (Bing, boing-boing), keep all your vowels (flickr), and avoid ending in '-er'.

Acronyms are due for a come back, so give your project a descriptive title that can be abbreviated easily.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:32 AM on August 27, 2009

what cooker girl said.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:34 AM on August 27, 2009

I think a good name is Share, because of course your social media system is one that allows users to share information about stocks, so it is a play on the multiple meanings of the word "share".
posted by Houstonian at 8:35 AM on August 27, 2009

MyFace
LowFive
BeBop
Dwittle
Failboat
Lifetook
Agnatrox
David
Btweleve
YLIAC (your life in a can)
posted by zephyr_words at 8:36 AM on August 27, 2009

Aerotropolus
posted by cashman at 8:38 AM on August 27, 2009

Sharepoint
posted by like_neon at 8:41 AM on August 27, 2009 [2 favorites]

Socialite
posted by sciencemandan at 8:43 AM on August 27, 2009

Twitface.
Socializenator.
Bookr.

And if it's a social app for your cat:

Kittnr
Me-owww
Purrrple
posted by blue_beetle at 8:44 AM on August 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

I dunno, guys, I kinda like d4rn.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:44 AM on August 27, 2009 [3 favorites]

d4rncool
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:45 AM on August 27, 2009

PrettyDamnCool
posted by jquinby at 8:45 AM on August 27, 2009

Kozmo
posted by Mwongozi at 8:45 AM on August 27, 2009

AxeEugene.

Works as a spoof of Ask Jeeves, is a semi-obscure musical reference which lends itself to great press releases ("Not-So Careful with that Axe Eugene!" har-har), can be slangified to AxeEu (pronounced as Axe You), and best of all- the domain is available.
posted by Dr-Baa at 8:46 AM on August 27, 2009

Response by poster: thanks all - yes, preferably something that would be available as a domain - but a good idea is a good idea; we could adapt a variation of it;

We're also interested in people reason's why they suggest what they do. What significance does their suggestion have to them?
posted by iTristan at 8:47 AM on August 27, 2009

Seconding 'David.' That would just be awesome.

If its social media, you gotta think about how it will sound as a verb (i.e. 'facebook me...'). 'David me' would be pretty spectacular.

I'm sure many of these are taken, but in the same vein:

'Do' me
'Tase' me
'connectwithmeincyberspace' me
'idontreallywanttoknowyou' me
'theressomethingonyourshirt' me
'whatdoyoureallythinkof' me
'ifwewerestrandedonanislandwhatwouldyoudoto' me
'iamnotwhoisayiam' me
'youjustwanttostalk' me
'whatagreatstateiowais' me
'pleasedontstealmyidentity' me
'kinghenrytheeightyfirst' me
'icantellthatwearegoingtobefriendsme'
'fillintheblank' me

etc etc.
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:50 AM on August 27, 2009

Ilikethattoo, mp-we, musicalbaby a-uraly (o rly?), giantboxofsharpsharpnails. [This is why people don't let me name nice things]
posted by syntheticfaith at 8:51 AM on August 27, 2009

Booty Cauldron?
posted by abirae at 8:55 AM on August 27, 2009 [2 favorites]

Thirding David. Because without knowing what your "thing" is, it really is hard to make a valuable suggestion.
posted by jdfan at 8:56 AM on August 27, 2009

Ideally, the name should allude to something about what your site does, something more specific than just "social media." For instance, the names "Flickr," "OKCupid," "MySpace," and "YouTube" all cleverly work on multiple levels in referring to what people can get out of those sites. The only way to come up with those names would have been to brainstorm based on knowing the site's functions. You haven't specified your site's function, so we probably can't help much.

Also, don't call it "Share" or "David" or any other common word. You want your site to be easy to search for. It's best to make up a word so nothing else is competing with you in the search results.
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

www.d4rncool.com is available, for your social-media website that connects people who sew and repair clothing.

I think you've got to provide some hint about what your website does to get relevant answers. Otherwise, it's just chat?
posted by Houstonian at 8:58 AM on August 27, 2009

Sounds like you might find name generators useful: Wordoid ("made-up words. They look nice and feel great."), Statistically Grammar-Average Fake Band Names, Lovecraftian Name Generator, etc.

Examples from the above: Pundit Locus, Cominary, Igolothu, Citadel Famous, Judget, Sarthot.
posted by dreamyshade at 8:59 AM on August 27, 2009 [2 favorites]

Same same but different.
posted by barnone at 9:04 AM on August 27, 2009

The Singular
posted by edgeways at 9:06 AM on August 27, 2009

I like David, too! Probably not a great idea, like Jaltcoh said, but still cool.

No details makes this rather frustrating. Can't you give an eentsy weensy clue?
posted by caveat at 9:10 AM on August 27, 2009

This seems weird to me. You've got an awesome new social networking app, but you can't tell us anything about it, but you want us to come up with an d4rn cool new name for the very heart of your identity brand?

And nobody who has been working with you on this totally sweet new type of networking concept has any ideas? So you're soliciting highly marketable suggestions from strangers while providing exactly no context for your product?

It kind of feels like you're going to end up with a realistic down-to-earth website that's completely off the wall and swarming with magic robots.
posted by Aquaman at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2009 [2 favorites]

Without knowing a n y t h i n g about your forthcoming product, I would have to suggest Vapor.
posted by fluffycreature at 9:13 AM on August 27, 2009 [3 favorites]

how about we go literal - www.socialmediasystem.com

or, even more literal: mysteriousblackboxamazingfacebookkiller.com

money please
posted by Think_Long at 9:15 AM on August 27, 2009

You want people to breathe life into your vapourware zygote, this imaginary offspring that you describe using the lamest leetspeak (d4rn? really?) and overelaborate emoticons?

Are you a time traveller from 1989, trying to make it big in advance? Or an anthropologist, trying to speak a complicated nerd language you read about in an old copy of WiReD?

Three things:

- if this is real, get a focus group of genuine, real, in-person hip nerds and give them toys and expensive coffee and an NDA. They will brainstorm you something.

- get someone else to front your venture capital meetings.

- hey, how about "dinkfinger"? It's fun to say, vaguely filthy, and not registered as a .com.
posted by Sallyfur at 9:47 AM on August 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

H.E.L.L.O.T.H.E.R.E.M.Y.G.O.O.D.M.An
posted by Damn That Television at 9:49 AM on August 27, 2009

I'd probably just go to any/all domain brokers and start looking from the cheapest ones, then make the name fit the concept with creative branding. If a company can get Google interested when using an arcane name like "Orkut" (the Turkish creator's first name), you should realize that the name doesn't matter so much.
posted by rhizome at 9:55 AM on August 27, 2009