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Gaboogie & the truth about Web 2.0 names

Gaboogie sounds like a great service. Web centric conference call organizing, mobile features, etc. I’d love to recommend its use here in my blue chip day job world.

Unfortunately, many of my peers and superiors are even further out-of-the-valley than I am, and I just can’t see the service being taken seriously with a name like “Gaboogie.” Cute names do not convey enterprise-strength credibility, reliability, etc. to a group that deals with IBM, EDS, Microsoft, and Sun on a daily basis.

Call it ridiculous or superficial if you want, but names communicate. Given that the conference calling target market is principally businesses, why not have a brand that speaks to them? Gaboogie sounds like something for kids. In the case of Yuuguu, which suffers from a similar naming problem, I suggested a brand split - a professional version with a professional sounding name, and a tweens version with the cute/funky name. Same thing could apply to Gaboogie - split it in two with proper branding around each, and I bet you’ll get better adoption of each. The marginal cost of creating a second branded version of your creation is (generally) extremely low as well, especially when taken relative to the potential benefits.

This discussion also calls into question the whole concept of market segmentation. I know that in the era of $12,000 throw-it-at-the-wall and see-what-sticks projects “segmentation” isn’t really cool - but its useful. Even if you’re doing a Kawasaki-esque “no business plan” launch, at least take the time to decide who you want your target demographic to be, and let that knowledge inform your design & brand decisions - and avoid the perceived disconnect between brand and product that Gaboogie has.

branding, communications, gaboogie, kawasaki, marketing, names, segmentation, strategy yuuguu

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Truemors is live: Read the Mysterious Beta invite email, Revel in the SPAM

Welcome INQUIRER readers!

Glad you made it here, but don’t stop reading with Guy’s funny email (below) - please feel free to browse, or subscribe to RSS. Or check out some reviews: if you’re into collaboration, read up Collanos. Hot for social tools? Check out Cluztr.

Whatever the case, thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Guy Kawasaki’s widely discussed venture - Truemors - is live and alive, a day before the embargo was supposed to lift. I’m not going to go into it in detail, as that’s been done all over the place already - see TechCrunch, CenterNetworks cool Video Review, Mathew Ingram’s typcially insightful comments on the notion of community, or Frantic Industries’ assessment of the low barrier to competition here.

I will mention, however, that to me the name has always sounded to close to “tumors.” That’s a grim association, and one that’s proving all too prescient as the ability to post anonymously has run the site over with cancerous spam and gamed posts, and snarky shots at Guy. Do I think Truemors is a digg-killer? No. Is it a Twitter-killer? No. May it yet find an audience among the celebrity-gossip-perez-hilton-TMZ crowd? Alarmingly - yes. I wish Guy nothing but good luck.

SPECIAL BONUS: Also below you’ll find the email text received by those who responded to Guy’s original “Help Wanted” post - its pretty rambling and philosophical, and positions Truemors as the evolution of communication following the printing press, desktop publishing (on Apples, of course), and blogging. Sort of cringe-worthily funny given the way the launch has gone.

///// The Email:

Thanks for responding to the “Help Wanted” ad. Call me a romantic, but I
believe in the democratization of information–that is, access for everyone
to everything, so I’m creating a site called Truemors.

A long time ago royalty and religious leaders had scribes. Around 600 the
Chinese printed using negative reliefs. Around 1450 Johann Gutenberg,
combined hundreds of years of progress into the screw printing press.

Fast forward to 1985 when Apple (Macintosh), Aldus (PageMaker), and Adobe
(PostScript) produced “desktop publishing.” A few years later people could
create web sites. Then blogging appeared on the scene. Still, people needed
a computer and a blogging tool like WordPress or TypePad to disseminate
information. Not that Truemors is in the same league as Gutenberg, Apple,
Aldus, Adobe, etc, but now all that people need is a phone to “tell the
world.”

I also believe in demonstrative technology–that is, products that enable
the open exhibition and expression of information, emotions, and opinions.
Where democratization implies that the many can read the content of the few,
demonstrative technology enables the many to create content too. Thus,
Truemors is the melding of democratization and demonstration that enables
people to “tell the world.”

People can post their rumors, thoughts, news, opinions, celebrity sightings,
and personal greetings, and anyone with web access can read them within
minutes. I was inspired by Twitter, BoredAt, Digg, PostSecret, PopSugar, and
HotOrNot–mull that over for a few minutes–and wish to acknowledge their
pioneering work.

You can start by posting a truemor in any of these ways….

///// End Email

digg, guykawasaki, kawasaki, perezhilton, tmz truemors

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Still Light Posting - Truemors and more in the pipeline

Hey hey. Still posting light. My grandfather passed away late last night - sad, but a welcome release for him - and a chance to celebrate a long life well-lived.

Looking forward to getting back to regular posts; after TechCrunch started posting Truemors screenshots, I was sorely tempted to blow the embargo myself, but managed to restrain myself. I’ll have a full report on May 16th for those interested in Guy Kawasaki’s latest venture. I’ve been in the site and played around with it, and while I don’t think the 2.0 web elite will be drawn to it, that’s not the site’s primary audience anyway.

To TechCrunch: I still think this is lame:

We’ve now gotten into the private beta via some “borrowed” credentials and have had a look around for ourselves. The site, which is built on the Wordpress platform, is a category-based rumor site where anyone can phone, text or email in a rumor.

…and this is not an excuse:

# Michael Arrington
May 8th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I just want to be clear on a point: I was not part of the private beta. if I was I certainly would have complied with any request not to post before a certain time. I also want to point out that I did not post the credentials that I received for the site. I also took other steps to protect the company that I won’t discuss here.

I suppose I’m annoyed at being scooped (per se), but as a q-lister I’m used to that anyway. I suppose it bugs me because its a disrespectful disregard for someone’s respectful request. Oh well - TC has star power, so post away.

Rock & roll,
-R

arrington, kawasaki, techcrunch, techfold truemores

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Guy Kawasaki: Truemors. Yawn.

Earlier this week I wondered what Guy Kawasaki was up to with his bizzare Help Wanted blog post.

TC has the scoop: Its “True Rumours” - a twitter-y, citizen-journalist-y, rumour mongering site.

Let me be the first to throw this fish back in the water: This need is served elsewhere, ten million times over. 99% of submissions will be unsubstantiated, the 1% that aren’t will have broken on Perez Hilton or Valleywag hours previously.

Edit: Rex Dixon is bullish on Truemors, stating that he thinks it has Guy Kawasaki Gold written all over it. Not so sure about that.

kawasaki valleywag

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Guy Kawasaki: What are you up to?

Valleywag’s been having a heyday as of late ripping on erstwhile VC Guy Kawasaki. Turning down a startup-phase Yahoo, and a poor vc track record aside, Guy is still a character and a VC-fixture which make his post today - “help wanted” - interesting. An appeal for trendsetting rumour mongers, Guy doesn’t say much - other than to drop him a line.

kawasaki

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