One of the biggest timesinks for a product company is getting to choose the right name for the various products/websites we keep launching.
There are so many factors that affect what can be considered a good name. Chiefly, getting a group consensus. Choosing a name that everyone likes or agrees on.
My solution to this problem … don’t try to please all of the people any of the time. A single person with veto authority is all that’s needed to get the name chosen!
Another huge problem is getting the right .com for the selected name. Best of luck with this one. Also related to this … making sure you aren’t stepping over other companies’ trademarks, etc.
Then there is the whole issue of “Should we start with an A” (so it gets listed on the top in directories/etc).
Now, after getting past all these “real world” obstacles, the actual issue with Naming a product or service … choosing a name that matches your target market’s thinking and something that can quickly and uniquely identify your product in marketing literature, conventions, industry meetings and on the user’s desktop/favourites list.
No wonder all these Web 2.0 companies have been going crazy with their yoonoo’s, digg’s, zimbra’s and lulu’s!