March 27, 2004

What's in a name? A lot apparently. NYTimes article discusses the politics and economics of names--corporate, show biz and personal. There just aren't enough to go around.
posted by pyrrthon1 20 years ago
  • Occasionally, though, desperation can lead to brilliance. It is surely not a coincidence that the two spectacular naming triumphs of the cyberworld are coinages verging on nonsense: YAHOO! (never omit the exclamation point) and GOOGLE. I always thought that google was a shit pun (go ogle) based on the fact that most people use the internet to stare at porn. Oh, well.
  • I have always assumed "google" is derived from the number "gugol," 10 to the power of 100. I've never been able to verify this.
  • You might well be right, pyrrthon1. Google's name is inspired by the mathematical term for one followed by 100 noughts. If they can invent a machine that knows everything, they'll be seeing that kind of number on their bank statements. Although thats just the narrator saying that, so it might be pretty bullshit.
  • Looks like goetter beat me to it, with first hand information too.
  • Ol' Barney Google and his goo-goo-googly eyes has been around a fair while now. And so has this googly.
  • Of course, Yahoo! (or YAHU) is a secret name of God. Coincidentally, I found this out just after finishing a short story about a man who accidentally types the secret name of God into Google, with horrific results. Funny old world.
  • Yahoo! (or YAHU) is a secret name of God. Is your middle name "discretion", perhaps?
  • Fuck! You just spoke my secret, unknowable middle name! I think that means all my power is yours. That, or the Universe ends; the scriptures are unclear on this matter.
  • A man in a pub told me you can reverse the spell by putting your left elbow into your left ear.
  • Now my left ear hurts. And I think I pulled a muscle in my arm.
  • Watch out folks - don't post god's one true name - we shall all vanish in a puff of logic. OT - I am trying to think of a name for an art gallery. Any ideas?
  • Phlegmatic Artists Gallery. Phlegag.com
  • - look mummy I drew a picture! - Mall of Hirrors - Galleroo - "Place" - 347 (this only works if you're at number 347, admittedly. or maybe not, this is art after all) - Painting by Numbers 127-129 (this only works if you're at... oh, you get the picture) - Oh You Get The Picture - Crouching Bags Hidden Jaguars - MANIFESTO - Outside The Gallery Possibly four in the morning not the best time to think of names for art galleries. Out of interest, whereabouts is it and what kind of art are we talking about here?
  • Yeah, give us a bit more to go on.
  • fund our drinking
  • Llama 242 Big Bag O' Art The Flaming Lasso Ezekiel Kneivel More Inside A Fist Full Of Dalis Ici-La-BASS Not Art
  • I wonder if Yahoo! has any relevance with Gulliver's Travels...
  • "You aren't good enough to shop here and never will be." Catchy tagline yes?