Like.com & Voices.com - Simple Names Work
Recently I've come across a few new start-ups that have acquired simple domain names in an effort to explain to their users what they do, while being memorable at the same time. Hearing these stories validates our investment in Voices.com as one of the best business decisions we've made to date.
While many new Internet-based companies, now known as "Web 2.0" websites, use made-up, funny and some times ridiculous names, I've noticed a trend of companies opting for the traditional single word domain names.
Choosing a dictionary word for a domain name is harder than it sounds. That's great if you can imagine the perfect word that represents your new idea or start-up, however actually obtaining that name is another task altogether.
On a recent podcast, I heard one of the founders of Like.com sharing his story. Like.com is a visual search engine. For nearly 10 years, we've been searching for pictures using words. Like's big idea is to search pictures with pictures by using a "likeness" technology. Personally, I believe it's a great idea and I'm confident it will be a hit with the marketplace, given enough time for people to discover them.
From my understanding, their team sent emails, placed calls, left voicemail messages all without any luck. They went as far as visiting the home of the then owner of Like.com and decided to leave an expensive bottle of wine as a gesture of good faith. As the story goes, they got a call the next day.
Similar to Like.com, the team at Voices.com made a conscious decision that Voices.com was the best name for a variety of reasons we have discussed before.
It shows that given the right people, ambition and the willingness of the seller, any name is ripe for the picking. Choose carefully, then proceed with caution and I'm sure you'll have great success with your next Internet venture.
Do you have a story about a "dictionary word" domain that was recently acquired?
If so, leave a comment below.
Best,
David
