Coming to a Social Network Near You: Pretentiously Cute Names

What’s with the new trend of cloying and pretentiously cute names for social networking sites? The VCs must have released a memo to all startups threatening to deny funding to projects that have even half-intelligent names.

Here’s a sample of names of actual new sites/ social networks/ widgets/ thingummybobs that are trying to capture the public’s imagination and pageviews. While they may be perfectly good sites that will shortly change the way mankind thinks, works and plays, they suffer from exceedingly annoying (and forgettable) names.

Check out a sample:

Naymz (puhhlease…..)

Graspr (sorry…did you get something stuck in your throat?)

Phreesia (!!)

And then, there’s a bunch of startups/ sites that have these rhyming names: I kid you not, these are real names of real companies.

Hulu

Lulu

Kanuu

Yuuguu

In the same vein, and in a spirit of co-operation and helpfulness, may I suggest some more names for up-and-coming sites?

Foolu

Droolu

Moo-Moo (social network for cows)

Zzzzzzzuuuuuuuu………