To use an extremely cliched Shakespeare quote, " A rose by any other name would still smell so sweet." That is to say our site is gonna be awesome regardless of its name. Obviously an inviting descriptive, orginial and fun name will help our site attract visitors but a bad name wont ruin the site either.
Each of the names we have discussed have their have their pros and cons. Here is how I see them:
Boston Area Service and Engagement Network (BASEN)- The name its self is very accurate of what the site will do. The name BASEN however is kinda vauge and not very aspirational. Basen = low point?
Boston ACTS (Advancing Community through Service)- Good name when spoken, ative. It sounds like a theater company or test prep service. Also advancing community through service has nothing specifically to do with our site but is just a general statment about any sort of volunteering.
BLinks- Cool enough. Seems hi-tech-ish.
OurBlock.org- Doesn't really describe the site but sounds pretty good when said. Our = community feeling
Boston NOW (Neighborhood Organizing Web)- Good name to be said and neighborhood organizing web is what our site is. The main problem is that NOW is an already established nationwide organization that operates in Boston. This seems to remove this name from consideration.
A good name is obviously preferable but I don't think we should stress the name anylonger. Lets do it. Lets get it over with. Lets choose a name.
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This week's reading was pretty frustrating for me to read because it had so many organization names/acronyms in it. By the end they basically all blurred together in my head. It made me realize just how many organizations are already out there, and while our concept and goal may be new and innovative, if we give it an ordinary name, people will just lump us with all the other Boston groups. It also confirmed that if we are going to have an acronym, I prefer it to spell out an actual word. The BRA, FHA, DSNI, etc in the reading drove me nuts because they were just a bunch of letters. That said, I don't actually know which name I prefer... BASEN to me sounds just like all the other acronyms. OurBlock is the most different, but the drawback is the name itself doesn't convey what we do/what our goals are. Same thing with BLinks. Idk what do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important to consider how the names can be translated to other cities should the map one day be adopted in other locales. For example, Boston ACTS and BLinks may be easy to adapt in other places, but BASEN would be difficult especially for a city such as New York (NYASEN?). This issue is making me rethink what I think the name should be, but I agree with Daniel in that it is something we should figure out soon. It will be so much easier to refer to the site once it has a name!
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