New names sound funny

Think about this name for a while: “iPod.”  Not the thing, the word.  A “pod.”  Seriously?

Can you imagine what the naysayers said?

“A pod?”

“Sounds like pea pods!”

“Does it mean I’m going into space in some sort of pod?”

“Shouldn’t it be iPlayer?”

And on and on and on.

This thought experiment works with any name you know now that meant nothing before or meant something completely different (“Corolla” “Amazon” “Virgin” “Sirius” “eBay”).

You have to name new things when you are creating and innovating. It’s part of defining the new space you’re claiming. 

Along the way people are going to tell you that your new word reminds them of some old word that has the wrong connotation.

Most of the time you should ignore these voices.

To explain yourself, give them a long list of names that don’t sound like they’re ever going to work:

LA Lakers

New York Jets



You get the idea.


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