Comments on: Name change: SMS Text News is now “BigZebraRedGreen-Tango-Elephant”

By: Whatleydude

Whatleydude — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:35:20 +0000

Why don’t you mipp it?

Whatleydude’s last blog post..Things to make and do…

By: Jay Fenton

Jay Fenton — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:53:12 +0000

+1 for the name change! (and don’t get a .mobi.. that was a silly suggestion )

By: Jonathan Jensen

Jonathan Jensen — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:22:22 +0000

Seems opinion is quite balanced. There is a lot to be said for keeping an established brand even if it no longer accurately describes the product. People will link an established brand to the product without disecting what the words actually mean. However sometimes a brand refresh works well & ‘updates’ the product. I suggest you keep pondering this one & see if the right idea comes to you but you may well decide to stay with what you’ve got. The challenge wil be finding a brand where you can get the domain name!

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:08:27 +0000

How about changing to a .in TLD whilst you’re at it? I quite clearly am lying when I say I never have time to do anything…

The following are available: foned.in / esemes.in / es.m.es.in (the last two still keep the original feel but are abstract enough for any numpty to approve of enough to talk to you!)

My personal favourites are: slept.in / loook.in / breakin.in / smuggled.in oh, and mess.age.in but I’ve got first dibs on those!

Anthony’s last blog post..I’ve walked a 1000 miles in a year!

By: Issah

Issah — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:40:41 +0000

I completely agree with James. I think the name is great. No change needed.

By: MarkW

MarkW — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:05:59 +0000

@jon – spot on.

By: James Whatley

James Whatley — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:39:22 +0000

Refining my last comment..

Keep the name.
-The brand is strong with this one.

Increase the visibility of the ‘Tracking stuff in mobile…’ tagline.
- Educate newbies and strengthen your message without diluting the name.

Stick a ‘Why SMSTEXTNEWS?’ button on the right nav somewhere.
-Have been on at you to update your ‘about this site’ page for ages. Use this as a starter for ten.

And that’s all from me..

By: jon bradford

jon bradford — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:37:35 +0000

First off – great site – original content and up-to-date news (not found elsewhere)

I agree with the CPW analogy – but understand the dsire to change.

At the end of the day content is king – keep up the good work and you can call it anything you like

jon

jon bradford’s last blog post..Social Bookmarking and e-learning: The promise and the problem

By: Ewan

Ewan — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:53:10 +0000

I very much appreciate everyone’s time and suggestions. Do keep them coming.

Seems there’s already a BigRedZebra in the mobile world

By: mark

mark — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:06:46 +0000

Ewan
change the nsme keep the sms url pointing at the new name.
Also agree that an acronym would be a good idea how.about EMON.com
ewan mobile news

mark

By: Ben Smith

Ben Smith — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:52:34 +0000

http://www.SMSandOtherWirelessTelecomsTechnologiesTextandImageNews.com?

By: Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:31:40 +0000

no reason to change it, if people are thick enough to not talk to you about their product, god forbid they got press, then that is their problem, not yours. you've had this name for a while now and unless you want to register a new domain ... there is no point in changing it. smstextnews = ewan. ewan = smstextnews. brands take time to build and changing them at a moments whim to satisfy some clueless pr bimbo is not wise. Stefan Constantinescu's last blog post..Spreading the Word: Join the S60 Ambassador Program

By: Rita El Khoury

Rita El Khoury — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:28:03 +0000

Definitely change it. I’ve fallen into the same mistake as that MMS company lady. When Ricky first told me he was going to work here (back when he was working here), i didn’t even bother to check the site, because to me news about SMS text wasn’t sthg that would interest me. A big mistake I admit, since for the 5-6 weeks that I’m subscribed to your RSS, I discovered a very honest reporting of news and gadgets, something fun yet not overly done, and something professional too.
I have been wondering about the SMS text news name for a while myself, seeing that it fits in no way the purpose of the blog. I agree with Amir who said you’ve put a lot of effort on branding this name, but I also think that a brand that doesn’t fit its purpose isn’t a good brand. Imagine a car company that starts building cars the size of a mini cooper and calls them “mini cars” then evolves to build big 4x4s and SUVs. Will they still call them mini cars? I don’t think so. Lame example, I know, but you get my point.

Rita El Khoury’s last blog post..Mobiles & Medicine – Everything Is Under Control

By: Giff Gfroerer, i2SMS

Giff Gfroerer, i2SMS — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:12:35 +0000

Did Carphone Warehouse change their name even though they don’t sell car phones nor are in a Warehouse? Anyhow, not the point here.

Love the original name (SMS is still the primary revenue generator outside of voice in the mobile world by a longshot), but if it’s limiting you, sure why not. But do you have to lose SMS Text News? Why not change it to your new name of choice and then trail it by “Powered by SMS Text News”, kind of like what Intel does?

This way, you get your new name reflecting your diversity, but retain the girl that got you to the dance…

By: HeavyLight

HeavyLight — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:00:07 +0000

“Should I change the site name to something that doesn

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:14:01 +0000

I did think it was an odd name when I first came across the site, by that stage news about SMS was already not even half the picture. I’ve gotten used to the name now but I think you’re right, it really should change.

Not sure about BigZebraRedGreen-Tango-Elephant though as I’m sure there’s already a company/website out there with a similar name….

Um, how about one single word that’s either a primary colour (I think you were on the right track there!) or a single digit number? Failing that, how about checking out the periodic table?

Anthony’s last blog post..Nokia’s N800 series tablets. I couldn’t sum up the experience better

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:49:13 +0000

…OOOPS forgot to mention we own the .com, net, org, co.uk if you wanna take it further Ew. Was going to use them for a portal then didn’t.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:42:55 +0000

How about THETOUCHOFABUTTON.COM everything in the online and mobile world works @thetouchofabutton.com… geddit??? Brilliant absolutely brilliant that. Common phrase used by everyone!

By: Ian Richardson

Ian Richardson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:35:58 +0000

Hi Ewan, looking at some of the other ‘usefu’ sites such as NMA and MAD they seem pretty easy to remember and trade of the initials of the brands. With Bauer we have rebranded many of our brands, for example MCN was motorcyclenews and we purchased a brand called AME Info, no idea what AME stands for and of course we have FHM.
In your case SMS TextNews could become STN which allows you to keep your heritage but it also move away from where you are right now.

Interestingly 118 118 must be one of the most recalled brands and that is just numbers not text.

By: James Whatley

James Whatley — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:21:56 +0000

It’s funny you said the ‘Zebra’ thing.

Remember the other night, before we met at the Venetian, I said to you: “Say ‘Wombats’ when you see me”.

You didn’t, so I never explained. I was reading a site called ‘wombatnation’ the other day… and there are two things that struck me about the site.

1) The author had a ‘Why WombatNation’ button on their side nav – quite clearly pointed out – which explained the title… the link is – http://www.wombatnation.com/misc/whyWN.html

2) ‘WombatNation’ works in it’s own little way because the title doesn’t matter much as it’s the content which makes it worth reading. We all come to SMSTextNews to mainly read YOUR POV on the world. We like what you say (most of the time) and we like how you say it. You articulate well and your personality shines through.

My point is – You COULD call rename ‘Big Green Zebra News’ and still write about the same stuff… It wouldn’t matter.

- Keep ‘Tracking stuff in mobile’ as your tagline (and maybe stick that on your cards too?)
- Also, whatever title you have, why not have a ‘Why X Title?’ button? Explaining to the newbies etc.

Just some thoughts really.

Chars.

James Whatley’s last blog post..CTIA Sneak Peak!

By: Kev

Kev — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:54:23 +0000

Agree with Amir (above)

By: Julian

Julian — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:52:17 +0000

Carphone Warehouse don’t sell Carphones from Warehouses anymore but it doesn’t seem to have held them back. I’d say keep it – the name’s less important than the content

By: rutipo

rutipo — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:03:36 +0000

Hi Ewan, I’ve been a loyal reader you for some months now and it does feel sad to part with the name. Got used to it. But I see the point for a need to change it. So maybe something like “smscellnews” could work, that way the change isn’t very drastic, and the point is made- not just text.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:00:37 +0000

Yup. Change is good. But don’t limit yourself to phones….

Within a year or so mobile devices like eeePC’s will probably be arriving free in the weekend papers the way prices are going. As Dean Bubley holds forth, people want more devices, not less, each tailored for a specific use: screen size, weight, overall size, replacement cost, features and connectivity options all get factored into the ‘which device to use today?’ decision. The micro PC or

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:47:37 +0000

Change nothing…. A brand is the biggest thing to have and you shouldn’t mess with a winning formula. I think the relevance issue over the name is nothing to worry about and i think it would be a mistake to change now…. Remember 180,000 users can’t be wrong!