Naming Your Community

Your community name is a powerful symbol. Don’t waste it. Picking the wrong name can do real harm. Picking the right name can do wonders.

A member should feel a sense of affiliation and familiarity with the name of your community. It should identify why the group feel they are special. They should be proud of the name. They should be happy to wear the t-shirts.

Virgin Media Pioneers is a bad name. It’s a brand enforced-name upon a group which probably, until now, has very little connection with Virgin Media. If you need to put a brand name to get sponsors, then be my guest – but don’t be surprised if your community doesn’t rally behind it.

A great name is unique and means more to insiders than outsiders. Pioneers250 for a group of the UK’s top 250 young entrepreneurs works. Outsiders wont get it, insiders will. But even these names aren’t great.

The problem with creating a name for a group you’re not a part of is it’s really, really, hard to empathize with what name really resonates. The name might have little, to nothing, to do with the subject or *sigh* sponsors. You might think Coca Cola’s Teen Tycoons is a great name, they might prefer Solonpre (often random words are easier to rally behind than corporate symbols).

The trick to a great name is to understand how the group identifies themselves to insiders, not outsiders. Put together a few ideas, and let the group adapt and decide.

Comments

[Waldir]

Great post, but you could have added a few examples of *good* community names :) You only gave bad or sub-par examples...

[Waldir]

ps - why don't you use gravatars in the comments? why show an image at all? Do you want to create a community among your regular blog followers? :)

[Deadlyknitshade]

The problem is creating a name that everyone will be happy with. Which is never going to happen. The 'they' you refer to is a diverse group of entrepreneurs. I doubt you would ever find a name that pleased them all.

Unfortunately you can't just launch a nameless site and then wait for people on the site to name it when they're ready.

For me personally Pioneers works very well. It harks back to generations that were inspiring and forward thinking. It also fits in very well with the sense of independence while still making people feel like part of a group/community with the plural.

It's a community of young, creative, innovative people. I'm pretty sure the name will be less important than the fact that the people on the site now have a forum to share their business stories via their video blogs. It's just a name after all.

As the poster above says it would be interesting to know what you would have called it. How would you create the community with a single word? I'm not sure any word is really up to the task.

Also you *sigh* over sponsors but without sponsors how would schemes like this find the money to help the people they are helping? You get money from the people that have money.

Sadly for us entrepreneurs (and everyone else) money doesn't grow on trees. We have go to bank managers or we go to bigger companies. The people who have already made money. We have to get help from somewhere.

If Virgin Media want to help encourage small businesses and make themselves look good doing so then why not? It raises both VM's social profile and encourages young people to grow their own businesses. Win win, no?

[John Norris]

You are right. Not everyone is going to be happy.

Pioneers may also be looked upon as rather crude, simple, (albeit brave) people from a past that some are trying to distance themselves from. (That is not necessarily my view, just noting a possible difference.)

So I'll put my money where my mouth is with a few suggestions that attempt to include corporate branding. Feel free to poke fun-

VMP's
Virgin's iMMovators
VirMin

Is there a nickname for Virgin Media in use already in their online forums?

Some folks get paid big money to come up with names, so I guess it makes a difference. Richard's advice is well taken.