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July 29, 2008

When Does Brand Naming Become UnCuil?

Giving an opinion on a name without knowing the strategy behind it leaves much to be desired.

At first blush, it is easy to understand why people are being critical of the new super search engine brand name Cuil, which is supposedly going to blow Google out of the water.

Started by some renegade engineers from Google, Cuil was launched yesterday and is meant to be the next big thing in search engines, but alas, it cannot even find its own name.

Yes, the name is an old Irish word for knowledge even though it actually comes from the alternatively spelled Finn mac Cumhaill.

Anyway, somebody who does not speak Gaelic or has never heard of Old Finn McCool (that would be pretty much all of us save for a few Irish scholars) is likely to initially pronounce it "quill."

Even if pronounced correctly, people will assumed it is spelled "cool," rather than "Cuil," which isn't great for a business that relies on the proper spelling of its URL to be able to use it. Everyone will have to tell you how to spell it, unlike say, Yahoo or Google, which are both spelled exactly the way they sound.

Already people are calling it UnCuil, which is to be expected, the name practically begs for its detractors to do so.

Others are just saying it's "not so hot," while several more have added that it will be hard to look for a word by "cuiling it" or trying to "cuil it."

Like Google, Yahoo and so many other internet related names, what is strange and unusual today becomes common place, accepted and emulated in the future.

I think we should give Cuil a chance. As a brand name. And as a search engine, which I think, does not yet measure up to Google.

Technorati Tags: Cuil, Google, Search Engines, Yahoo, Company Naming, Google It, Cool Search Engine, Brand Name, Naming

Posted by William Lozito at July 29, 2008 8:58 AM
Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Company Naming | Industry | Naming | Technology

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