The headline is inaccurate and inadequate— “words” don’t “become startups”—and I take issue with the snarky attitude, but this list of short “real” (dictionary) words used as names of startups is worth a look. And the way they’re organized is downright poetic. (Hat tip: Karen Wise.)
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Speaking of poetic, the New Yorker’s Rebecca Mead considered the favorite words of some writers (mostly British and Irish)—Hilary Mantel loves nesh, Taiye Selasi celebrates the Ghanaian colloquialism chale—and added a favorite of her own.
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Dot tip, circle break, trixelate, chroma coaster and more: Logo Lounge’s 2015 logo-trends report.
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Why are so many Indian businesses named “Hitler”? (Hat tip: MJF)
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Memo to Designbook, Teachbook, and other bookish types: Facebook’s lawyers would like to have a word with you.
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Pwn, lotsa, cakehole, and obvs are all playable Scrabble words now—outside North America, anyway. (The new list comes from Collins Dictionary, which isn’t an official reference in the US.) Here’s NPR on the announcement (and readers, predictably predicting “the death of English”). And here are two views from Lingua Franca, the language blog of the Chronicle of Higher Education: Anne Curzan on how the additions are “in the spirit of the game,” and Geoffrey Pullum with some extremely nerdy math that proves that adding new words won’t make the game easier to play.
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How Venmo, Zillow, Foursquare, and other technology brands got their names.
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Dasani, IKEA, and other brand names that became baby names.
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“A good name...tells a story, whether or not that’s apparent to anyone but the founder.” An unusually good article about name development from Crain’s New York Business (with a misleading title).
I don't know if you get to call your company Just Wireless if you are literally selling wires. pic.twitter.com/Kfv7LC6Owb
— Laura M. Browning (@ellembee) June 3, 2015
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