The naming and branding blog

Posts tagged: Yahoo

Where did Alibaba, the brand name, come from?

October 15th, 2007 · 3 Comments

Earlier this year, the International Herald Tribune put the spotlight on Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba.com:
“I’m a normal guy,” he said during a recent interview in Singapore. “I feel ashamed because I feel I’m stealing the contribution of my team. They made it; my job is more, ‘Let’s go do it.’”
Started in 1999, Alibaba International [...]

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→ 3 Comments | Categories: company names

Gu Ge a go for Google

April 13th, 2006 · 8 Comments

Via Business 2.0
Google may be the most recognized new 21st century brand in the West. But in China, its name was a dog. Surfers had been pronouncing the unfamiliar “Google” as “gougou” or “gugou,” among other variants – meaning “doggy” and “old hound.” An easier-to-pronounce name is just one of the reasons why rival Baidu [...]

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→ 8 Comments | Categories: WTF · name changes

Because Why? Branding the brand image of ‘brand’

April 11th, 2005 · 1 Comment

William Safire’s On Language column in yesterday’s New York Times Sunday Magazine has a succinct etymology of and an interesting take on the overuse of the word Brand in contemporary English language and culture:
The hot word in the field of sales — indeed, pervading the world of perfect pitching — is brand.
”The King Is [...]

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→ 1 Comment | Categories: identity · language · pop culture