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Prior to the last few decades company names were not that interesting. They were usually formed around one or more of the people involved, a product or a combination of both. The internet seems to have changed all of that. Nowadays companies can succeed or fail depending upon their chosen name and branding is considered just about the most important part of the early decision making process. It is probably easier to change product or service midstream than to redo a failed branding exercise. Here is how some of the biggest fish were named.

One of the big internet success stories of the last decade was, and still is, the micro-blogging operation Twitter. This must represent one of the most inspired choices of names in the history of commerce. Sometimes something just fits. The project had been under development for some time before a name was discussed. The story of the name varies depending upon the source. The strange thing is that there is a lot of variation in accounts from people who were involved. It is possible that there is an element of intent in allowing different versions of the story to circulate. In some versions “Twittr” was the code name for the project while others make no reference to this but say that the word twitch was being kicked around. Twitch was seen as good metaphor for the very short posts facilitated by the service but there were negative connotations with the word so it was never going to be the final choice. It is easy to see how the final choice, “Twitter” was arrived at from the word twitch. It is even possible that the partners knew that twitchers is how British bird-watching enthusiasts refer to themselves. They are obviously not bothered by any negative connotations.