[IxDA Discuss] Branding - including .com in logo/name?

[bjminihan at nc.rr.com]

I would say it's unnecessary to include the .com unless it's the "web version" of a brick and mortar store, although the fact that it's a web site pretty clearly shows that.  Another possible (but probably not justifiable) reason to include it would be to differentiate "DirtyChicken.com" from "Dirty Chicken Fast Food", but then you get into copyright and trademark rules they should have thought of earlier...

Some disadvantages to tying the site to a technical constraint (.com is really a technical naming convention for his "place on the web") is that such things change over time, and are meaningless to a lot of people, except in a very generic sense.  From experience at a startup long past, it can be annoyingly confusing to figure out what to call yourself when you answer the phone, or what you want visitors to say when they tell a friend about it..."It's DirtyChicken dot com" takes longer, whereas "It's DirtyChicken" probably implies that sticking a ".com" on the end will take you there.

The only place it seems required is for sites like "Del.icio.us".

 - Bryan
http://www.bryanminihan.com


---- Tom Dell'Aringa <pixelmech at gmail.com> wrote: 
> Hi folks,
> 
> This isn't necessarily IX, but maybe it is. I have a client who is working
> on a new app, a portal. Let's say the name is "DirtyChicken". Their logo is
> a simple logotype of "DirtyChicken.com"
> 
> I've always wondered if the ".com" is necessary in the logo - particularly
> because it isn't .net or .org - .com being the most popular. It seems to me
> that successful sites brand themselves as what they are indistinct from the
> web address (even though the name is the same). Obvious examples are Amazon
> and Yahoo, but I think it even rings true for smaller brands too.
> 
> I feel like it's better to start off as DirtyChicken without the .com, what
> do you think? Is there anything gained by keeping it or lost by losing it in
> your opinion?
> 
> Tom
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