How not to be a 2.0 dotBomb
Not sure where I got the link now but a good, flippant, guide to not bombing in Web2.0. I'm kind of keen that PAOGA don't bomb for obvious reasons. Here are the headlines:
- Have a revenue model
- Be a complete business not a feature
- Affect real people not just bloggers
- Get a real memorable name
- Don't intertwine your fate with Web2.0
- Get honest feedback
- Make sure your revolution really is coming
- Make sure your market can support you
- Don't expect to be (or be bought by) Google
- Have fun
Number #4 is a real thorn in my side. I've disliked the name PAOGA ever since I joined the company (which, a long time ago, used to be called ClearCurve). The company started as a B2B enabler so the acronym People Are Our Greatest Asset kind of made sense. For a company, you could argue, it's employees and customers that are the real asset (okay I don't like the word asset but I think the point is valid).
But around the start of the year we began changing direction. Recognizing that the individual is both the key to the relationship (moving from CRM to Supplier Relationship Management where the individual lives at the centre of his or her many relationships with suppliers) and the key to proving the marketplace we changed focus to support individuals in taking back control of their lives; Enabling them to manage their information and share it with whom they want, when they want, and - critically - to have an audit trail that lets them work out what's happened to their information.
But from this perspective the PAOGA name doesn't really make any kind of sense and we'd like to change it. But you try finding a new name that you can register as a domain... I've tried over 300 different domain names since June and not a single (good one) has been available.
Suggestions welcome!