Cheers @thejustinwelsh for resharing this.
One of the most common oversights in trying to get and keep traction: a good name.
Deserves a proper write up, which I will make happen.
One of the most common oversights in trying to get and keep traction: a good name.
Deserves a proper write up, which I will make happen.
I think you can roughly measure how good a name is by how well it "stores" the equity of an idea.
I like to think we've accomplished this a couple of times at @visualizevalue:
"Build once, sell twice" speaks to the overarching idea, creates intrigue, and can be unpacked 1k ways
I like to think we've accomplished this a couple of times at @visualizevalue:
"Build once, sell twice" speaks to the overarching idea, creates intrigue, and can be unpacked 1k ways
@visualizevalue Language is age-old leverage.
If you nail the language and keep the promise that the language makes, it only gets stronger with time.
You can think of it as continually injecting reputation into a memorable and repeatable phrase.
If you nail the language and keep the promise that the language makes, it only gets stronger with time.
You can think of it as continually injecting reputation into a memorable and repeatable phrase.
@visualizevalue The better the overlap between the name and the thing the name represents, the less work required to get people to remember it.
@visualizevalue This is particularly powerful when talking about unchanging IP/ideas.
Another thought experiment, imagine two 300 page books with exactly the same contents inside.
(don't judge a book by it's cover is terrible advice in an infinite market of information)
Another thought experiment, imagine two 300 page books with exactly the same contents inside.
(don't judge a book by it's cover is terrible advice in an infinite market of information)
@visualizevalue You can go name first or sprawling set of ideas first.
Your ideas compete on title first, so not spending time and energy finding a good one is a bigger waste of your time.
Antifragile
Tipping Point
Atomic Habits
4-Hour Workweek
How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)
Your ideas compete on title first, so not spending time and energy finding a good one is a bigger waste of your time.
Antifragile
Tipping Point
Atomic Habits
4-Hour Workweek
How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)
@visualizevalue You can remain independent to the extent you can communicate your ideas independently.
You can earn from your ideas to the extent they work without you.
Naming is a bottleneck in both cases, it either vastly restricts or accelerates the flow of attention.
You can earn from your ideas to the extent they work without you.
Naming is a bottleneck in both cases, it either vastly restricts or accelerates the flow of attention.
@visualizevalue It also may be true that the quality of a name reflects a deep understanding of the thing being named.
To use a technical metaphor, the most compression with the least data loss.
Generic names often indicate a generic understanding or perspective on the thing being named.
To use a technical metaphor, the most compression with the least data loss.
Generic names often indicate a generic understanding or perspective on the thing being named.
@visualizevalue The goal is to get the response "that's so simple I could've done it."
Which paradoxically implies something that is seemingly obvious being acknowledged for the first time.
Which paradoxically implies something that is seemingly obvious being acknowledged for the first time.
@visualizevalue Similar to getting a laugh from landing the punchline of a joke, which me and @david_perell recorded something on last year:
youtube.com
youtube.com
@visualizevalue @david_perell If this doesn't come naturally to you, you can work in reverse too.
@balajis Network State is a great example:
Distill from a book to an essay, to a paragraph, to a sentence, to a title.
@balajis Network State is a great example:
Distill from a book to an essay, to a paragraph, to a sentence, to a title.
@visualizevalue @david_perell @balajis Going through this process itself gives you a sort of meta scaffolding for what you're trying to communicate.
Forces you to think in hierarchy, to consider which ideas need to be introduced in which order, which are most salient, which can lead you to a great name.
Forces you to think in hierarchy, to consider which ideas need to be introduced in which order, which are most salient, which can lead you to a great name.
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