Great name: nook
There’s an issue in advertising and identity design—maybe in all creative endeavors—commonly referred to as “not created here” syndrome. Well, there’s probably a better name for it than that, but that’s what I’m going with. Basically, it means creative people are less likely to approve of work done by somebody else. In fact, they’re more likely to say it stinks. I’m probably just as guilty as the next guy, and just to prove how snarky I can be, here’s something I’ve been itching to poke fun at:
Are there two Barnes & Nobles at the Irvine Spectrum Center? And, no less, they’re both to the right?
But anyways, speaking of Barnes & Nobles, I do like to try and give credit where credit is due. And the name they’ve found for their new e-reader is great. They’re calling it nook. I’m not the first to praise the name, so I won’t list all of its qualities here. I was surprised to see that not too many naming bloggers have mentioned the obvious: that it rhymes with “book,” and that it could be a portmanteau of “new” and “book,” or “next” and “book.”
My only question is whether they’ve figured out what companion device to sell under the brand name “cranny.”
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I imagine a factor in the name’s selection and appeal might also relate to the nooks in which books are kept and read by lovers of books. (At least those of us who’ve read books our entire lives and comfortably count on’em for sustenance.) “Nook”’s a warmly-considered word that makes strides in overcoming perceptual and technological sticking points.
Overcoming the tactile and personal nature of actual books still remains a central challenge to more mass adoption of this technology, thought of as cold and impersonal — as compared to books — but which actually has many personal benefits once tried and used. Even or especially for tactile lefties, since statistically we tend to be tree-huggers.
They really oughta flood the marketplace with (cozy) places for readers to try and use’em so readers can see how beautifully they operate and read, in almost all light; sampling often being the best path to adoption of the new.
BTW, Rob…I used to also advocate “sticking to the positive” — but I think the sweeping need for authenticity, integration and critical thinking might have swayed me to be more fully and inclusive of the negative and even snarky.
For pragmatism on that important subject, as it relates to brand meetings and organizational management: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm
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Hey – at least the sign didn’t say “Barnes & Noble’s”!
Nook…
Nook…
It’s not bad. At first I thought these devices still need to create the market for themselves, and therefore need to somehow show that using them is an experience somehow superior to that of reading an actual book. But when I found out that Amazon sold 500,000 Kindles in 2008, I figured that may not be a driving concern.
Still, I can’t get away from Nook feeling like a place (which is why it works so well for the little restaurant in the corner of the strip mall near my house) rather than a must-have device. But maybe that’s just because I didn’t think of it…
Stay positive blogger.