http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lf-companies-foreigners-And-paying-price.html
Say no more!
Max.

 

I know that the Brits were close contenders, wasn't the jet engine (and jet plane) first developed by the Nazis in WWII?
.

I remember seeing trials of the British Gloster Meteor in action during WW11.
Max.

 

I remember seeing trials of the British Gloster Meteor in action during WW11.
Max.

Oh... and Robin forgot to mention the Radar... a simply amazing story

 

cats eyes ON YOUR ROADS, .

Incidentally I have only seen them on UK roads?
But I did love 'em.
Max.

 

@GopherT It was not rude to suggest that UK companies use common names or words, it was rude to imply that the UK has no creativity when that could not be further from the truth.

It probably doesn't reflect creativity at all, but simply cultural norms (that shift over time).

Look at the names of American companies from a century or more ago -- they were almost always named after the founder. Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Chrysler, Packard, Plymouth, Dodge, Martin, Lockheed, Douglas, McDonnell, Boeing, Cessna, Edison, Stearman, Bell, Northrup, Grumman, Wright, Cummins, Pratt and Whitney, DeForest, Hewlett-Packard, Keithley, Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Westinghouse, Colt, Winchester, Remington, Smith, Wesson, Sharps, Henry, Browning, Wells-Fargo, Brinks, Chase, Morgan. The list goes on for page after page. Given what many of these people and their companies accomplished, it's hard to claim that choosing to name the company after the founder was a mark of lack of creativity.

Rather it was a time when a common expectation -- not engraved in stone -- was that you would tie your personal reputation to that of the company; either by backing it with your existing reputation or were tying the future of your name's reputation to that of the company. It was also an era in which companies weren't started with the intention of selling them and cashing out in a few years. You started a company with the intent of making it your life's legacy.

So does the modern trend of American companies not naming themselves after their founders a mark of marketing genius, or an indication of the lack of willingness to back the company with your personal good name?

But of course nothing is ever that simple. A hundred years ago it was very common for companies to be started and driven by one person or a very small collection of people and for them to start very small in the proverbial abandoned garage and build up steadily to become a world leader. Today things are very different and many companies start with significant capitalization via loans and investment capital and thus naturally lack a single dominating figure or two. Even when they do, the pressure is to not use an individual's name because it would be seen as egotistical and credit-claiming in today's culture.

 

Hi all,

Right now I am in FULL. RAGE. MODE and am literally loosing my mind over this!

So I make videos for AAC, DigiKey, and Maker Pro and for someone who has issues with reading (for example, reading words that dont exist and trying to predict what the sentence will say instead of actually reading it) I am really struggling with some STUPID PRODUCT NAMES!!

Arduino. Arduino. Arduino. I'll stick that where the sun don't shine mate! What a stupid ****ing name

Raspberry Pi. rrpppbbbbssssss


Raspbian. I can imagine myself punching the guy who came up with that in the face

The only reason I don't have a problem pronouncing Arduino is because I've heard it spoken so many times before. Raspberry Pi... Well that I've heard spoken since I was little... However I feel your pain.

Because English is my second language there are some words that I understand and can spell but pronouncing them is a tongue twister. One for an example since it has to do with electronics is. Drumroll.....

"Potentiometer" The first time I had to speak that word aloud It went a bit like this. "Poten..t......... Well it's like a variable resistor"

 

and for them to start very small in the proverbial abandoned garage and build up steadily to become a world leader.

Ironically that is exactly how the person that started the Morris Motor company that I worked for started.
William Morris started out repairing Bicycles in an abandoned garage.
Later to become BMC.
Max.

 

Ironically that is exactly how the person that started the Morris Motor company that I worked for started.
William Morris started out repairing Bicycles in an abandoned garage.
Later to become BMC.
Max.

It was actually a rather common way to start -- often it literally was an old garage, but sometimes it was a barn or a shed or a warehouse. They often had little or no money, just an idea and a willingness to pour their heart and sole into it. The guy that started the company my dad worked for, Charles McGee, started out even simpler than that -- he sold valve stems out of the trunk of his car for several years before he had enough capital to purchase a small building and hire his first employee. The original company was named after him. At one point shortly before he retired he owned five or six businesses with outlets in several states. Today the main business is still there but I think all of the others, including the one my dad worked for (as the second employee hired) have gone under due largely (but not entirely) to mismanagement by the guy's kids when they took over. Last I heard, though, the kids have largely learned the needed lessons and the main company and the successor to the one my dad worked for (shares the base name, but that's about it) are doing well.

None of them were ever very large -- usually between one and two dozen employees each -- but they took good care of their people and had very low turnover while Chuck Sr was in charge.

 

At least Americans don't add an extra syllable to aluminum.

 

At least Americans don't add an extra syllable to aluminum.

Trust me, you don't want to start a debate about butchered words between americans and brits...

 

 

At least Americans don't add an extra syllable to aluminum

Since they've taken a syllable out already, they might as well remove another one and make it 'alumum'

 

So does the modern trend of American companies not naming themselves after their founders a mark of marketing genius, or an indication of the lack of willingness to back the company with your personal good name?

But of course nothing is ever that simple. A hundred years ago it was very common for companies to be started and driven by one person or a very small collection of people and for them to start very small in the proverbial abandoned garage and build up steadily to become a world leader. Today things are very different and many companies start with significant capitalization via loans and investment capital and thus naturally lack a single dominating figure or two. Even when they do, the pressure is to not use an individual's name because it would be seen as egotistical and credit-claiming in today's culture.

Marketing genius? No, Marketing common sense. Only someone who is completely ignorant in Trademark law would write so much, propose a such a nonsense A or B pair options where neither is the answer. Try watching the intro to trademark video from uspto.gov. They explain why a nonsense/ fantasy word is a better name.

 

At least Americans don't add an extra syllable to aluminum.

Hmm? Might I say Aluminium or Aluminum ? Potate-o or Potat-o. First time hearing it made me giggle, but that made it more interesting to listen to, makes you want to hear more.
kv