Quite possibly.
So you create a sort of “eLance for legal cases” and you need to come up with a name.
You end up with…
Shpoonkle.com?
Oh c’mon. You can’t be serious.
Shpoonkle.com has been out for a while, but I just heard about it today. The site lets you post details of the legal work you need done and lawyers will bid for your work. It’s a lot like eLance.com.
But the name…it’s so painful.
Company founder Robert Niznik told VentureBeat last year about the name:
“Shpoonkle is a funny word…It brings a smile to your face, and it is definitely something you will remember.”
OK, so I’ll admit that it did get a reaction from me. Even after saying the word aloud to myself a couple times, I spit my water out when I heard it spoken in a serious tone. (See video below.)
Sorry, Robert. It’s not something “you will remember”, other than how stupid it is.
Tell someone to go to Shpoonkle.com, and they’ll have to ask you to spell it. Then they’ll say “Wait, what?” and ask you to to spell it again.
Even writing this article I’ve had to double check that I’m spelling it right each time.
And the “funny word” (and logo) doesn’t give me any confidence in your service, even if I think you’re on to something.
I will give you 2 points for thinking to also register Schpoonkle.com, though.
steve says
Well now you see why I am confused, filled it utter disdain, more confused, and quit every job I had.
You end up asking is it me??
But if you hold the good fight long enough you will be proven right and succeed.
Laugh, get laughs with these people.
The jokes on us. I laugh at the democrats and republicans but yet they do have the power and steal all our money. Which is incredible that they constantly demonstrate their stupidity and yet prosper.
This guys website name is just stupid. He will never know how much business he lost by having this stupid domain name.
Web Wise says
Well if it’s strange enough to get an article on Domain Name Wire dedicated to it no doubt it’s useful attention! 🙂
Clay says
Wow. I can’t imagine why any serious, self-respecting attorney would want to be listed on this site. The design screams, “Aren’t we cute?! We’ll take your legal matters as seriously as we take our domain name and web design.” Good idea gone disturbingly wrong.
Johnny says
Well …,
There are enough proven successful businesses with uncommon name and/or logo.
yahoo.com, tdnam.com, msnbc.com, dropgrabs.com, tucows.com (2cows), etc.
Who cares? It’s their business plan, their risk. If it works for their customers, who are we to criticize that? Let’s mind our very own business instead of balancing on the edge of jealousy and prejudice. It’s about business, not emotions.
Andrew Allemann says
@ Johnny – strange names are OK. Really depends on the business. I wouldn’t do it for legal stuff.
AND…you need to be able to spell it when you hear it.
mike says
Bad publicity is better than none at all, I heard this and now I believe it.
A very bad name ? It made this post.
FarmerJohn says
A very irate ’70s porn actress just called and wants her name back.
Bill Sweetman says
What blows my mind about this horrible domain name is that I bet this entrepreneur could have had his choice of dozens of snappy .com domains with keywords like “law” and “legal” in them from the various marketplaces for less than $2,000 each. For instance, we have LegalTrek.com list priced at $1,400 right now. Not the greatest domain the world but still way, way better a choice than the name this guy went with. So sad…
Webolutions says
Would have to agree that “Shpoonkle,” is a little bit difficult to remember, and difficult to spell. Possible clients are on age brackets 25 and above, and not everyone may have a good memory of it. The site name doesn’t sound serious when in fact, its niche are seriously for legal services. Should have changed the name to something more relevant.
Funding says
I absolutely love the name; it’s a dose of whimsy for a stodgy, grumpy business sector.
Will says
Well, this website already popular thanks to the bad name.
Alan says
@ Johnny – totally with you.
@ Andrew Allemann – If you’re so smart why are you dedicating your attention to stupidity of god knows who?
Ben says
@Bill Sweetman: Domain name hoarders are one major reason entrepreneurs go with these kind of goofy names! Your hoarding of domains for no useful purpose, except to extort desperate entrepreneurs, is oppressive to entrepreneurs everywhere. You don’t add value, you don’t make life easier for a client, you don’t save time or money – domain hoarders are value-less, they don’t contribute value to the internet or community or society. (Note I’m talking about domain hoarding, I’m ok with a legit business selling their valuable domain that they’ve actually done something with). Also LegalTrek is in fact worse than something random like shpoonkle.com. LegalTrek sounds like an affiliate reseller adsense site, ewww. Shpoonkle, while goofy, does have unique personality to it that is very brandable (regardless of whether this guy brands it well or not, it could be branded well).