PulpFiction: Naming
Posted April 18th, 2004 @ 11:24am by Erik J. Barzeski
This entry led me to one on kottke.org:
PulpFiction (expect a letter from Miramax soon) looks to do everything a modern newsreader should do (Love the filters. Every single app in the world should save all data it ever sees, data about that data, and have ways to filter and search it.)
I don't think we have much to fear from Miramax. It's not like we've got a picture of Quentin Tarantino in the icon or anything. Pulp Fiction is itself a common phrase used to indicate this kind of stuff, after all.
Stay tuned for Freshly Squeezed Software's upcoming first-person shooter "Kill Bill." 😉
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Posted 18 Apr 2004 at 11:43am #
Does it not concern you that the name is formally unrelated to the role of the application, unlike, say Word, NetNewsWire or iTunes?
There are exceptions to this paradigm (Firefox and Excel spring to mind), but their names laid claim to almost virgin territory of the dictionary. Safari doesn't do this, but it has rather more marketinig support than PulpFiction is likely to have.
Choosing PulpFiction seems to be making a rod for your own back; it's got nothing to do with its functionality, and there are easier ways of making a name (more) unique than deleting a non-vocalised character from a very well-known phrase.
Posted 18 Apr 2004 at 11:47am #
Well, first, is IS a well-known phrase, so it's not really an issue anyway. But if you need a link from the name to the product: Pulp=FSS and Fiction=the web. 😉
Posted 18 Apr 2004 at 11:49am #
Ah. My apologies it's a fruit-related pun. I still think it's an unnecessarily bad name 😉
Posted 18 Apr 2004 at 12:28pm #
The phrase "pulp fiction" existed long before Quentin Tarantino borrowed it for his movie.
Posted 18 Apr 2004 at 3:34pm #
Here's the permalink: http://www.kottke.org/remainder/04/04/5392.html
Posted 19 Apr 2004 at 11:49am #
Wouldn't FSS's first person shooter be KillBill. 😛
Posted 19 Apr 2004 at 10:31pm #
I don't really mind the name, but you do have to realize that when potential customers hear the product name, they won't be thinking news reader. They will likely be thinking movie, but for sure not an OS X app :P. As long as you're willing to brand and get kicked in the ass over search rankings, it's all good.
Posted 19 Apr 2004 at 10:34pm #
Do a search for "PulpFiction" Jon. 😉