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GOTO.COM Blunder or Thunder?

Was it a wise move for GOTO.COM to change their name to OVERTURE.COM?

  • Blunder

    Votes: 9 69.2%
  • Thunder

    Votes: 4 30.8%

  • Total voters
    13
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M

mike

Guest
I think goto.com made a major mistake by changing their name to Overture.com! It is a fine example of a big company making a big mistake. Here's a few reasons why.

1. Like millions of other hunt and peck typists out there, I like short urls for sites I use alot. It doesn't get any easier than typing goto.com! Overture is 4 more letters to type, giving me 4 more opportunities to make a mistake. Not good.

2. Alot of newbies to the web have asked me how /where to search for whatever interests them. My stock answer used to be "Start at goto.com and then type what you are looking into the lttle box." I made it a point always to follow-up with questions next time I saw them and was quite satisfied that ,in fact they often remembered and used goto.com as I suggested.

3. Overture.com is much harder to say and hear correctly than goto.com! How do I know?
Because after the name change, I continued trying to steer newbies to Overture.com! My observations of the difference behavior of newbies I told to go to oveture vs. goto were startling.

4. Overture, as a word, has nothing to do with their business, whereas goto fit perfectly.

First off, after the name change,I'd say "Visit overture.com and type what you are looking for in the little box." Always, their first response would be "What, could you say that again?", I'd say "Overture.com!"
Their next response would be "How do you spell it?" I'd spell it for them. Then they'd ask what it meant, like one newbie I remember said "Isn't that a music term" I said "yes it is" he said "why would you send me to a music site to find motorcycle parts?" It like cost me credibility, like I didn't really know as much as he thought I did . Also, My followups revealed NOT ONE ( out of about 6 or 7 people) remembered Overture.com and never got there. Now I recommend Google.com to newbies. They may ask to spell it once, but my follow-ups show they remember google and actually get there.

So, in short, I say that GOTO.COM made a blunder changing their name to OVERTURE.COM!

If you think they made the right choice and they made the right move, vote for Thunder.
 
Domain summit 2024

simone

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I cant understand why a company would go from an url, which is easy to type, recall and spell, to overture. It is a blunder in my book !!!
 

Guest
I've had this very same conversation recently... with others in the business...
We all agree.. 'Overture' has nothing to do with what the site provides/search engine.
Absolutely, it's hard to say & to type correctly.

The word 'Overture' in it's true sense/meaning, is a rare word heard at that.

Their pay per click revision.. to me looks kinda 'shady'...
why?
because, a merchant/site owner signs for 'ppc' placement..
overture.. sends them to the suggestion tool first.. so they can see the top keywords to bid on...
They find the top ones.

then the merchant goes back to the search engine.. key's those words in.. see's who's on top & what the top bid is on that word..
hmm...
might boost Overture's revenue, if the bids on top keywords are high bids...

Overture #'s on the suggestion tool box... could easily be tampered with as well...

Like a used car salesman, rotating the mileage back on a car..
Who's to know? Ya just gotta take their word..
 
M

mike

Guest
Wanda, Could you have maybe voted "thunder" instead of "Blunder"? I have two posts that vote blunder, but my poll shows one vote for thunder and one for blunder? Or maybe some "guest" voted ad you didn't? Don't know. Glad to hear others you know out there are talking about it.
 

Guest
Originally posted by mike
Wanda, Could you have maybe voted "thunder" instead of "Blunder"? I have two posts that vote blunder, but my poll shows one vote for thunder and one for blunder? Or maybe some "guest" voted ad you didn't? Don't know. Glad to hear others you know out there are talking about it.


pretty sure i checked top box / blunder...

can a guest do a vote? and not leave a msg/thread reply?

i didn't know that!
 

Guest
Originally posted by mike
Wanda, Could you have maybe voted "thunder" instead of "Blunder"? I have two posts that vote blunder, but my poll shows one vote for thunder and one for blunder? Or maybe some "guest" voted ad you didn't? Don't know. Glad to hear others you know out there are talking about it.


ohYae..

kinda a personal thing..


but i looks like there is thunder forcase for like RENO

coming up really soon..

did you hear about that? :)
 
M

mike

Guest
I know "guests" can lurk here, Wanda. I don't know why they don't have to sign up or if they can post, chat, etc. like us... Sure would be nice if everybody had to use their real names, etc. and weren't allowed to use aliases like they do. Don't want to get too personal here Wanda, but would that be rolling thunder that "moves" you?
No, What's coming up in Reno?
 

Guest
Originally posted by mike
I know "guests" can lurk here, Wanda. I don't know why they don't have to sign up or if they can post, chat, etc. like us... Sure would be nice if everybody had to use their real names, etc. and weren't allowed to use aliases like they do. Don't want to get too personal here Wanda, but would that be rolling thunder that "moves" you?
No, What's coming up in Reno?


if i could only tell you.. what i want to tell you.


cause.. you know someone i know,
very well..

and well..

yae, it's thunder that MOVES me.


i've wanted to tell ya something for a while..
but i have held back..

cause you know Mr.Thunder very well!
 
M

mike

Guest
Wanda the Wriddler, ... Well, let's see, if this someone we both know well, happens to be HD?

And
if there's something you don't want to tell me here...don't fret!
Just drop me an email, Wanda... to me it will be from heaven sent.


sernocky@webtv.net
 

LarryWentz

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The CEO of Overture, Ted Meisel, explained the reason behind the name change in a Business Week article -

Why the name change?

"A bunch of things. We're a distributed search service. Less than 5% of our traffic comes directly to GoTo.com. And that's explicit strategy. Our distribution partners want to know that we're sincere about that. We announced our intention to change our name not quite a year ago, and in part, to allay any fears that we were a wolf in sheep's clothing competing with our own distributors such as AOL and MSN. Second, "Go" anything is a crowded space. Crowded space also means legal wrangling. You put all that distraction together with the fact that it's good for our partners and our strategy...and it made sense."

Now if you visit goto.com you will see a statement saying "To meet legal obligations, GoTo is now Overture."

That statement makes it sound like they were being forced to change the name.Maybe goto.com was being pressured by go2.com. However, go2.com now turns into go2online.com.

Possibly the large amount of sites using the goto prefix like gotohell.com or gotochina.com (examples) made them realize that protecting the phrase "goto" was an impossibility.


Larry Wentz
"Make Money with Affiliate Networks!"
http://www.AffiliateNetwork.org
 

Guest
Goto seem to be positioning themselves as a supplier of paid click search revenue for the big players. As such, their end user search focus has been removed (hence the 5% figure in Larry's post).

It would have been muppety to change name if they were just a.n.other search engine looking for direct traffic - but they aren't in that position.

i guess overture suits the notion of a great number of players being conducted from a central point.
 

Guest
Originally posted by LarryWentz

Larry Wentz
"Make Money with Affiliate Networks!"
http://www.AffiliateNetwork.org


ARE YOU THE SAME LARRYWENTZ WHO SHILL BIDS NON STOP AT AFTERNIC??? IF IT IS DON'T YOU THINK ITS TIME YOU GAVE IT UP? EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A LOOK AT THIS GUYS AFTERNIC SHOWCASE AND POSTS, DISGUSTING.
 

Guest
Originally posted by mike
Wanda the Wriddler, ... Well, let's see, if this someone we both know well, happens to be HD?

And
if there's something you don't want to tell me here...don't fret!
Just drop me an email, Wanda... to me it will be from heaven sent.


sernocky@webtv.net


you've got mail! :D
 

David G

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Originally posted by reifox



ARE YOU THE SAME LARRYWENTZ WHO SHILL BIDS NON STOP AT AFTERNIC??? IF IT IS DON'T YOU THINK ITS TIME YOU GAVE IT UP? EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A LOOK AT THIS GUYS AFTERNIC SHOWCASE AND POSTS, DISGUSTING.

I don't know much about his showcase and old posts. However his recent posts at AN just before AN shut everything down with no notice were very good and educational.

In fact, a few were so well done I asked Larry for permission to reprint them in an e-book I was planning. However, I lost them as Afternic shut the forums down before I could do any archiving, including my own recent posts. :mad:

Even if you did not like Larry Wentz in the past at AN he should be given the chance to start fresh here, as I know he has lots of knowledge. For example, one of the heaviest posters here who was also a heavy poster at AN is doing a very good job here and very helpful posts but at AN the posts were of more dubious value in general.
 

LarryWentz

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Thanks Real Names,

It always comes back to the fact that I am a supporter of start bids (advertising bids). I love to see people sell names rather than gathering dust in their portfolio and the start bid gets the necessary exposure. I have purchased over 70 names from Afternic members but honestly would rather have seen those people sell their names to other people for a lot more money. I strongly disgaree with those that shill ("bid up") on a name. I also get digusted with shill people like Reifox.

I went from selling zero names to 550+ in the last 2 years. My start bids have helped numerous Afternic members sell "Hundreds" of names including about 10-15 in the last 2 weeks. I help many people with advice via email and believe that you succed in life by helping others. I would help people more in the forums if it wasn't for the anonymous cyberstalking attackers. I now make money developing sites in addition to domain sales and have a lot to offer others here. I "truly" belive in helping others unlike those who enjoy trying to destroy others.

Some people like Reifox are failures as human beings and try to bring down others so their pitiful life doesn't seem so bad. Reifox is likely the person who registered "my screen names" here trying to impersonate me but I have at least gotten control back of this screen name back. I have had a few cyberstalkers like Reifox over the last 2 years (possibly all the same person).

I just wonder if the cyberstalkers and attackers will rule here or if Dan will banish them.

Larry Wentz
"Make Money with Affiliate Networks!"
http://www.AffiliateNetwork.org
 

Guest
"Start bids" ARE shill bids - they are bids placed with no motive other than to trick people into believing there is interest in a domain name.
 

Guest
Originally posted by RealNames

he should be given the chance to start fresh here,

HE STILL SHILL BID LIKE NEVER BEFORE!! WHY GIVE HIM SECOND CHANCE WHEN BIDS JUST THE SAME!!
 

Guest
Originally posted by safesys
"Start bids" ARE shill bids - they are bids placed with no motive other than to trick people into believing there is interest in a domain name.


If Larry creates a 'starting bid' on any name.. it helps I'm sure to get a specific name 'noticed'... amongst the crowded pages of lifeless names... kinda puts life into a domain.

I personally don't think a 'buyer' would by a name, if they weren't interested in it too.. regardless if 5,000 people were bidding on a specific name.. If the enduser/buyer has no interest, he's not gonna buy it. (now a reseller may)

However, there were a FEW SELECT names on Anic that were appraised hundreds & hundreds of time, over and over again.. the same name... by the same appraisers...
I don't see anything wrong with that either... (maybe it helped those domain owners to sell their names.. and get these names noticed??)
But.. it's kinda the same thing as 'leading onlookers to believe there is massive interest in a specific name'... ?? would you agree?

just a thought.

Either scenerio here... no harm.. no foul.
 

Guest
In case nobody noticed this isn't an auction. There are no (bids) or shill bids here.
 

Guest
LARRYWENTZ, LETS STICK TO FACTS ? THIS ILLEGAL SHILL BID-PURE AND SIMPLE.

LETS LOOK AT LARRYWENTZ'S SHOWCASE


NAME HIGH BID BIDDER

PROFESSIONS.COM (REGISTER YESTERDAY) $500 LATHAJI
CUSTOMSIGN.COM $785 BOSTON
GIFTMARKETPLACE.COM $500 BOSTON
VFINANCES.COM $250 BOSTON
VCARIBBEAN.COM $200 BOSTON

NICSERVER.COM $125 LATAJI
$120 BOSTON

ASSISTANCEDESK.COM $75 EREMENKO
DESIGNINGSITES.COM $85 RUSSWOOD
$75 LATAJI
3-D.NET $120 RUSSWOOD
NUDIE.ORG $125 PEPY
PRE-RECORDED.COM $150 PEPY
MYNEWAUTOMOBILE.COM $200 PEPY


WRECKAGES.COM $110 DIGITALEQUIP
$100 PEPY

TOYCOLLECTIBLE.COM $210 DIGITALEQUIP
$110 PEPY

EXAMBOOKS.COM $155 BANKDOMAINS
EROTICIZES.COM $150 BANKDOMAINS


THEN YOU BID THEIR NAMES ALSO, JUST CLICK THROUGH.
 
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