At Last! 5 Rules to Choosing the Right Intranet Name
There are lots of articles out there suggesting names for intranets, plenty of people advocating naming competitions to generate ideas, but a remarkable silence when it comes to judging how to pick one.
When brainstorming or running naming competitions you will uncover a host of names. Make sure you pick one which will complement the hard work you are putting in to create a great site.
For every intranet with something unique like Staffordshire Housing’s CAKE (Connect and Keep Engaging) there are hundreds with the naming stalwarts of The Hub, Connect, Exchange or my [insert company name here]… not that there is anything wrong with calling your site any of those if it works for you.
Luckily Richard Millington came up with five simple rules when naming your site to make it amazing. To see more of his brilliant advice and a peek at a host of intranets with a variety of names, sign up to Interaction, Europe’s largest intranet conference, 16-17 September in London.
1. Choose an Iconic Name
When speaking to your employees, is there something which constantly comes up in conversation? An icon, item or someone who represents what you are all about.
Swagelok Scotland named their site Knowlsey based on a retiring colleague who had been the go to person for all questions and know how.
CitySprint used a cartoon version of Einstein called Cecil to welcome people to their site. It was their take on the genius who knows where everything is:
Meanwhile Staffordshire Housing brought their CAKE to life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=19&v=zGfMoXFZ19M
2. Could It Pass the -er Test?
If employee engagement is a major objective for your site, do you want to create a pseudonym group to belong to? Can your intranet name be converted to an -er to describe a member, be that an Intranetter or in Business Environment’s case, a Lounger (their site is called The Lounge). Better still they expanded this to customers on their extranet who are called Network Loungers.
Please note although ‘user’ meets the -er criteria, we wouldn’t advise it. For further evidence of this success, Justin Bieber fans are referred to as Beliebers – if people admit to that they’ll happily be called anything!
You may find it easier to have a name for your intranet and refer to your employees by your company name, for example on our intranet Homer, I am an Interacter.
3. Will It Pass the #tag Test?
If you’re using a range of tools in your Enterprise Social Network, will revealing your intranet name take off on its #tag? This is a particularly good test if you’re currently using tools such as Yammer.
4. Availability Test
Before you launch, just check there are no other applications sharing the same name. This happens more times than you would expect!
5. Don’t Be Boring!
Have fun with your naming and launch. If everyone feels a part of the naming process, it naturally follows. They should feel part of the decision process too.
