<![CDATA[Hot take: naming doesn’t matter.]]>Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. The term “fediverse” is goofy and nerdy *and fine, actually.*

You use the “Internet” every day. “Email” is ubiquitous. We install “apps” on “phones.” You ask for the “Wi-Fi password.” These are all goofy names, yet nobody bats an eye.

What we call something doesn’t factor into its adoption as much as nerds would have you think. But arguing about naming is easier than doing all of the *other* work required for adoption.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/topic/3ad513cc-c9a8-43c9-aace-317747ebaec1/hot-take-naming-doesn-t-matter.RSS for NodeMon, 17 Aug 2026 03:18:22 GMTFri, 14 Aug 2026 23:39:10 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 14:35:47 GMT]]>@anon counter-point: the fediverse isn’t a product

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117100022812747099https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117100022812747099Sat, 15 Aug 2026 14:35:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:01:20 GMT]]>@cassidy@mastodon.blaede.family I agree that there are more important work to be done pushing the adoption of fediverse, but names do matter and they matter a lot. Names are the first thing people get exposed to before even touching anything concrete about the product, and it's also what gets called everyday when the product is referred to. The initial exposure and subsequent reinforcement has much influence on people's perception and mental associations of the product, so it's wise to avoid negative and unwanted associations when choosing the name.

That said, I do believe the name "fediverse" is fine. Besides, it's unpratical to change the name considering the effort needed, and the fluctuations on the identity can have negative impacts.]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://pari.cafe/notes/apxpnq117dhq55tjhttps://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://pari.cafe/notes/apxpnq117dhq55tjSat, 15 Aug 2026 09:01:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:48:33 GMT]]>@cassidy I take your broad point, but I think it's important to never forget how terrible an idea it is to call your Photoshop alternative 'Gimp'.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.social/users/devolute/statuses/117098657455607874https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.social/users/devolute/statuses/117098657455607874Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:48:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:47:06 GMT]]>@cassidy as a former brand strategist I actually really like fediverse. It sounds like a universe in scope and a coalition in style. Which is basically accurate. And the mashup makes it fun. I agree that any name can get big but as names go this is a good one

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mas.to/users/independentpen/statuses/117098179911375755https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mas.to/users/independentpen/statuses/117098179911375755Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:47:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:30:04 GMT]]>@cassidy
Bikeshedding is a hell of a drug

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://pouet.chapril.org/users/dallo/statuses/117098112909821125https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://pouet.chapril.org/users/dallo/statuses/117098112909821125Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:30:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:28:56 GMT]]>@cassidy
"fediverse" is a great name.

but there are some limits. with that opensource image editor, the name gets so much in the way that i just tell my friends to use inkscape. 😉

or certain ruby packages...
https://rubygems.org/gems/cocaine/versions/0.6.0

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://veganism.social/users/pelle/statuses/117098108457210166https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://veganism.social/users/pelle/statuses/117098108457210166Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:28:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:21:20 GMT]]>@cassidy The decision made by GNU Project to name their image manipulation program after an ableist slur is awful though.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://social.noleron.com/ap/users/116334652900151995/statuses/117098078594455010https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://social.noleron.com/ap/users/116334652900151995/statuses/117098078594455010Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:21:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 05:06:03 GMT]]>@cassidy Say Flathub, I think IKEA (Flatpack)

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mapstodon.space/users/adventure_tense/statuses/117097782566093598https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mapstodon.space/users/adventure_tense/statuses/117097782566093598Sat, 15 Aug 2026 05:06:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:51:31 GMT]]>@cassidy Doesn't stop me from _using_ it, which was your point.

But I also think a lot of people call it "wireless" because it's a dumb name

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://fedi.raventhemaker.com/users/raven/statuses/117097489472874866https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://fedi.raventhemaker.com/users/raven/statuses/117097489472874866Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:51:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:37:02 GMT]]>@cassidy the reason behind calling WiFi WiFi is sooooo dumb. it didn't occur to me that it probably stood for something until recently and I wish I hadn't had that thought now

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://pnw.zone/users/mancube/statuses/117097432536562522https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://pnw.zone/users/mancube/statuses/117097432536562522Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:37:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:31:55 GMT]]>@cassidy I still think Wireless-Fidelity was a stupid name.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://fedi.raventhemaker.com/users/raven/statuses/117097412417751893https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://fedi.raventhemaker.com/users/raven/statuses/117097412417751893Sat, 15 Aug 2026 03:31:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:34:49 GMT]]>@cassidy @nathandyer when ever I hear fediverse I immediately think of fedora.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.au/users/ZiesMcDoom/statuses/117097187884035368https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.au/users/ZiesMcDoom/statuses/117097187884035368Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:34:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:18:59 GMT]]>@nathandyer oh, oh my lmao

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117097125610786504https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117097125610786504Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:18:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:46:14 GMT]]>@cassidy If the marketing guy at Applebee’s is a little hoarse, you’ll know what happened.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://bitbang.social/users/therieau/statuses/117096996827263486https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://bitbang.social/users/therieau/statuses/117096996827263486Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:46:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:25:46 GMT]]>@therieau I mean… it’s possible restaurants have been using that term since before 2008?

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096916369789734https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096916369789734Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:25:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:23:09 GMT]]>@cassidy
I was convinced that iPads wouldn't be successful on account of the name. That taught me exactly how wrong I was about names making much of a difference 😅

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://disabled.social/users/3TomatoesShort/statuses/117096906063594483https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://disabled.social/users/3TomatoesShort/statuses/117096906063594483Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:23:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:15:40 GMT]]>@cassidy All of this is fine, but fast casual restaurant chains co-opting “apps” to mean “appetizers” prompts me to find somebody to punch in the throat.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://bitbang.social/users/therieau/statuses/117096876651326961https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://bitbang.social/users/therieau/statuses/117096876651326961Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:15:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:08:47 GMT]]>@dcbaok okay I do categorically refuse to engage with anything described as a webinar, but will happily watch a live stream. 😅

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096849558056553https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096849558056553Sat, 15 Aug 2026 01:08:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:54:35 GMT]]>@cassidy "webinar"

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/dcbaok/statuses/117096793765586637https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/dcbaok/statuses/117096793765586637Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:54:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:50:47 GMT]]>This is also about the name “Flathub.” 😝

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096778774107369https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096778774107369Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:50:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:49:32 GMT]]>@gardiner_bryant 💯

I would go further and say that if you have to try to describe the concept of the fediverse itself instead of focusing on the people and experience, you’ve already probably failed.

But if you must: it’s a social network. You can find your friends and make new ones from thousands of smaller sites because they all work together. 🤷

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096773865436970https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096773865436970Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:49:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:38:28 GMT]]>@egee nerds 😆

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096730358274323https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096730358274323Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:38:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:36:24 GMT]]>@wjmaggos yeah, I definitely favor “social network” over “social media.” And I appreciate the sentiment behind “social web!”

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096722260513825https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096722260513825Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:36:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hot take: naming doesn’t matter. on Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:30:05 GMT]]>Of course “doesn’t matter” is over generalizing (500 character limit here!). My point is that it matters a whole lot less than we want to admit. “Microsoft” is a hysterically terrible name. “Google” is such a nerdy in-joke. “Apple” is meaningless. “Facebook” is a bit on the nose.

What will matter more for the fediverse is not what it is called—it’s who people can connect with across what apps and sites that they enjoy using.

]]>https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096697418058683https://forum.pierobosio.it/post/https://mastodon.blaede.family/users/cassidy/statuses/117096697418058683Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:30:05 GMT