Uh oh. Looks like Google Music showed up to the party wearing the same outfit as iTunes. Unfortunately for Google, the outfit looks better on iTunes. Not to mention Google brought the less attractive date (Google+).

For anyone who isn’t aware, Google recently launched its much anticipated digital music application, Google Music (original name, I know). Finally another music marketplace to rival iTunes – sounds great. But what makes Google Music different? Well, song costs are comparable to iTunes and the layout isn’t anything new. And unfortunately Google wasn’t able to get Warner Music Group to sign on the dotted line, which leaves a huge hole in their music offering (Cher, Cee Lo, Diddy, Green Day, Van Halen, to name a few). But Google knew all of this before launch, so I was curious to see how it would position itself in order to get consumers excited.

So what does make Google Music stand out? The short answer is:  Nothing. After taking a look around the application, Google Music seems to be positioning itself as the “instant-anywhere, shareable music place.” It sounds accurate, but is it unique? Let’s take a look.

1. Instant-anywhere – This is no longer ownable. Although it’s extremely important, the ability to download songs and instantly listen on any device has become an expected feature. As a player 8 years late to the game, it’s unrealistic for Google Music to position itself around this idea.
2. Shareable – This is a more interesting approach. iTunes is not known for being a social proponent, so there is some opportunity here. Google Music does have some cool share features; however, everything links to Google+, which has been a social wasteland since its launch. It also doesn’t help that Facebook’s strong partnership with Spotify seems to be changing the way people share and discover music.

All in all, Google Music isn’t giving consumers a strong enough reason to switch to their services –  just an eerily similar alternative. They have a foundation, now they just need to find their niche and own it.

Anyone who knows me understands that I am happiest when I’m creating something new. My pulse races when I enter art supply and craft stores, clay studios, fabric warehouses, and boutiques centered around handmade wares. A valid vacation for me can be defined as hours spent walking the aisles of Hobby Lobby or AC Moore stores discovering or rediscovering new tools and products.

Since my entrance into branding over ten years ago, naming has been an effective way for me to maintain that tangible sense of creation. My creative abilities have taken on new challenges; fascinated with words and the construction of names I’ve spent the past decade constructing letter strings and word parts to yield memorable new brands for clients.

Coupling the two primary forces in my life, branding and crafting, I look at product names in a whole new light. It’s not just, “What function can that new paper punch serve for me?”, but, “How in the world did they get that name through legal?”

Excuse my crafty-namer-geek approach to this post, as I explore some big craft brands and their names for photo books.

Creative Memories: StoryBook Photo Book
Descriptive, straightforward. Their positioning has always been about preserving your memories and telling your story, so this name complements the equity they have built in their brand.

My Publisher
Recently it seems has rebranded themselves into more of a modern option for photo products. The brand has always focused on giving you the tools to tap into your own design/publishing skills.

Snapfish: Photo Book
Uses the equity in their corporate name (known for photos) for their online photo books. No additional branding required.

Shutterfly
Interesting naming approach: the company uses a generic moniker of “Photo Books,” but has also branded the creation process with “Custom Path” and “Simple Path” to make the process of building your book an easier task.

Winkflash / Picaboo / Kodak
Follows suit with the other online primary photo sites and focuses branding on their individual corporate names.

SmileBooks
Custom photo books that make you smile. Um, I hope so since they’re my photos and I’m paying to have them preserved in a book for posterity. At least they’re using a name that stands apart from the traditional, but I’m not sure it actually communicates anything differently.

Apple: iPhoto Books
I would expect nothing less (or more) from Apple. Simple continuity within their strong lineup of product brands.

Blurb
Company uses individual brands in their arsenal of options, including BookSmart (personalizing software), Bookify (creation software), and BookShow (Facebook sharing app). Bloggers and instagr.am addicts take note: you can export your blog into a custom coffee table book to pass down your witticisms for generations. I love the continuity of their brand into defining their team members as Blurberati.

Lulu
Focuses efforts on the corporate brand and uses a descriptive naming approach for the individual book types. Lulu is more of a ‘self-publishing’ platform that includes photo books as one type of offering. The best part about Lulu (besides their catchy, memorable name) is that customers can sell their creations through the site.

It’s become a household name: Groupon … the fusion of ‘group’ + ‘coupon’ makes sense on all fronts from a naming perspective.

The Groupon magic goes like this: Groupon negotiates huge discounts—usually 50-90% off—with popular businesses. They send the deals to thousands of subscribers in their free daily email, and then send the businesses a ton of new customers.

While Groupon was first to market with their daily deal platform, the success of the business model has spawned hundreds of me-too sites and companies. The trouble is, Groupon has become so popular it’s now genericized for these savings sites, which are currently flooding my inbox.

Check out these similar offerings and their naming styles:

Living Social: A more modern, hip name but lacks the bar call when used in conversation. “I bought the yoga Groupon” just rolls better when said aloud.

Mamasource (by Mamapedia): A great site that does good too – they give back a percentage of your purchase to a school of your choice, and the deals last longer than a day. Perfect for those indecisive shoppers who just need a bit more time to make up their mind. This is more than a daily deal site, as they offer a lot of resources for moms. The name is cute, and clearly geared towards moms.

Plum District: Arbitrary name, but a fun daily deal site designed specifically towards mom. Plus, they reward you with Plum Dollars when you refer other people to the site (as opposed to other sites who reward you only when a referral makes a purchase).

Eversave: Cute, simple, descriptive name, and their logo is cute too.

Woot: Short moniker; the most emotional daily deal name. Uniquely captures the end benefit of scoring a great deal. The catchy name works well in vernacular too: “I just scored a Woot.” Woot indeed.

What are we missing? What are your favorite daily deal sites? Does the name of the site itself make you want to sign up, or is popularity driven solely by the caliber of deals offered?

The idea: creative. The purpose: admirable. The name: underwhelming.

Pegasus Global Holdings has secured 20 square miles in New Mexico to serve as a mock town where they can study the environmental and global effects of specific technologies. “Innovators … (can) to test renewable energy innovations in real world conditions, such as how does a solar panel work on a shadier lot?”

With a plot of land ripe for experiments, a ‘ghost town’ heritage, a team targeting innovators and specialists in their respective industries, and a $200 million dollar budget, “The Center” is the name they chose? If executed correctly, Pegasus Holdings has a real opportunity to create some press and engagement around this initiative. With a name like “The Center”, they’ve missed the mark.

How about playing up the environmental aspect in the name? Or if that is too trite, what about the dichotomy of ghost town imagery with technological innovation? Have any ideas? Post them in the comments.