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Memmy - An iOS client for Lemmy @lemmy.ml
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Memmy Poll - Gauging Community Feedback on Rebranding - Give Us Suggestions!

Edit: Want to make this a sugestion thread, so please let us know your ideas on themes or names below.

Howdy all!

We have been internally discussing a rebranding of Memmy to another name. This has been a discussion for some time, and although we have certainly tried to see the upsides of not rebranding, we don't think this is a viable long-term option, for - among others - the following reasons:

  • Eventual support for non-Lemmy services such as Kbin or Mastodon
  • User awareness of Lemmy. Right now, the vast majority of people who are finding the app most likely are specifically searching for "Lemmy". While that's great and (based on trends on downloads/day) shows that there's obviously a big demand for Lemmy, we think this might not be the best way to grow - not just for ourselves but for Lemmy as a whole. We want the fediverse to grow and the best way to do that is to make it acceptable and easy to access without specifically targeting people who already know about Lemmy
  • Community feedback in general about the name. None of this is taken personal or anything, but there's definitely negative feedback for multiple reasons about it, and honestly I think we agree with most - if not all - of that feedback.

Like I said, this is not something that we are doing lightly and we want to make sure we make the right choice before moving forward.

Mind you, we are not talking about a short-term goal here of supporting multiple Fediverse platforms. That probably isn't even in the one-year plan if I'm being honest. But I personally believe the way that we make the Fediverse work is by making the whole experience awesome, and that means offering users with options and ease-of-use.

So, with that said, we want to see what you guys think. We have had internal discussion about the possibility of using the name Badger, and while we all think that's a pretty good option, we are not 100% sold and want to gauge feedback before we do anything. Edit: It seems like that might not be something the community is interested in, so we likely won't be going that route.

Please drop your suggestions for themes or names below! We will go through them all sometime later in the day.

Let us know your thoughts!

159 comments

  • I’m ok with rebranding. I don’t like “Badger” though. Any other options?

    My suggestion: Athena

    • Nothing is set in stone at all! Whole reason for the thread.

      That was just a discussion. Maybe I should update the thread to mention that we’d like for feedback on possible names.

    • Please not Athena. Too basic/obvious imo.

  • I think a name change is a good idea. Not nuts on badger as a name, but don’t have a better suggestion on hand. As some thoughts though:

    • I wouldn’t use the word “fedi” in the name as has been floated in places, as I think Fediverse itselfs a pretty bad name, and ideally a term users won’t have to think about when using the services.
    • Make sure whatever you pick works well for any global markets you want to go into. Some projects pick something that sounds cool locally but has some negative meaning somewhere else
    • I’m not against the space (or gods) theme, but I do think it’s being played out a bit heavily right now across many apps and maybe there’s another route to go. Voyager and “Lift Off” spring to mind as good apps playing with the space theme. Apollo as an app is front and centre in everyone’s mind right now, especially iOS users, and apps are drawing inspiration from it for their Lemmy apps. That’s a good thing, but I do think that branding is one area where perhaps apps have an opportunity to carve out their own identity and I’d think long and hard about naming an app as a distant tribute to Apollo, given that’ll probably tie the apps legacy to that and Reddit in general for some time. Again, I don’t hate space (or god) names, but I think there’s tremendous benefits in looking more broadly.
    • And hey, while he’s seemingly not sold on the idea currently, Christian could very well release “Apollo for Lemmy” one day when he’s ready and he’s had time to distance himself from the events, so Memmy having rebranded to something that draws too much inspiration could taint the impressions of some users.

    Just my thoughts anyway.

  • I agree with your decision for name change. Memmy sounds a bit childish. (Although i love your constant updates and improvements with this app) As for Badger. You already have Privacy Badger, so some might get confused. Name needs to be catchy same as app icon. Like Ice Cubes or Apollo(rip).

  • I agree with the name change. I don’t like Badger though, probably mainly due to associations with badgers.

    Suggestions Argonaut: a person in quest of something dangerous but rewarding; adventurer. Obviously related to mythology (Jason & The Argonauts), but not overdone like the deities. Generally a clear unique name that signifies the “adventure” that is the fediverse. Also flexible in terms of mascots and app icons.

    Dragonfly: planned spacecraft and NASA mission to the largest moon of Saturn (in line with the current icon). I generally like the space theme.

    Pioneer: name of various space missions. Also relates to the general aim of the app to lead or significantly contribute to the growth of a (to most people) novel area of the internet (i.e. the fediverse).

    Traverse: already the name of one of the tabs in the app and I kinda like it. It’s simple and it signifies travelling across the fediverse.

    Hermes / Mercury: as mentioned in another comment, Greek/Roman deity able to travel between worlds (which relates to “travelling” across the fediverse). The whole deities theme is a bit overdone though.

    Mallory: name of the mountaineer who participated in the first three (British) Mount Everest expeditions (and maybe the first to reach the top, but this is controversial as he never returned from his last trip). A pioneer in his own field. Also the name of the character Dr. Mallory in the series Space Force.

    General tips Whether you go with one of the suggestions or not, I think it is important to pick a somewhat abstract name so people can form associations with it without be hindered by strong existing associations (which is the problem with Badger I think). Furthermore, pick something that is in line with the goal of the app/team, so it resonates with the team and early adopters.

    Obvious tips Google a name and look on the app store before picking one (for example, I know ‘Orion’ is already the name of an upcoming browser).

    Pick a name that is “phonetic”, so people potentially hearing it on a podcast can easily look for it.

  • I thought Memmy was fine, don't like Badger at all

    of the suggestions already posted I think these are my favorite: Mercury, Orbit, Helios

  • I like both Orbit and Helios. I’m fine with Memmy, but understand the intent.

    Honestly, “Orbit: A Fediverse Client” kinda has a nice ring to it.

  • Luna?

    Just looking at other moon missions besides Apollo.

    Edit: I think Orbit is actually my fave now.

  • I like both Orbit and Helios. I’m fine with Memmy, but understand the intent.

    Honestly, “Orbit: A Fediverse Client” kinda has a nice ring to it.

  • Space, gods, pantheon, celestial. It’s all played out

    Not everything needs to be the next Apollo. It’s tired. Let’s move away from that.

    Voyager, liftoff, Olympus can all pay homage to Apollo.

    Let’s let memmy be something unique

    Also:

    Orbit is gum

    Helios is that one guys local coffee shop

  • Since everything runs on the ActivityPub around here, how about Pub Crawler? Makes sense if you later incorporate Kbin, Mastodon, etc. and who doesn’t like a good pub crawl?

  • Add me to the list of people who think a space theme would be neat! Plus, it’s a nice tribute to Apollo. A name from this list would work nicely.

  • Not sure if you’re keeping the icon the same but

    Neptune Jupiter Saturn

    Or

    Uranus.

    “I use Uranus” sounds pretty nice.

  • There's a lot of usage of "Traverse" in the app and I think that would be a wicked name as it lends itself to the functionality of the fediverse

  • +1 for something space themed simply as an homage to Apollo. However both Orbit and Orion seem to be heavily used on the App Store from a quick peak. Although maybe that isn’t a big deal?

    I didn’t actually use Apollo for Reddit but I’m aware of the similarities between it and Memmy (I missed out lol). I think in a perfect world it would be pretty dope if we could get consent from the Apollo dev to use their name and bring their legacy forward through the fediverse. But I know that may just be a pipe-dream.

    Badgers are jerks. Hard pass.

  • A theme where the tab bar and header are iOS blurred transparent. Or better, apply it to all themes.

  • I totally agree with all the points you made here. I think coming up with a name that could encompass a-lot of potential fediverse things that dont even exist yet and this is the time to do it before you get much bigger. Badger doesn't feel right to me. One thing I do like with the memmy name is the association with 'meme' so even shortening the name to Mem might work

  • I read your reason for renaming appname, and I think its make sense. So I want to propose this:

    1. If you will planed support Kbin, Mastodon and now you working with Lemmy - actually you in Fediverse.
    2. Fediverse - is a universe of many services.
    3. Your app - is a tool what help to explore fediverse (universe). And this can be - Shuttle (heritage with Apollo) or something like this.

    PS: thank you for your app

  • I vote to rebrand Memmy and change the name to WefWef. The name recently became available.

159 comments