Hi everyone:

Thanks for stopping by. If you want to learn more about social media, or Tyson Goodridge, you can find me at my new home/website/blog at www.enterdialogue.com

Thanks, and see you there!

Tyson

I’ve spent the better half of the last month trying to think of a name for my new company. It’s an incredibly challenging process. So, let’s talk about it.

A company name should be:

Memorable: Something that resonates with the audience. Catchy, but not too cliché, right?

Easy to pronounce or spell: You don’t want someone butchering your company name.

Searchable/ unique Tyson’s Social Media Group” is not unique enough. A friend of mine named his blog Artificial Simplicity. Good idea. Two memorable, distinct names. His blog comes up at the top of a search with those two names. (Hat tip to Scott Karamabis, @copia if you are keeping score at home)

Is the URL available? Probably not, but if you add “inc”, or “group” or “llc” to the name, you’ll have some luck- be creative….

Descriptive of your services and/or audience: Now this is where it gets tricky. How do you possibly do that in two or three words?

Active: If you name your company after you high school mascot, that’s great, but it’s a static name with no “real movement”.  A company name I really love is from another friend who recently named his company “Ingage”. (www.ingageinc.com) It’s a terrific name that’s easy to remember, spell and it speaks to what he does as his business. (I thought of a similar name literally the day before we had coffee- darn it!)

A creative combination of everything I just mentioned. Now, I have to give a hat tip to Jim Spencer here who has recommended two good sites that are keeping me busy tonight and they are www.nameboy.com, www.makewords.com. There are a couple more I can’t remember right now, but Jim is a great resource for anything website related (and I highly recommend him check him out at www.jbspartners.com)

So, the company naming journey continues. Maybe there is some value in keeping it simple and naming my company “The Goodridge Group”?

There is a company name for me out there (ideas welcome),  I just can’t find it tonight.

There’s a darn good reason why people charge good $$ to help name your company, it’s worth every penny. As an entrepreneur, I just wish there were more of those pennys to go around….

I met someone at a large software company the other day, and he asked a great (and pot-stirring) question- “So, Tyson, when is Twitter going to buy Google?”

Now wait a second here, Twitter couldn’t POSSIBLY buy Google… I haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but my guess is that it probably won’t happen.

But he gave a great example of the value of Twitter. Earlier in the day, he asked his twitter followers for some advice on how to add a watermark on a document.

He received a response in about 10 seconds, from a friend he trusted, and he got the information he needed right away.

Sure, he could have googled his question, but who wants to wade through pages of answers? Why not get your answers from a trusted follower?

Think about that for a moment….and keep thinking about that example as it relates to facebook, linkedin, ning or whatever community or social network you belong to.

If you’ve found the best plumber, real-estate agent, or interior designer, why not tell your friends about it? And if you are looking for something , why not tap your network first? Do you trust what Google search results have come up with?

Thoughts? Comments, let’s hear them.

My friend Dave Atkins posted something interesting today:  “Seven Things About Me”. The goal here is to post seven things that people may not know about you and pass it on to other bloggers… So, am following his lead here and passing along this sort of chain-letter blog… ….

So, here goes…

I’m a NY sports fan: Again, it’s worth calling out again. Sorry to my Boston friends but I ain’t switching sides. If you moved to NY, would you become a Yankees fan? Exactly…

I’m an Eagle Scout. Yep, in high school I was the one who eschewed keg parties on weekends for merit badges and camporees. Even made “Honor Camper” at Boy Scout camps during the summer. Put simply, I never met a knot I didn’t want to tie, a hike I didn’t want to go on, or a fire I didn’t want to start…

Speaking of Fire….In 1978, at the ripe old age of six, my brother and I had the brilliant idea of playing with a lighter and a teddy bear. We lit a teddy bear on fire, then threw it under our bed. We then left the room to go catch up on some Woody Woodpecker …The next thing you know, smoke is billowing out of our bedroom, the room is engulfed in flames, and fire engines are racing down the street. Damage was minimal, but our punishment wasn’t….

I’m an EMT- well I was… I spent two years in college taking the class, then riding in the back of an ambulance for a volunteer ambulance corps. Wasn’t as glorious as it was cracked up to be, but still a good experience.

I’m a closet Allman Brothers fan. You won’t find me listening to them at home, but for a 6 year stretch during/after college, I saw them live about 10 times- even met Gregg Allman backstage (was a member of their “fan club”) Greg Allman is a big dude…

I love the Sound of Music (the movie). Ok, so I said it. Seriously, it’s a fantastic epic with everything you need in a movie. Great soundtrack, decent acting, incredible cinematography, a plot that keeps you going, right? Oh, and my wife has a thing for Captain Von Trapp…

I’m a twin. 36 years ago, my mom went into the delivery room expecting one baby, and she got two….See pic of of mon frere here…

May 7, 1972

6:30am- Doctor: “Congratulations Mrs. Goodridge, it’s a boy!”….

6:32am- Doctor, walking outside the delivery room, patting my Dad on the back….. “Congratulations Malcolm, you are a father of a bouncing baby boy!”

6:33am- Nurse, “Um, Doctor, you need to get back here in the delivery room”

6:34am- My Mom” “Um, Doctor, I don’t think I’m done yet…”

6:36am- My brother Dave arrives….

6:38am- Doctor, “Um, Malcolm, can I talk to you for a second?…..”

———————————————————————————————

So, here are seven more people I’ve tagged with instructions on next steps.

Melanie Notkin
Jim Storer
Kate Webber
Suzanne Aaronson
Eric Cohen
James Williams-Ness
Dave Atkins

• Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know that they’ve been tagged

About 6 months ago on the North Shore of Massachusetts, I was sitting on a friend’s floor, eyes glued to the TV. Tom Brady had just connected with Randy Moss for the go ahead touchdown in Super Bowl 42. My friends ERUPTED with high fives and hugs.

But not me. You see, I’m a New York fan.

Not the obnoxious , tank top wearing, beer swilling yahoo, but the passionate, knowledgeable and dedicated fan who humbly, and somewhat quietly, follows his teams (Giants, Yankees and Rangers thank you very much)

So, 2:38 was still left on the clock, could Peyton’s little brother actually pull it off?

So, I sat their nervously on the floor- about 3 feet from the tv. Hands clenched together. Praying. Hoping.

Manning to Toomer, 11 yards- first down.
Jacobs up the middle on fourth down.
Manning to Tyree on 3rd and 5- first down.
Manning to Steve Smith dancing along the right sideline-first down
Then finally, Manning to Burress- TOOOOUUUCCCHDDDOOOOWWWWNNN!!

No eruptions, no high fives, no hugs. The place was dead quiet. Just me sitting on the floor, balling my fists together and squeaking out a barely audible “yesssssss”.

I’m just not the type of guy to jump up and down and rub it in to my dejected friends – and besides, if you’re a real Giants fan, they always manage to screw it up somehow. But still, I really wanted to celebrate with someone…

So, we know all know what then happened. ..the Giants won…game over. ..party’s over… everyone go home. That place emptied out in 3 minutes..

So I went home. By myself.

Does anyone have any idea what it’s like to be living in New England, in the dead of winter, on a Sunday night, with no one to celebrate a world championship and one of the biggest upsets in NFL (and professional sports) history??? It’s like…

-Winning the lottery. And being told your spouse has already spent the money.
-Getting a hole in one. By yourself, when you’re just trying to squeeze in a round before the kids wake up.
-Finally getting to perform in Carnegie Hall. With no audience.

So, on the 6 month anniversary of the Giants memorable win. I’d like to finally celebrate with all of my Giants brethren out there. Here is a virtual scream, hug, and high-five to all of you…

(and to all my Boston friends-we didn’t just get lucky, we beat you…sorry)