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I enjoy learning about how companies got their names. Sometimes they have a name and have to chase down the matching domain name. Other times they can hand register it.
In his new book That Will Never Work, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph explains the process his company took to choose Netflix.
The process might sound familiar. The company divided a whiteboard into two sides. On one side, it listed terms related to the internet. The other side had words related to movies. The company then combined the terms to find candidate domain names.
Randolph explains the importance of using domains that are easy to remember. Words should have only one or two syllables, he says. Too many syllables, too many letters, and people might misspell the domain name.
One interesting tidbit: Randolph like the name Rent.com but it would have cost $40,000, so he passed. (Remember, this was 1997.) Although the domain is worth a lot more now, Netflix kind of dodged a bullet. Rent.com wouldn't make much sense for what Netflix has become.
Read more about the naming of Netflix on Domain Name Wire.
Now, let's take a look at September in review.
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Here are the top stories on DNW last month, as ranked by pageviews:
1. Man who paid $360k for 81.com says it's stolen - Sami Debizet says he bought the domain in 2013 and that it has been stolen. 2. Oops: New .Ca commercial has a trademark problem - CIRA launched a clever new ad campaign for .Ca domains, but eagle-eyed attorney John Berryhill noticed that it includes a trademark in one of the domain names. 3. Mailchimp increases price 15%-20% for longtime customers - Just months after grandfathering existing customers into an earlier pricing model, the popular email marketing platform is raising prices on these customers. 4. This could be a bad phishing campaign for stealing domains - This clever single sign-on phishing approach could be used to steal domains. 5. Auto parts company's domain stolen and held for ransom - A thief demanded 10 bitcoin for the return of the domain name, but the auto parts company got a court to return the domain quickly. Domain theft victims and domain attorneys should note the company's legal tactic, as it could be useful for the expedited return of domain names.
Podcasts
Miss any of the podcasts? Here's a lowdown on last month's episodes.
#251: Mark Levine Returns (listen)
#252: Buying Woven.com with Tim Campos (listen) #253: Matt Overman on new TLDs (listen) #254: The domain end user episode (listen) #255: ID4ME and domains (listen) Get the Latest Don't wait for this newsletter to get the latest domain name, online advertising and marketing services news. Check in to DNW daily, and join the 35k people who follow DNW on Twitter. Thanks for reading, Andrew | 
