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A start-up called Xobni has come up with an intriguing proposition: applying the principles of web site analytics to email use. For firms, this dangles the tantalising prospect of being able to work out that your staff spend X percent of their working hours conversing with chums over the ether, where X will no doubt asymptotically approach 100 percent as the weekend approaches.
The service is one thing, the name is another. As the firm's web site explains in big letters, Xobni is “inbox backwards”. Why this should be a good thing is not elucidated, not even in small letters. To Sneak, Xobni sounds like an affliction of the middle leg-joint.
However, Sneak is certain that Xobni will kick off a craze for naming start-ups after ordinary words spelled backwards. The approach is particularly useful, as much of the right-way-round dictionary has already been registered by domain name speculators, and helpfully it takes less effort than thinking up neologisms like “Mailytics” or “Analyzamail”. It's also less incomprehensible than upside-down writing.
Once you've come up with your ideal backwards name, defensive registration may still be a good idea, however. For example, at the time of writing Xobtuo.com is still available to Xobni naysayers. As is Skcollob.com, for that matter.
04 Sep 2006
