[TYPO3-marketing] TYPO3 Brand Name

[Nicolas Schudel]

Hello Marketing list,

Allow me to briefly introduce myself. My name is Nicolas and I am a  
TYPO3 user from Switzerland. I recently completed my studies in  
Australia where I researched "Designing Brand Identity in Free/Open  
Source Software Projects". While researching, I also took a closer  
look at the TYPO3 rebranding and interviewed Rasmus Skjoldan on the  
topic. During the analysis of the TYPO3 brand I found a problem,  
which is the reason I am writing to this list.

I think the brand name has a serious flaw. The word 'typo' in english  
means 'spelling error'. While most of the TYPO3 community is in  
europe, this problem may seem irrelevant. In german, for instance,  
the word hints another meaning: 'typo' is short for 'typography'.  
However, the name may be a hinderance for a newcomer to the project  
from any english speaking country. SPELLING-ERROR3 may give the wrong  
first impression. I have no proof that this is the case for newcomers  
and would have to back my claim with the results of a survey. At the  
moment it is a 'gut feeling' and may explain why TYPO3 is soaring in  
Europe but not anywhere else.

I would therefore suggest that the project considers a change to the  
brand name - one that works in the english language. Now would be the  
correct time, version 5 is being recreated almost from scratch. Maybe  
the brand name should be updated with it.

Regards, Nicolas