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Ask HN: Name my iPhone App (helps dating), receive equity
4 points by alain94040 on June 29, 2009 | hide | past | favorite | 25 comments
I'd love to use the wisdom of the crowd to name this iPhone app, which provides contextual pick-up lines. So imagine you are in this bar and see this cute lady. You get up and say what to her? Pull your iPhone, select the context (maybe you know her first name, or the drink she is having, or whatever), and the app returns a bunch of relevant lines. Get up and speak is all you have to do.

Please use the voting system of HN to vote on the names you like. For now we came up with "Cocktail Helper", or more simply "Pickup Lines". The winner will receive a cut of the app's proceeds via FairSoftware's revenue sharing (http://fairsoftware.net/public/project/634)



iWingman


You should probably just stick with 'Pickup Lines.' I expect the majority of you app downloads will be found via search, I'd think you'd do better to be logical and obvious.


the app store searches more than the title [searches description also]


It does, but the one with the matching title shows up first.


Some random ideas off the top of my head:

Pulling Power (personally I think that has potential, tagline: power up your pulling prowess :D)

Seduction (maybe a bit to risque sounding)

Pickup Bible (too religious? but would track well on searches for "pickup lines")

Mr. Magnetic (as in magnetic for the ladies :D, maybe not)

Entrapment (this one might have legs too)

Captivate Her (maybe drop the her?)

Datemaker (probably not suitable for this kind of app)

The Opener (in PUA circles the opener is a line/routine that opens a conversation)

useful?


EngageHer


sounds like a great name for a follow-up app!


You're unnecessarily limiting your marketshare. (Or are you? Do women use pickup lines (on guys)?) ;-)


You're trivializing equity sharing.


why? Im sure people would have made as good suggestions if the offer hadn't been made. Offering a (one assumes small) cut for creative input that could well heavily influence sales seems a nice gesture :)


I would have prefered a "copy" of the app, even though I don't own an iphone. Offering me equity for something trivial that I would have done for fun, for free, well .. just makes me feel both horrible. I don't want anybody to go through paperwork or calll up the lawyer or print me a stock certificate for $1 just because I suggested a name for the app.


You can always offer your help for free and decline the "compensation". So it's not a problem.

And by the way, I'm talking virtual equity, so there won't be any lawyer fees, even for a minuscule amount of virtual shares.


well... trivial? It could be the difference between 10 sales and 10,000

At the end of the day if you dont want the hastle just say "thanks but I'd prefer a copy of the app please" ... I suspect you'll find them amenable ;)


Witipedia


"Come Here Often?"


Perfect Pickup


Instant Wit


iChatHerUp

YHelloThere

IceBreaker

QuickRomance


profquail: you are the winner, please contact me if you want a thank you gift (equity, free version...). I can't find your contact info from your profile (use my profile to contact me) - thanks!


I thought of IceBreaker as well, before scrolled down the comments. Not that I'm trying to steal your stake. Point to you.

It's catchy. I think it also catches a bit of the flavor of the implied bar scene: Ice in the drinks. And breaking through the ice of resistance/rejection.

Probably all sorts of graphic design possibilities, too, in the hands of a good designer.

Maybe you could call those last ditch, pull out all stops lines "SOS" -- Save Our Ship.

Not that I'm much of a bar person. I'd need the version with the built in taser. Place the phone in my hip pocket, and it jolts me forward until I actually am face to face with the party of interest.


IceBreaker is pretty good, so we have two potential winners: IceBreaker and Pickup Lines. One is boring but clearly says what you get, the other one is more trendy, but more people may miss the app because they can't tell right away what it does...


Yes, IceBreaker is a very good one, one problem is that an app with this name could also be easily taken for a game (a FrozenBubble like).


True, but I think that a good icon would help solve this problem. Perhaps a man's and woman's heads, facing each other, with a dialog bubble towards the man's mouth, and the woman smiling. An icon like that (instead of a cracked piece of ice or something) along with the name should put the premise of the app in context for 99% of Americans.

Also, it may be mistaken for a game on occasion, but are people really that eager to spend money on Apps that they'd just hit the buy button based on the name alone (before even reading the description or looking at the screenshots)?


For me, at least, I think "pickup" (and "pickup line") has something of a negative connotation. An "ice breaker" seems more neutral. It's about getting things started, not "sealing the deal".

I also think "pickup lines" tend to be ascribed more to men. Maybe "ice breaker" would also be a bit more gender neutral (if you are interested in marketshare in both genders).

P.S.: I'm both a bit older and a bit of a wallflower, so my perceptions may be off.


Lip Balm.




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