Thanks for the heads up. I'm worried about that too. Although I've been a long-time lurker this is actually one of my first posts. All my info is in my profile so hopefully that gives people some context.
One thing you could do is lock down the brands you've chosen (all social media services, Gmail acct, domain + privacy with a deep discount promo code, etc) and put up temp pages (i.e., Launchrock). Then soft promote them (PPC, build links, Facebook, etc) and see which one resonates better with your target market. Don't spend too much money/time on this though unless it's for a project where you can recoup your costs/investment. Keep in mind though that people typically associate more with what's actually behind the brand - quality/consistent blogging, engaging conversation on Twitter, insightful presentations, video, events, etc. - and that's where you'll find the traction/following that will eventually build your chosen brand.
Make sure there are no live trademarks associated with the name. Also, go for a natural sounding made up name and avoid combining common dictionary words, it's more defensible that way. Use the wordoid tool for this purpose.
Any developers here interested in applying? I've been thinking about it but I'm primarily on the business side. If anybody would like to discuss possibilities please check my profile for further background and contact info.
I'd love to use this for finding co-founders or team building, so some form of grouping feature would be helpful to organize certain overlaps together. After signing up and adding a number of overlaps I immediately thought that this is how Hunch, Quora, and/or LinkedIn should feel in terms of experience. So far I really like this. Looking forward to seeing it grow.
It's a great idea and I've experimented with UI's for grouping in the past (grouping/lists were a victim of the simplify-before-launch phase).
All tweets, blog posts, postcards, phone calls to friends, shouts from rooftops etc. would be greatly appreciated in helping Overlap grow ;-). My marketing budget is less than what I spend on coffee, and I'm currently in Colombia.
