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What’s In a (Brand) Name?

Ellen Goodwin, Artifcts
October 28, 2023

I went from a “company” everyone knew by its initials alone, “CIA,” to a made-up composite word people loved to pronounce with a French twist, “Knoema,” to one that is spelled informally without the second a, “Artifcts.”

You may wonder, perhaps with a hint of exasperation, why, oh, why do companies deliberately misspell their names?

Trends in naming come and go. For a while you saw 'x' replacing letters, like Spanx. You’ve also seen the small first letter theme, like eBay or iTunes, matching the brand name with its means of distribution, as in e-electronic or i-Internet 

You likely know many companies that have opted, like Artifcts, to exclude or replace vowels, e.g., Flickr, Lyft, Tumblr, Sweepr, and Swype. Even conferences have gotten in on the game; THRIV and HLTH come to mind.

We asked Maureen Longoria, Co-founder and CEO of LivNow Relocation, another startup from the AARP AgeTech Collaborative, about her brand’s missing vowel. “That’s kind of a funny story. We started out as Live Now Relocation. We soon realized people were calling us ‘LIVE’ like ‘a live concert’ rather than ‘LIVE’ like ‘I’m living my best life'. We dropped the ‘e’ and combined the words to become LivNow, because we want to help people live their best lives by helping them get to a senior living community.” 

There are a myriad of other reasons for unconventional spellings, too, including: 

      • Appeal and intrigue to the curious, playful, imaginative, and young/young-at-heart 
      • Securing and enforcing a trademark 
      • Reinforcing the brand, and this is where Artifcts especially shines. 

The Missing ‘A’ of Artifcts 

Choosing the name Artifcts was an intentional element of our strategy back in the winter of 2020/2021 to reinforce our brand feel and purpose, serving as the lighthouse for all we do: artifacts (aka ‘stuff’). 

We like to say we are redefining 'artifacts' one painting, monkey in a barrel, and whiskey glass at a time. Artifcts you create do not need to be valuable, historically relevant, part of a collection, or family heirlooms. An Artifct is anything that has meaning to you

Artifcts also rolls off the tongue when verb-ified, helping us to emphasize this is not just a product, it’s a way of life. We are Artifcting daily. It’s in our hearts, homes, and habits. Artifcts make our lives richer, more connected-more meaningful, and set ourselves up for less-burdened futures. 

Unique Brand Names Can Also Be Uniquely Problematic 

We went in eyes wide open to the challenges our brand name would create, although we admittedly thought we could tackle them a bit faster than has proven viable. Chief among those is the disregard of Google for startups and anything outside the norm, including brand names.

Simply stated, Google hates us.

Google insists on autocorrecting the spelling of our name. And this need not be the case! Crunchbase plays nicely; you can easily look us up there. Someday, when everyone knows and loves us already, Google will rethink its anti-startup ways.

Until then we have no choice but to bid on Google Ad Words for our own trademarked brand name or rely on people clicking, “Search instead for Artifcts.” I do this anyway, every day, all day for my searches for other companies, people, and more, so it’s second nature to me. But not all people are so vigilant. Why can’t Google learn faster?!

Google autocorrects Artifcts to Artifacts

We humans naturally, mentally autocorrect.

Without a second thought, our brains fill in the rejected 'a.' Thinking 'Artifacts' still grounds you to our core concept of ‘stuff,’ but it can also mean that you suddenly find yourself thinking, “Wait, what letter was missing?”

We know the feeling.

And we’re leaning in to celebrate our rejected ‘a’ and help anyone who maybe can’t remember. Enjoy this playful surprise from all of us at Artifcts, A-r-t-i-f-c-t-s. 

                    Artifacts becomes Artifcts with animation to pop out the extra a

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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What's New at Artifcts
Telling My Story Without the Pressure of a Memoir

Reading time: 4 minutes 

Many of us feel overwhelmed by the prospect of telling our stories never mind authoring a memoir. One. More. Thing. To do. And, "How do I even get started?”  

Companies exist that will send you daily and weekly prompts to help; some will even call you. You answer a question at a time until you get to some state of "done." This is a solid, time-tested strategy for any of life’s larger tasks, breaking it down into something smaller.  

Those question-by-question approaches are not for everyone. You may feel pestered as well as stressed if you “get behind.” And not all of us are great with open-ended questions that lack true personalization.  

Another option is to work with a professional writer. No, not someone you meet for 30 or 60 minutes and with their notes they write or record your life story. Really? That’s a neat trick. If only life were so simple.  

We’re talking about the professionals like with LifeBook Memoirs, whose work is a true art, a physical family heirloom, and a gift. The level of care, privacy, and personalization to your needs, coupled with the product they print makes anyone a believer in the power of a memoir. 

But what if you want are not yet ready to plunge into the time and cost of a memoir and still want to privately make progress on your own? That's what we're talking about here today.

The Artifcts Approach to Writing Your Story, Your Memoir 

I’ve been telling my story through travel mementos, collections, books, photos and more, slowly but surely through my Artifcts. No outline. No grand scheme. As I come across or receive something that inspires me, I Artifct it.  

I'll use one of my most recent Artifcts as a simple example. I took my 13-year-old daughter to see the Broadway show Six. She loves choir and drama, and yet she couldn’t have been less excited in the days leading up to the show. I stayed quiet (which if you know me is quite a feat) and waited. The lights dimmed, the six wives and the all-female band took the stage. And ... magic! 

My daughter was enthralled, smiling, and shooting looks at me that said, “Wow!” After the show she told me it was even better than Hamilton. Never could I ever have imagined anything would outshine Hamilton in her eyes.  

When we got home, I Artifcted the physical playbill, the digital one with the six wives’ signatures, and a pic of my daughter at the theatre. Why? I’m not going to keep that playbill, but I am going to keep the memory of that day for always, for her, for me. 

Artifct of Broadway musical Six from Egoody

 
 
Fun fact: When I later searched Artifcts to pull up my Artifct, I found a second Artifct for Six. I had forgotten that my co-founder took her daughter to Six, too. Don’t you love uncovering surprise connections? 

The Best of Social Media, Meets the Best of Artifcts 

I always tell people that when we built Artifcts, all the social media giants were on Capitol Hill defending themselves and their policies. We had the opportunity to build something better. So, I’ve been privately Artifcting the big little moments in my life through the objects I collect without the pressure of view counts and follows. 

Then one day about two years into Artifcts, a genealogist challenged me to show how Artifcts could easily help someone to tell their life story. Apparently this is the holy grail of the genealogy world. I eagerly accepted that challenge and gave myself 10 minutes to complete it. 

How? Like Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I began at the beginning, using the Artifcts I had already created to tell my story in full color (and with audio, video, and supporting documentation, too).  

      1. Created a new Artifct 
      2. Titled it. I was literal, “My Life Story.” 
      3. Picked a category. I used “Life Moments: Other Life Moments.” 
      4. Filled in the story. Within the 10 minutes, I wrote an 1,100-word story that included approximately 40 Artifcts via @ mentions and wove in each of my family members, key friends and other loved ones with @ mentions, too, giving them instant ‘View’ access to my story.
      5. Added documentation. Totally optional, but in this case I chose to privately attach my birth and marriage certificates. 
      6. Tagged it. #LifeStory and #Genealogy made sense to me for single-click sorting to see other Artifcts with the same tags in the future. 

 

 
 
 
This 2.5 minute video shows you the @ feature in action.

Imagine the surprise of the genealogist who challenged me when I privately shared the Artifct with her and it was not just a story, but a multi-media surprise of layered stories about myself, my loved ones, the places of been, and the experiences I have accumulated, aka life!

The text of an Artifct blurred out for privacy but showing the title and names of linked Artifcts within the text

 
 
The green text represents the linked Artifcts that are sprinkled throughout my "life story" Artifct.
 
 
Don’t have 40 Artifcts? You could tell your story in 5 Artifcts, 30, or 100s. Artifcts you don’t weave into your story will always be one click away in your Artifcts collection for the full-er story! 

How Will You Write and Share Your Life Story? 

Artifcts is a gift. The reality is that if I were no longer here tomorrow, my family would know me and remember me with support from my Artifcts. No life story required.  

The life story Artifct I created is simple to create and a powerful, one-stop opportunity to hear the story from my perspective. And, best yet I can go in and edit and add to it any time I want. My story is not done. My perspective may yet shift, even on the way I see the past changes. And, who knows, one day my Artifcts may be the perfect fodder for LifeBook Memoirs to help me write my memoir. 

No matter how you choose to tell your stories, we beg you:

      • Create a digital backup. And make sure your loved ones know your story exists and how to get to it and ALL the supporting materials (photos, documents etc.) that went into it.
      • Do not let perfection or some idea that your stories don’t matter stand in your way. There’s no one “youer” than you!

We promise you it’s the big little details in life that everyone loves you for and wants to remember you for, too.

______________

You may also enjoy these ARTIcles by Artifcts:

Not Sure What to Write? Tips From Author Jeff Greenwald

The Value of Cherished Objects in Our Life Stories

Timelines Have Arrived at Artifcts!

A Family History in Five Artifcts

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Join Us for the 12 Days of Artifcts, 2023 Edition

Join us for some holiday fun!

Starting Friday, we'll publish a daily theme to Artifct as part of our 12 Days of Artifcts. No turtle doves or partridge in a pear tree, but each of the 12 Days of Artifcts offers you the opportunity to take a breath amidst your holiday merriment and chaos. We'll provide the themes, you provide the Artifcts.

No matter your faith or tradition, all are welcome!

New to Artifcts or only have a free account? That's okay! Once you sign up free, you can create your first 5 Artifcts free and see what you think before buying a membership.

And you'll have no excuse for not being ready as we're giving you a head start by sharing with you today the daily themes. Let's have some fun. And remember, if you make any of your 12 Days of Artifcts public, tag them #12DaysofArtifcts for others to easily discover and enjoy. We look forward to Friday, December 1, for the first of the 12 Days of Artifcts!

Psst ... They'll be ANOTHER surprise on December 1, too. Make sure you pop over to Artifcts.com to learn more.

Christmas tree made up of numbers, each with a topic to Artifct

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The Fall Series of Evenings with Artifcts was a Smash Hit

The fall series of Evenings with Artifcts brought in people who were brand new to Artifcts and earned outstanding reviews from new and existing Arti Community members. In fact, 97% of survey respondents rated the series "very" or "extremely" valuable and informative. We’re feeling the love.

What does this mean for you? Well, to start with, we’re definitely bringing back Evenings with Artifcts this spring! And, we can start planning it with confidence and hopefully with your help, too. We’re on a mission to spur and support conversations about the ‘stuff’ in our lives and we’d love your input!

What Should We Talk About Next?

Here are but a few of the ideas that we received, verbatim, from survey respondents.  

      • Artificial Intelligence 
      • Export & integration tips with digital vaults (Just you wait. You’ll like what’s coming.) 
      • Bring Gena [Philbert-Ortega] back 
      • Repeat all your topics with new presenters 
      • Real Arti Community members and how they are using Artifcts (Sounds great! Write us at Editor@Artifcts.com to volunteer.)
      • What to do with old photos (Start here, and we'll continue to expand!) 
      • The psychology of letting go of our own material possessions and helping others to do the same (We have an ARTIcles story on this topic scheduled for January! You may also want to read our ARTIcles related to health and aging.) 
      • What other family genealogy folks find working for them (Will do! We've had so many great conversations with genealogists and genealogy-related ARTIcles with our learnings so far.)

Sharing this wish list with you is both about transparency and about sharing the fun with all of you in the Arti Community! 

What do you think of these ideas? What would YOU like to learn and experience in the spring series? Write to us at Editor@Artifcts.com and we’ll be sure to review all your suggestions!

Until then, if you're looking for the Evenings with Artifcts playbacks or related resources from any of our series, they’re all here for you. 

XOXO Artifcts

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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