I’ve done an atrocious job of following up on my post revealing that Pegasus News is soon set for its relaunch. I failed to check in to see if they posted a response, which they did last week.
So if you’re a devoted reader of Pegasus News, then the headline on this post isn’t news at all. The new name will be Wired Local.
Look, I was in on some of the early discussions when another hyperlocal site in town was planning a name change. There were a lot of bad ideas floating around the room. I mean really, really, really bad. And you can see for yourself what they settled on (after I’d left the company.) But, lord knows, I didn’t have any brilliant ideas of my own at the time. Coming up with the right name is tough. Particularly when you have expansion to other markets in mind.
And that’s where the trouble comes. When the Dallas Morning News stopped printing its weekly localized sections, like the one for Richardson, and folded that news into its Metro section with “focus pages,” readers were upset. Sure, DMN may have been providing just as many news items about Richardson as it ever had, only sprinkled throughout the week rather than collected together. But there was nothing that said “Richardson Morning News” at the top of the front page. (That’s why the Richardson Neighbors section was such a hit when it launched.)
My point is that in the hyperlocal business the name means a lot. If I’m interested in hyperlocal news it’s because I want to read about myself and my friends and my neighbors. If the name of the publication reflects that, with a true local connection that resonates, you’ve got my attention. (Of course, you still have to deliver the goods.)
If the name sounds generic, and pre-packaged, obviously designed to be portable into other markets, then I know its publishers already have their eyes on the next market. They don’t love me the way I thought they did. I’m not special.
Mike Orren says picking the name “Pegasus News” was a mistake. I don’t know that that name has gained much traction in the market — or whether it ever meant much to anyone in these parts anyway. But at least it was an attempt at connecting with the hearts of readers. (And I’m writing this from the local reader’s perspective, not with advertiser considerations in mind, which are of course a major factor, if not the major factor).
One last question: since we’re moving to a “wireless” world in so many ways, is “Wired Local” already a brand name with an approaching expiration date?
11 comments
The “wired” and “wireless” thought came right to mind with me, too. However, moving to wireless in “so many ways” does not mean that is the way they will get their eyes for many moons to come. And, by that time, the name should be, hopefully, fixed in peoples’ minds.
As to your comment about the new name. Each local will be prefaced by the city — dfw.wiredlocal.com — so I don’t think your comment holds. Besides, who cares if it is rolled out elsewhere. It’s not my personal website clsoe to my heart, in spite of what you may say. The Advocate Mag here does quite well calling everything BackTalk and using the neighborhood as part of the domain name.
And finally, you may criticize other sites only when you get the damn ‘beta’ label off the D logo on all your sites. How long do you intend to be in beta — 14 years??!!
Re: is “Wired Local” already a brand name with an approaching expiration date?
No, it’s the already the brand name of a computer/technology magazine and online site, minus the “local.”
But this isn’t the Wired technology people doing this, right? If it is the Wired folks, good name. If not, new name = fail.
I try to find the bright spots in rebranding. Didn’t work this time.
Perhaps more importantly, doesn’t “Wired Local” sound like some regional franchise of Wired magazine? A back-of-the-pages index for finding these techno-gizmos in your backwoods area? Of course, maybe the former-Pegasii WANT that Wired association, any association that could rub off on their site.
Makes you wonder what the Wired magazine folks think.
Billusa99: From my own experiences hearing from readers in Oak Cliff and Preston Hollow, I don’t think that the Advocate’s use of generic names “does quite well” outside their East Dallas home base.
VMS and St. Benedictine: Great points about “Wired.” Honestly it didn’t pop into my mind, but you’re right that it should have.
Billusa99: Plugging “DFW” in front of “Wired Local” does not a strong, personal connection in my mind make. I live in Dallas, more precisely Oak Lawn. I don’t live in “DFW.” It’s better than not putting anything in front of Wired Local, but I’m willing to bet that when the new site launches the name you’ll see real big, the brand name they’re trying to establish, is the “Wired Local” part, with “DFW” someplace small nearby.
I’ll bet it pops into the minds of the lawyers for Conde Nast.
Am I hearing the sound of legal eagles at Wired sharpening their talons?? After following Pegasus for so long, this just seems like a Dumb Move™.
Billusa99: I’ve been wondering about seeing that “beta” tag this long, too.
Gots me to thinking. Perhaps it’s a way of letting us know that all of life … is just a beta test.
More likely, it means that D doesn’t really trust the people that designed and built this thing. They know too much.
I liked Pegasus News, but understand why it needs to be changed. Wired Local? Might want to check the wiring before firing it up.
Pegasus sounds more like Belo these days.
Mr. Sigh what do you expect? Pegasus is under the thumb of an ex Belo guy and every body they have hired lately is from Belo.
I know they had to make sacrifices to stay alive, but I liked it better when Mike Orin was in control. It is a shame they could not find the money that would let them run it their way. Then they could have hit it big or gone out in a blaze of glory but would not die a long slow death of mediocrity.