A big thanks to everyone who recommended new names for dex – there are some real gems, and your supportive comments have helped us define a path forward.

One great result of this experience has been the opportunity to think A LOT more about naming strategies, which has led us to thinking more about the product category, rather than a more generic (albeit cool) product name.

Several product “first”s have come to define the product category itself.  Think of Q-tip or Kleenex.  Kleenex is a brand of “facial tissue”, but few call them “facial tissues”, they’re called “Kleenex”.  Similarly, for a long time Xerox was both a name and a verb (”Can you xerox that document for me?”).

I think there’s an opportunity to do the same with dex-as-a-new-name.

In today’s software landscape there are several tools that are similar to dex: there are address books (”contact management“); CRM (”customer relationship management“); Social Networking.  I have described dex as “Network Relationship Management” and “Professional Relationship Management” (each a mouthful), but having gone through this naming exercise, I’m not sure this is exactly right.

dex does have similar functionality to other CRM and contact management systems, but what makes dex unique is its ability to monitor and help you nurture professional relationships.

Steph Seguin, a friend of Mercury Grove, recommended “cultivate” as a name.  I think this embodies the concept, but I can’t imagine using it as a verb (”hey Mike, have you “cultivated” that guy we met at the conference yet?”).

I think we need to spend some more time at the whiteboard thinking of something much different than dex, getting our heads wrapped around this category, and finding a name that really embodies a very new approach to how we “manage” relationships in business.  (More ideas very encouraged).

In the meantime, we’ve decided to go ahead with the beta rollout, and advised DEX MEDIA of such.