# the name "beeminder"

**URL:** <https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337>\
**Category:** uncategorized\
**Created:** [September 14, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337 "2011-09-14T00:05:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daniel\_Reeves](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/daniel_reeves/32/707_2.png) [@Daniel\_Reeves](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Daniel_Reeves)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/1 "2011-09-14T00:05:01Z")

</div>

I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
"beeminder" so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
name:

1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).

Anything I missed?

The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )

–  
[http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://"Daniel Reeves"  
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![laurie\_reeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@laurie\_reeves](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/laurie_reeves)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/2 "2011-09-14T12:10:50Z")

</div>

All really good points but I’ve not been overly enthusiastic about the name  
either, as I may have mentioned before. Mainly, I think it’s not one that  
rolls off the tongue (or brain) when one is trying to remember it, as in,  
“What was the name of that site that so n so told me about?”

Sorry, just saying what I really think, which is what you would want, I  
assume.

Going with point number 1, maybe call it “Meminder.” I like that. Stay  
with the bees as logos, graphics. That’s cute. And you can call the  
fitness tips, “meminder-reminders.”

lauriemom

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 7:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dreeves@umich.edu](mailto:dreeves@umich.edu) wrote:

> I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> name:
> 
> 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> 
> Anything I missed?
> 
> The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> 
> –  
> [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johnicholas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@Johnicholas](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Johnicholas)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/3 "2011-09-14T12:38:06Z")

</div>

I’ve described it to friends as “a reminder with a sting”.

Johnicholas

On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 8:10 AM, laurie reeves [lauriekreeves@gmail.com](mailto:lauriekreeves@gmail.com) wrote:

> All really good points but I’ve not been overly enthusiastic about the name  
> either, as I may have mentioned before. Mainly, I think it’s not one that  
> rolls off the tongue (or brain) when one is trying to remember it, as in,  
> “What was the name of that site that so n so told me about?”  
> Sorry, just saying what I really think, which is what you would want, I  
> assume.  
> Going with point number 1, maybe call it “Meminder.” I like that. Stay  
> with the bees as logos, graphics. That’s cute. And you can call the  
> fitness tips, “meminder-reminders.”  
> lauriemom
> 
> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 7:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dreeves@umich.edu](mailto:dreeves@umich.edu) wrote:
> 
> > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > name:
> > 
> > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> > 
> > Anything I missed?
> > 
> > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> > 
> > –  
> > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Willem\_Kerstholt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Willem\_Kerstholt](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Willem_Kerstholt)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/4 "2011-09-14T13:22:59Z")

</div>

Going forward on that:

Me minder

Me re minder  
Mind me  
Mind you (where you can send monthly updates to a third party)  
Mind us (shared goals between multiple users)  
Mini mind (one off goals with set future moment)

Messy mind (failure)  
Op 14 sep. 2011 09:10 schreef “laurie reeves” [lauriekreeves@gmail.com](mailto:lauriekreeves@gmail.com) het  
volgende:

> All really good points but I’ve not been overly enthusiastic about the  
> name  
> either, as I may have mentioned before. Mainly, I think it’s not one that  
> rolls off the tongue (or brain) when one is trying to remember it, as in,  
> “What was the name of that site that so n so told me about?”
> 
> Sorry, just saying what I really think, which is what you would want, I  
> assume.
> 
> Going with point number 1, maybe call it “Meminder.” I like that. Stay  
> with the bees as logos, graphics. That’s cute. And you can call the  
> fitness tips, “meminder-reminders.”
> 
> lauriemom
> 
> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 7:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dreeves@umich.edu](mailto:dreeves@umich.edu) wrote:
> 
> > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > name:
> > 
> > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> > 
> > Anything I missed?
> > 
> > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> > 
> > –  
> > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![screen\_playa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@screen\_playa](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/screen_playa)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/5 "2011-09-14T14:19:33Z")

</div>

hi, i like the name but “yellow brick road” is an inconsistent concept from  
the old name, ie, while cute, “yellow brick road” could become something  
like “honey trail”. you might want to keep all the elements consistent  
within the same concept/theme as they’ve been borrowed from an old concept.  
also, this concept is sort of 'toonish/kiddish and you might want to  
consider this for the graphics. i think it’s cute…but i think you need  
to build consistency around the concept of “beeminder”.

Best.

/Elaine

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dreeves@umich.edu](mailto:dreeves@umich.edu) wrote:

> I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> name:
> 
> 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> 
> Anything I missed?
> 
> The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> 
> –  
> [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![A\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@A\_J](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/A_J)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/6 "2011-09-14T15:54:39Z")

</div>

I like the name beeminder. Something about that is really catchy.

On Sep 14, 10:19 am, screen playa [scrnpl...@gmail.com](mailto:scrnpl...@gmail.com) wrote:

> hi, i like the name but “yellow brick road” is an inconsistent concept from  
> the old name, ie, while cute, “yellow brick road” could become something  
> like “honey trail”. you might want to keep all the elements consistent  
> within the same concept/theme as they’ve been borrowed from an old concept.  
> also, this concept is sort of 'toonish/kiddish and you might want to  
> consider this for the graphics. i think it’s cute…but i think you need  
> to build consistency around the concept of “beeminder”.
> 
> Best.
> 
> /Elaine
> 
> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dree...@umich.edu](mailto:dree...@umich.edu) wrote:
> 
> > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > name:
> 
> > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> 
> > Anything I missed?
> 
> > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> 
> > –  
> > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > Follow the Yellow Brick Road –[http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![David\_Reiley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@David\_Reiley](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/David_Reiley)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/7 "2011-09-14T16:25:23Z")

</div>

I like beeminder, but I think me-minder is much more evocative. Beeminder involves two puns on top of each other, which makes it more of an inside joke than something new customers will get and remember. Meminder would be completely obvious, and still cute.

You could still use the term “beeminder” in various places, without making it the name of the site or the service.

David

On Sep 14, 2011, at 8:54 AM, A.J. wrote:

> I like the name beeminder. Something about that is really catchy.
> 
> On Sep 14, 10:19 am, screen playa [scrnpl...@gmail.com](mailto:scrnpl...@gmail.com) wrote:
> 
> > hi, i like the name but “yellow brick road” is an inconsistent concept from  
> > the old name, ie, while cute, “yellow brick road” could become something  
> > like “honey trail”. you might want to keep all the elements consistent  
> > within the same concept/theme as they’ve been borrowed from an old concept.  
> > also, this concept is sort of 'toonish/kiddish and you might want to  
> > consider this for the graphics. i think it’s cute…but i think you need  
> > to build consistency around the concept of “beeminder”.
> > 
> > Best.
> > 
> > /Elaine
> > 
> > On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dree...@umich.edu](mailto:dree...@umich.edu) wrote:
> > 
> > > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > > name:
> > 
> > > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> > > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> > 
> > > Anything I missed?
> > 
> > > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> > 
> > > –  
> > > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > > Follow the Yellow Brick Road –[http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

–  
My home page: [http://www.davidreiley.com](http://www.davidreiley.com)

“Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” – Abraham Lincoln

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daniel\_Reeves](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/daniel_reeves/32/707_2.png) [@Daniel\_Reeves](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Daniel_Reeves)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/8 "2011-09-14T20:48:29Z")

</div>

We’ve got too many higher priorities to think _too_ hard about the  
name right now but I’m not sure I’m sold on meminder even in theory.  
It really wants a hyphen, otherwise it’s either unclear how to  
pronounce or it evokes meme-minder.  
And hyphens are pretty sucky for domain names. So there’s that.

As for Elaine’s thoughts on “yellow brick road”… “honey trail” might  
be too cute even for me. 🙂  
And the yellow brick road is at least bee-colored. I do agree with  
consistency of theme though.

For those who like geeking out about names, this is my very rough  
draft of a little essay on “nominology”:  
[http://yootles.com/expost/nominology](http://yootles.com/expost/nominology)

Really appreciate these thoughts on the name, even if we don’t act on  
them for a while!

Oh, taglines on the other hand, we can act on sooner, if people have  
ideas about those. Here’s our current brainstorming list:

Beeminder: Follow the Yellow Brick Road  
Beeminder: Follow your Yellow Brick Road  
Beeminder: Don’t flake out on yourself  
Beeminder: Ending flakiness one graph at a time  
Beeminder: Precommitment made more annoying [i’m a fan of the self-deprecating ones]  
Beeminder: Commitment made more annoying [‘precommitment’  
seems redundant/confusing]  
Beeminder: In-your-face goal tracking  
Beeminder: What are you beeminding?  
Beeminder: What are _you_ beeminding?  
Beeminder: Data-driven goal tracking  
Beeminder: Automated accountability  
Beeminder: Computerized coaching  
Beeminder: Computerized coaching-cum-kibitzing  
Beeminder: Create your own coach  
Beeminder: Guidance for your goals  
Beeminder: Daily guidance for your goals  
Beeminder: A daily guide to your goal {}  
Beeminder: The scientific way to achieve your goals  
Beeminder: Hyperrational goal tracking  
Beeminder: Bring long-term consequences near  
Beeminder: Making you care about long-term consequences now  
Beeminder: Turn long-term commitments into daily commitments  
Beeminder: Make it matter now  
Beeminder: What do you weigh today, bitch?  
Beeminder: Lose weight _and_ your money back!  
Beeminder: Lose the weight or lose your money  
Beeminder: A lose-lose situation  
Beeminder: Better every day  
Beeminder: Create-a-Coach  
Beeminder: The path to your goal  
Beeminder: A daily incentive to get to your goal  
Beeminder: Be on your road tomorrow  
Beeminder: A kick in the pants  
Beeminder: Light a fire under your ass  
Beeminder: A well-guided journey to your goal  
Beeminder: Best check yo-self before you wriggety-wreck yo-self  
Beeminder: See the big picture, get to your goal  
Beeminder: Reaching goals  
Beeminder: Driving off the road is hazardous to your health  
Beeminder: Track it, back it  
Beeminder: Show your short-term self who’s boss  
Beeminder: Make your short-term self your long-term self’s bitch  
Beeminder: Be mindful of your goals  
Beeminder: The me-binder  
Beeminder: Mind your goals  
Beeminder: Daily accountability toward your goals  
Beeminder: The reminding robot  
Beeminder: Robotic reminders for goal tracking  
Beeminder: Gradual results, instant gratification  
Beeminder: Robotic kibitzing for goal tracking  
Beeminder: Make the important urgent [thanks to andreas stuhlmueller]  
Beeminder: Beat akrasia a day at a time  
Beeminder: Better goal tracking  
Beeminder: The akrasia antidote  
Beeminder: If you can quantify it, you can beemind it

On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 11:25, David Reiley [david@davidreiley.com](mailto:david@davidreiley.com) wrote:

> I like beeminder, but I think me-minder is much more evocative. Beeminder involves two puns on top of each other, which makes it more of an inside joke than something new customers will get and remember. Meminder would be completely obvious, and still cute.
> 
> You could still use the term “beeminder” in various places, without making it the name of the site or the service.
> 
> David
> 
> On Sep 14, 2011, at 8:54 AM, A.J. wrote:
> 
> > I like the name beeminder. Something about that is really catchy.
> > 
> > On Sep 14, 10:19 am, screen playa [scrnpl...@gmail.com](mailto:scrnpl...@gmail.com) wrote:
> > 
> > > hi, i like the name but “yellow brick road” is an inconsistent concept from  
> > > the old name, ie, while cute, “yellow brick road” could become something  
> > > like “honey trail”. you might want to keep all the elements consistent  
> > > within the same concept/theme as they’ve been borrowed from an old concept.  
> > > also, this concept is sort of 'toonish/kiddish and you might want to  
> > > consider this for the graphics. i think it’s cute…but i think you need  
> > > to build consistency around the concept of “beeminder”.
> > > 
> > > Best.
> > > 
> > > /Elaine
> > > 
> > > On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dree...@umich.edu](mailto:dree...@umich.edu) wrote:
> > > 
> > > > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > > > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > > > name:
> > > 
> > > > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > > > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > > > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> > > > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > > > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> > > 
> > > > Anything I missed?
> > > 
> > > > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> > > 
> > > > –  
> > > > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > > > Follow the Yellow Brick Road –[http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)
> 
> –  
> My home page: [http://www.davidreiley.com](http://www.davidreiley.com)
> 
> “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” – Abraham Lincoln

–  
[http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![David\_Reiley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@David\_Reiley](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/David_Reiley)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/9 "2011-09-14T21:55:25Z")

</div>

I love this one:

Lose weight _and_ your money back!

although this one is probably better as the main tagline on the site:

Beeminder: The me-binder

To decide on the right one(s), I think you have to decide whether you’re all about self-binding, or whether you’re aiming at what might be an even larger market: the market for making personal data collection easy. If the latter, then I like this one:

Beeminder: Be mindful of your goals

David

On Sep 14, 2011, at 1:48 PM, Daniel Reeves wrote:

> We’ve got too many higher priorities to think _too_ hard about the  
> name right now but I’m not sure I’m sold on meminder even in theory.  
> It really wants a hyphen, otherwise it’s either unclear how to  
> pronounce or it evokes meme-minder.  
> And hyphens are pretty sucky for domain names. So there’s that.
> 
> As for Elaine’s thoughts on “yellow brick road”… “honey trail” might  
> be too cute even for me. 🙂  
> And the yellow brick road is at least bee-colored. I do agree with  
> consistency of theme though.
> 
> For those who like geeking out about names, this is my very rough  
> draft of a little essay on “nominology”:  
> [http://yootles.com/expost/nominology](http://yootles.com/expost/nominology)
> 
> Really appreciate these thoughts on the name, even if we don’t act on  
> them for a while!
> 
> Oh, taglines on the other hand, we can act on sooner, if people have  
> ideas about those. Here’s our current brainstorming list:
> 
> Beeminder: Follow the Yellow Brick Road  
> Beeminder: Follow your Yellow Brick Road  
> Beeminder: Don’t flake out on yourself  
> Beeminder: Ending flakiness one graph at a time  
> Beeminder: Precommitment made more annoying [i’m a fan of the self-deprecating ones]  
> Beeminder: Commitment made more annoying [‘precommitment’  
> seems redundant/confusing]  
> Beeminder: In-your-face goal tracking  
> Beeminder: What are you beeminding?  
> Beeminder: What are _you_ beeminding?  
> Beeminder: Data-driven goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Automated accountability  
> Beeminder: Computerized coaching  
> Beeminder: Computerized coaching-cum-kibitzing  
> Beeminder: Create your own coach  
> Beeminder: Guidance for your goals  
> Beeminder: Daily guidance for your goals  
> Beeminder: A daily guide to your goal {}  
> Beeminder: The scientific way to achieve your goals  
> Beeminder: Hyperrational goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Bring long-term consequences near  
> Beeminder: Making you care about long-term consequences now  
> Beeminder: Turn long-term commitments into daily commitments  
> Beeminder: Make it matter now  
> Beeminder: What do you weigh today, bitch?  
> Beeminder: Lose weight _and_ your money back!  
> Beeminder: Lose the weight or lose your money  
> Beeminder: A lose-lose situation  
> Beeminder: Better every day  
> Beeminder: Create-a-Coach  
> Beeminder: The path to your goal  
> Beeminder: A daily incentive to get to your goal  
> Beeminder: Be on your road tomorrow  
> Beeminder: A kick in the pants  
> Beeminder: Light a fire under your ass  
> Beeminder: A well-guided journey to your goal  
> Beeminder: Best check yo-self before you wriggety-wreck yo-self  
> Beeminder: See the big picture, get to your goal  
> Beeminder: Reaching goals  
> Beeminder: Driving off the road is hazardous to your health  
> Beeminder: Track it, back it  
> Beeminder: Show your short-term self who’s boss  
> Beeminder: Make your short-term self your long-term self’s bitch  
> Beeminder: Be mindful of your goals  
> Beeminder: The me-binder  
> Beeminder: Mind your goals  
> Beeminder: Daily accountability toward your goals  
> Beeminder: The reminding robot  
> Beeminder: Robotic reminders for goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Gradual results, instant gratification  
> Beeminder: Robotic kibitzing for goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Make the important urgent [thanks to andreas stuhlmueller]  
> Beeminder: Beat akrasia a day at a time  
> Beeminder: Better goal tracking  
> Beeminder: The akrasia antidote  
> Beeminder: If you can quantify it, you can beemind it
> 
> On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 11:25, David Reiley [david@davidreiley.com](mailto:david@davidreiley.com) wrote:
> 
> > I like beeminder, but I think me-minder is much more evocative. Beeminder involves two puns on top of each other, which makes it more of an inside joke than something new customers will get and remember. Meminder would be completely obvious, and still cute.
> > 
> > You could still use the term “beeminder” in various places, without making it the name of the site or the service.
> > 
> > David
> > 
> > On Sep 14, 2011, at 8:54 AM, A.J. wrote:
> > 
> > > I like the name beeminder. Something about that is really catchy.
> > > 
> > > On Sep 14, 10:19 am, screen playa [scrnpl...@gmail.com](mailto:scrnpl...@gmail.com) wrote:
> > > 
> > > > hi, i like the name but “yellow brick road” is an inconsistent concept from  
> > > > the old name, ie, while cute, “yellow brick road” could become something  
> > > > like “honey trail”. you might want to keep all the elements consistent  
> > > > within the same concept/theme as they’ve been borrowed from an old concept.  
> > > > also, this concept is sort of 'toonish/kiddish and you might want to  
> > > > consider this for the graphics. i think it’s cute…but i think you need  
> > > > to build consistency around the concept of “beeminder”.
> > > > 
> > > > Best.
> > > > 
> > > > /Elaine
> > > > 
> > > > On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dree...@umich.edu](mailto:dree...@umich.edu) wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > > > > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > > > > name:
> > > > 
> > > > > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > > > > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > > > > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s” sense.
> > > > > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > > > > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> > > > 
> > > > > Anything I missed?
> > > > 
> > > > > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> > > > 
> > > > > –  
> > > > > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > > > > Follow the Yellow Brick Road –[http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)
> > 
> > –  
> > My home page: [http://www.davidreiley.com](http://www.davidreiley.com)
> > 
> > “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” – Abraham Lincoln
> 
> –  
> [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

–  
My home page: [http://www.davidreiley.com](http://www.davidreiley.com)

“Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” – Abraham Lincoln

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Josh\_Jordan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@Josh\_Jordan](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Josh_Jordan)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/10 "2011-09-14T21:58:35Z")

</div>

My favorites:

Beeminder: Follow the Yellow Brick Road  
Beeminder: Bring long-term consequences near  
Beeminder: Turn long-term _goals_ into daily commitments  
Beeminder: The akrasia antidote

On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 4:48 PM, Daniel Reeves [dreeves@umich.edu](mailto:dreeves@umich.edu) wrote:

> We’ve got too many higher priorities to think _too_ hard about the  
> name right now but I’m not sure I’m sold on meminder even in theory.  
> It really wants a hyphen, otherwise it’s either unclear how to  
> pronounce or it evokes meme-minder.  
> And hyphens are pretty sucky for domain names. So there’s that.
> 
> As for Elaine’s thoughts on “yellow brick road”… “honey trail” might  
> be too cute even for me. 🙂  
> And the yellow brick road is at least bee-colored. I do agree with  
> consistency of theme though.
> 
> For those who like geeking out about names, this is my very rough  
> draft of a little essay on “nominology”:  
> [http://yootles.com/expost/nominology](http://yootles.com/expost/nominology)
> 
> Really appreciate these thoughts on the name, even if we don’t act on  
> them for a while!
> 
> Oh, taglines on the other hand, we can act on sooner, if people have  
> ideas about those. Here’s our current brainstorming list:
> 
> Beeminder: Follow the Yellow Brick Road  
> Beeminder: Follow your Yellow Brick Road  
> Beeminder: Don’t flake out on yourself  
> Beeminder: Ending flakiness one graph at a time  
> Beeminder: Precommitment made more annoying [i’m a fan of the self-deprecating ones]  
> Beeminder: Commitment made more annoying [‘precommitment’  
> seems redundant/confusing]  
> Beeminder: In-your-face goal tracking  
> Beeminder: What are you beeminding?  
> Beeminder: What are _you_ beeminding?  
> Beeminder: Data-driven goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Automated accountability  
> Beeminder: Computerized coaching  
> Beeminder: Computerized coaching-cum-kibitzing  
> Beeminder: Create your own coach  
> Beeminder: Guidance for your goals  
> Beeminder: Daily guidance for your goals  
> Beeminder: A daily guide to your goal {}  
> Beeminder: The scientific way to achieve your goals  
> Beeminder: Hyperrational goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Bring long-term consequences near  
> Beeminder: Making you care about long-term consequences now  
> Beeminder: Turn long-term commitments into daily commitments  
> Beeminder: Make it matter now  
> Beeminder: What do you weigh today, bitch?  
> Beeminder: Lose weight _and_ your money back!  
> Beeminder: Lose the weight or lose your money  
> Beeminder: A lose-lose situation  
> Beeminder: Better every day  
> Beeminder: Create-a-Coach  
> Beeminder: The path to your goal  
> Beeminder: A daily incentive to get to your goal  
> Beeminder: Be on your road tomorrow  
> Beeminder: A kick in the pants  
> Beeminder: Light a fire under your ass  
> Beeminder: A well-guided journey to your goal  
> Beeminder: Best check yo-self before you wriggety-wreck yo-self  
> Beeminder: See the big picture, get to your goal  
> Beeminder: Reaching goals  
> Beeminder: Driving off the road is hazardous to your health  
> Beeminder: Track it, back it  
> Beeminder: Show your short-term self who’s boss  
> Beeminder: Make your short-term self your long-term self’s bitch  
> Beeminder: Be mindful of your goals  
> Beeminder: The me-binder  
> Beeminder: Mind your goals  
> Beeminder: Daily accountability toward your goals  
> Beeminder: The reminding robot  
> Beeminder: Robotic reminders for goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Gradual results, instant gratification  
> Beeminder: Robotic kibitzing for goal tracking  
> Beeminder: Make the important urgent [thanks to andreas  
> stuhlmueller]  
> Beeminder: Beat akrasia a day at a time  
> Beeminder: Better goal tracking  
> Beeminder: The akrasia antidote  
> Beeminder: If you can quantify it, you can beemind it
> 
> On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 11:25, David Reiley [david@davidreiley.com](mailto:david@davidreiley.com) wrote:
> 
> > I like beeminder, but I think me-minder is much more evocative.  
> > Beeminder involves two puns on top of each other, which makes it more of an  
> > inside joke than something new customers will get and remember. Meminder  
> > would be completely obvious, and still cute.
> > 
> > You could still use the term “beeminder” in various places, without  
> > making it the name of the site or the service.
> > 
> > David
> > 
> > On Sep 14, 2011, at 8:54 AM, A.J. wrote:
> > 
> > > I like the name beeminder. Something about that is really catchy.
> > > 
> > > On Sep 14, 10:19 am, screen playa [scrnpl...@gmail.com](mailto:scrnpl...@gmail.com) wrote:
> > > 
> > > > hi, i like the name but “yellow brick road” is an inconsistent concept  
> > > > from  
> > > > the old name, ie, while cute, “yellow brick road” could become  
> > > > something  
> > > > like “honey trail”. you might want to keep all the elements consistent  
> > > > within the same concept/theme as they’ve been borrowed from an old  
> > > > concept.  
> > > > also, this concept is sort of 'toonish/kiddish and you might want to  
> > > > consider this for the graphics. i think it’s cute…but i think you  
> > > > need  
> > > > to build consistency around the concept of “beeminder”.
> > > > 
> > > > Best.
> > > > 
> > > > /Elaine
> > > > 
> > > > On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:05 PM, Daniel Reeves [dree...@umich.edu](mailto:dree...@umich.edu)  
> > > > wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > I was just talking to someone who wasn’t thrilled with the name  
> > > > > “beeminder” so I was telling them all the reasons it’s a brilliant  
> > > > > name:
> > > > 
> > > > > 1. Beeminder is a me-binder – a self-binding tool.
> > > > > 2. “Beeminder” rhymes with “reminder”.
> > > > > 3. It’s about “minding your goals” in the “mind your p’s and q’s”  
> > > > > sense.
> > > > > 4. Our esteemed co-founder Bethany Soule goes by “Bee”.
> > > > > 5. Finally, bees are just cute (and hard-working!).
> > > > 
> > > > > Anything I missed?
> > > > 
> > > > > The name is thanks to Michael Tiffany. (Thanks Michael! )
> > > > 
> > > > > –  
> > > > > [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> > > > > Follow the Yellow Brick Road –[http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)
> > 
> > –  
> > My home page: [http://www.davidreiley.com](http://www.davidreiley.com)
> > 
> > “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” – Abraham Lincoln
> 
> –  
> [http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
> Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johnicholas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@Johnicholas](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Johnicholas)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/11 "2011-09-15T12:27:02Z")

</div>

I like the name a lot.

If we are brainstorming slogans, I describe it to my friends as  
Beeminder: A reminder with a sting.

Johnicholas

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daniel\_Reeves](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/daniel_reeves/32/707_2.png) [@Daniel\_Reeves](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Daniel_Reeves)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/12 "2011-09-15T14:23:56Z")

</div>

Wow, I really like that one! Thanks Johnicholas!  
We’re thinking we’ll automatically rotate among the taglines that get  
the most votes.  
I’m making a poll now on Google Plus: [http://profiles.google.com/dreeves](http://profiles.google.com/dreeves)  
Let me know if you don’t see it.

On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 07:27, Johnicholas [johnicholas.hines@gmail.com](mailto:johnicholas.hines@gmail.com) wrote:

> I like the name a lot.
> 
> If we are brainstorming slogans, I describe it to my friends as  
> Beeminder: A reminder with a sting.
> 
> Johnicholas

–  
[http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daniel\_Reeves](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/daniel_reeves/32/707_2.png) [@Daniel\_Reeves](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/Daniel_Reeves)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/the-name-beeminder/1337/13 "2011-09-17T16:39:48Z")

</div>

I turned this into a blog post: [The Name "Beeminder" | Beeminder Blog](http://blog.bmndr.com/beenamer)  
Thanks so much for the ideas about names and taglines (and keep them coming!)

On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 07:27, Johnicholas [johnicholas.hines@gmail.com](mailto:johnicholas.hines@gmail.com) wrote:

> I like the name a lot.
> 
> If we are brainstorming slogans, I describe it to my friends as  
> Beeminder: A reminder with a sting.
> 
> Johnicholas

–  
[http://dreev.es](http://dreev.es) – search://“Daniel Reeves”  
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – [http://beeminder.com](http://beeminder.com)