At least it is refreshing to see a company choose a name without adding a ton of supposed meaning to it. Including those ever present 3 adjectives they are so fond of. "It's a name. It has no...
At least it is refreshing to see a company choose a name without adding a ton of supposed meaning to it. Including those ever present 3 adjectives they are so fond of.
"It's a name. It has no meaning. It's just a name." I like that kind of take!
Edit: Sorry. They've used the adjectives anyways...
“My colleagues and I are proud to work at Aylo and we are eager to build this brand as a tech leader,” Kekesi said. “Under this new banner, we will continue to commit to our core values of consent, freedom of sexual expression, authenticity, originality and diversity.”
"under this name we will strive for...." is different than saying "this new name means..."
Under this new banner, we will continue to commit to our core values of consent, freedom of sexual expression, authenticity, originality and diversity.”
"under this name we will strive for...." is different than saying "this new name means..."
So, the company didn't like that MindGeek showed up in a bunch of articles next to their biggest product and arguably more famous than the parent brand and decided to rebrand? And they went with a...
So, the company didn't like that MindGeek showed up in a bunch of articles next to their biggest product and arguably more famous than the parent brand and decided to rebrand? And they went with a name that looks like a generic Amazon drop shipping scheme because it's not a currently used name for anything.
How much you want to bet articles will say "Aylo, formerly MindGeek of Pornhub scandal fame," much like all the "X, formerly Twitter" lines?
I think it is evident from the article that they wanted a name with no real personality in order to blend in and be kind of appropriate for anything. When you own a dozen porn websites, maybe it...
I think it is evident from the article that they wanted a name with no real personality in order to blend in and be kind of appropriate for anything.
When you own a dozen porn websites, maybe it is better to not stand out too much.
I mean, the old name didn't stand out in itself. If you don't know what they do, it sounds like they should sell desk toys and silly USB gadgets. It gained its association with porn over time by...
I mean, the old name didn't stand out in itself. If you don't know what they do, it sounds like they should sell desk toys and silly USB gadgets. It gained its association with porn over time by being the name of a porn company. The new one will have the same problem.
And now that name is only associated with porn. Any name they chose was doomed to that from the start. They're a porn company. Aylo just means Major porn company now. It's not a savory business -...
And now that name is only associated with porn. Any name they chose was doomed to that from the start. They're a porn company.
Aylo just means Major porn company now. It's not a savory business - no matter anyone's stance - a 'soft' name isn't going to change that.
I think the intentions are much simpler. in Chronological order: The founder's online activity started way back in the 90's as one of the developers of NATS. Next-Generation Affiliate Tracking...
a 'soft' name isn't going to change that.
I think the intentions are much simpler. in Chronological order:
The founder's online activity started way back in the 90's as one of the developers of NATS. Next-Generation Affiliate Tracking System. The name is pretty self evident of its services, but the connection here is that it either focused on or had early histories with linking to pornography
His breakthrough began in the late 1990s when he developed software called NATS (Next-generation Affiliate Tracking Software) which linked the vast number of internet pornography sites for the first time and enabled visitors to select sex films according to preference. The upshot was a surge in the production of amateur home sex videos catering for every conceivable sexual predilection.
by 2006, this future founder would sell all his NATS stocks and proceed to go on a shopping spree for various adult websites.
in 2010, the result and merger of all these sites would be called Manwin.
in 2013, they rebranded to Mindgeek after the founder sold his stock in the company (which you can read about in the above link. TL;DR tax evasion). New change in management, new name
and finally here, this rename to Aylo comes 5 months after Mindgeek was purchased by a private equity firm, likely after the fallout from a bunch of negative press and several C class executives resigned (or in one case, re-ermerged).
I don't really see much smoke here. Change in ownerships tend to come with a rebrand unless that brand is part of the value. As you can imagine, "mindgeek" lacks that value.
EDIT: some incorrect information about NATS, made major corrections. I'll leave the original draft below
Old, incorrect draft.
The original name way back in the 90's was NATS.
in 2010, the company rebranded to Manwin after a huge purchase spree of websites and a merger of all these sites. Also the old name wasn't relevant anymore (Next Generation Affiliate Tracking System. They were originally an ad network and switched to hosting).
in 2013, they rebranded to Mindgeek after the founder sold his stock in the company. New change in management, new name
and finally here, this rename to Aylo comes 5 months after Mindgeek was purchased by a private equity firm, likely after the fallout from a bunch of negative press and several C class executives resigned (or in one case, re-ermerged).
NATS isn’t an ad network exactly, but rather an affiliate tracking system that you can purchase and install on your own servers. It also still exists and is fairly popular, currently operating as...
NATS isn’t an ad network exactly, but rather an affiliate tracking system that you can purchase and install on your own servers. It also still exists and is fairly popular, currently operating as Too Much Media. Funny to hear them being talked about, I’m actually quite familiar with their software and the original owners.
Thanks for the correction. Also realized I was a bit wrong in my re-interpretation of that history. NATS didnt rebrand, the original creator of NATS simply sold off and proceeded to found Manwin....
Thanks for the correction.
Also realized I was a bit wrong in my re-interpretation of that history. NATS didnt rebrand, the original creator of NATS simply sold off and proceeded to found Manwin. The only particular relation is that NATS was known early on to focus on serving ads for pornography, but it sounds like it's always been more general purpose than that.
Whatever they think they're running away from, branding wise, it's not gonna work. Whatever negative association that followed the MindGeek brand is inevitably gonna follow Aylo as well
Whatever they think they're running away from, branding wise, it's not gonna work. Whatever negative association that followed the MindGeek brand is inevitably gonna follow Aylo as well
Chiquita shirked their United Fruit Company past quite well. Rebranding works. If they're going to continue operating the same way the new name will also be tainted in the same way, but it will...
Chiquita shirked their United Fruit Company past quite well. Rebranding works.
If they're going to continue operating the same way the new name will also be tainted in the same way, but it will take some time for sure.
Selling fruit is innocuous it was the side of labor and human rights abuses people didn’t like. With porn, though, the business itself is smutty even before the exploitation that underlies the...
Selling fruit is innocuous it was the side of labor and human rights abuses people didn’t like. With porn, though, the business itself is smutty even before the exploitation that underlies the industry.
That's true, but I'd reckon most Very Onlines like us don't really have a problem with porn companies, it's just the problematic porn companies that are problematic. If Aylo can avoid scandal then...
That's true, but I'd reckon most Very Onlines like us don't really have a problem with porn companies, it's just the problematic porn companies that are problematic. If Aylo can avoid scandal then this could work out for them.
I think they changed the name because the press (quite correctly) started writing about their holding compay, rather than the names they operate under, and this meant that the investors faced more...
I think they changed the name because the press (quite correctly) started writing about their holding compay, rather than the names they operate under, and this meant that the investors faced more pressure (as well as the payment processors, etc).
The rebranded name is “Aylo” and apparently it was selected to mean nothing in support of a "fresh start" strategy
At least it is refreshing to see a company choose a name without adding a ton of supposed meaning to it. Including those ever present 3 adjectives they are so fond of.
"It's a name. It has no meaning. It's just a name." I like that kind of take!
Edit: Sorry. They've used the adjectives anyways...
"under this name we will strive for...." is different than saying "this new name means..."
Ayyyyylomaooo
So, the company didn't like that MindGeek showed up in a bunch of articles next to their biggest product and arguably more famous than the parent brand and decided to rebrand? And they went with a name that looks like a generic Amazon drop shipping scheme because it's not a currently used name for anything.
How much you want to bet articles will say "Aylo, formerly MindGeek of Pornhub scandal fame," much like all the "X, formerly Twitter" lines?
I think it is evident from the article that they wanted a name with no real personality in order to blend in and be kind of appropriate for anything.
When you own a dozen porn websites, maybe it is better to not stand out too much.
I mean, the old name didn't stand out in itself. If you don't know what they do, it sounds like they should sell desk toys and silly USB gadgets. It gained its association with porn over time by being the name of a porn company. The new one will have the same problem.
Maybe they'll switch again in 10 years.
I read their Wikipedia page, and it turns out that MindGeek is also a rebranded name. So you're probably more right than you know.
Yeah, that name sounds like one of those Wish knockoffs.
And now that name is only associated with porn. Any name they chose was doomed to that from the start. They're a porn company.
Aylo just means Major porn company now. It's not a savory business - no matter anyone's stance - a 'soft' name isn't going to change that.
I think the intentions are much simpler. in Chronological order:
I don't really see much smoke here. Change in ownerships tend to come with a rebrand unless that brand is part of the value. As you can imagine, "mindgeek" lacks that value.
EDIT: some incorrect information about NATS, made major corrections. I'll leave the original draft below
Old, incorrect draft.
NATS isn’t an ad network exactly, but rather an affiliate tracking system that you can purchase and install on your own servers. It also still exists and is fairly popular, currently operating as Too Much Media. Funny to hear them being talked about, I’m actually quite familiar with their software and the original owners.
Thanks for the correction.
Also realized I was a bit wrong in my re-interpretation of that history. NATS didnt rebrand, the original creator of NATS simply sold off and proceeded to found Manwin. The only particular relation is that NATS was known early on to focus on serving ads for pornography, but it sounds like it's always been more general purpose than that.
Whatever they think they're running away from, branding wise, it's not gonna work. Whatever negative association that followed the MindGeek brand is inevitably gonna follow Aylo as well
Chiquita shirked their United Fruit Company past quite well. Rebranding works.
If they're going to continue operating the same way the new name will also be tainted in the same way, but it will take some time for sure.
Selling fruit is innocuous it was the side of labor and human rights abuses people didn’t like. With porn, though, the business itself is smutty even before the exploitation that underlies the industry.
That's true, but I'd reckon most Very Onlines like us don't really have a problem with porn companies, it's just the problematic porn companies that are problematic. If Aylo can avoid scandal then this could work out for them.
Most porn companies are problematic as I understand it (issues with consent, IP rights, the actual content of the videos they produce, etc).
A name can't have baggage if nobody remembers it. I think the goal here is perfect forgettability.
I think they changed the name because the press (quite correctly) started writing about their holding compay, rather than the names they operate under, and this meant that the investors faced more pressure (as well as the payment processors, etc).
It always baffles me when payment processors try to be moral instead of being purely apathetic so long as they get their cut.
Visa and Mastercard are the true arbiters of what types of porn are acceptible.