What's in a name?
When DirectGov set up a website with a smiling pooch aimed at kids, you wouldn't think much could go wrong with that would you? Perhaps they should have done just a little more research first.
The website at http://kids.direct.gov.uk is aimed at kids and helping them find out about the world around them using games, videos and cartoons. It features a friendly looking dog called Buster. Originally this kid's portal was called "Buster's World", an innocent enough sounding name, but unfortunately also the name of a gay website. As one mum twittered "My six year old tells me she was on Busters World at school. Googled it to have a look. OMG!!!".
It isn't the first time that people have been confused over names on the web. Some of the best web bloopers are the result of ill-conceived domain names. The Italian Power Generation Company made its initial foray onto the web with the domain name powergenitalia.com. If you are in show business and want to find out who represents a showbiz star, you can consult the unfortunately named website whorepresents.com. Need a pen to sign a contract? Pen Island is the company for you, and its website is at penisland.com. The website Experts Exchange which was aimed at techies and geeks found its domain name expertsexchange.com was instead attracting people seeking advice about gender alteration. And the First Methodist Church of Cumming, Georgia should really have known better than to call itself cummingfirst.com.
26th February 2010