Do you have a better name for the Hi,"Honors Lab"?

Marjory Wildcraft

Coming up with a new name for the monthly subscription is a great idea. I’ll brainstorm on it!

christen

I think community needs to be stressed in the name - that makes this group stand out.  I was thinking maybe "chrysalis" which I know it the pupae, but we're here grow.  And add another word that connotes community, like club, valley, clan, etc - either a "social" community or a physical one.

Another term that's been floating around in my head is pioneer.  Maybe someone can come up with something that.

Grammyprepper

I don't have any ideas off the top of my head, but agree with christen that it should include something denoting community. Because that is what TGN is.

sherryo

I think Lab is an accurate but narrow focus.  If I follow that train of thought deeper, it feels more a complete college.  Not sure if there are legal issues about using college as a name.  The bullet points below are why it seems similar to me:

• The membership is a way to grow ourselves and learn more about our interests (Labs)
• But it is also about tapping other's knowledge (study hall).  The inside editions give access to experts we would not otherwise have.
• It is a way to help move understanding forward on new ideas (research) experimenting and  documenting what does/doesn't work on the forum.
• It is about participating in the community (mentoring).  Ideally, students move toward being teachers naturally

Support and participation by members is absolutely vital if we are going to make significant advances in this mission.

 

StacyLou

Hi there! I was able to brainstorm this week, but didn't have time until now to type this long post. I was trying to incorporate Marjory's thoughts, my ideas, and the suggestions that other people have thrown out there. Some of the things I pulled from Marjory are:

"Stop the destruction of the Earth - commercial ag and conventional meds are so destructive" and "Homegrown food on every table".

My first couple thoughts were:  Organic Visionaries or Visionaries for a Better Earth.

Then, Christen and Grammyprepper mentioned that it should have something in it denoting community. Synonyms for community are nation, society, associations, districts, etc. Christen also said pioneer would be a good word to describe it. So, here are the rest of my thoughts:

Society of Organic Visionaries, Pioneers of Natural Living, Nation of Organic Living, Caretakers of the Planet, Sustainable Actions Society, Visionary Society of Sustainable Living, Society for a Sustainable Planet, Society for the Pioneers of a Sustainable Future. I also tried to create a title that had a good acronym. I was trying for S.A.V.E. - Sustainable Action Visionary Educators (I don't think this one works quite well) or Sustainable Association for a Viable Earth.

Other things to think about when brainstorming for names. The Grow Network's purpose is to stop the destruction of the Earth. We need to replenish the Earth, not destroy it! This is a "User-supported platform for the global transfer of ideas and actions to live more sustainably". Positive ideas and actions are the stepping stones for great change. Let's heal the planet by banding together to make a difference!

Blair

I am new to TNG (this is only my second month); but I like the name Honors Lab. I do think it needs more clarification of what it entails. A small, couple pages at most, description detailing all the aspects of being a member and the variety of TNG venues available to lab members not available to "free" members. This only needs done once, (unless there are changes/updates) as it could be posted as a view/print document that is part of the homepage once one is logged in to the site. It is an honor to be part of such an effort as TNG and to be able to build associations/friendships with it's other members. It is an honor to mentor if you are experienced, or to learn from those who are more experienced. Also the one you mentor in one area may mentor you in another. Is that not what real community is all about. Being there for each other. It is also a lab in every sense of the word, ie. we do most of what we do in the hopes of repeating previous successes, to learn/discover new methods/techniques, we brainstorm/theorize experiment with new things or to improve what we already may know. We learn, importantly, what works and, more importantly, what doesn't. Sorry to be so long winded; but I think "Honors Lab" really sums it all up as well as anything else could. Just my own strange way of thinking. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Marjory Wildcraft

Hi Bswissinger, sherryo StacyLou (is that a rabbit in your arms? - cute!), everyone...

Seems like "Ambassador' has been winning out from all the feedback I've been getting although I  created the 'Honors Lab' name for all the reasons you've mentioned.  I am testing it out right now using a techniques called 'split testing' which is a digital marketing thing.  Let me know if you want to know more about split testing.

 

 

 

StacyLou

Ahahaha! It’s a zucchini! We had a few that hid under leaves this year - it’s amazing how huge they can get in a very short period of time!
Split marketing, huh? I’d be interested in knowing what that means.

Marjory Wildcraft

Hi StacyLou,

Yeah, zuchinni are amazing how big they get!

"Split testing" is a digital marketing technique where I can setup two different sales pages; say page A and page B.  Then we create a digital 'switch' that every time someone arrives, one person is directed to page A, and the next person is directed to page B, and so on.

So the traffic is 'split' between the two pages.

Ideally page A and page B should only have one item different - such as the name "Honors" vs "Ambassadors".  After several hundred and sometimes thousand people go through I check and see which one people liked the most.  We do a statistical analysis on the numbers so that we have a confidence level of greater than 95% that the winning page is what people most liked.

I am often astonished at how unbelievably cutting edge technical it is to run an organization focused on getting back to the simplicity of the Earth.  LOL  I have a BS in electrical engineering and I am very grateful for that and so surprised at how often I need it to do what TGN does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

StacyLou

That’s pretty cool. Technology is such a huge part of our lives - finding a good balance between it and getting back to the simplicity of the Earth is challenging. Thank you for all your hard work Marjory - it’s much appreciated!

Obiora E

My suggestions is below:

Heal, Grow, and Learn Community

WendySue

I don't know how many years TGN has been around but take into consideration that changing a brand name: "The Grow Network" is not good from a marketing perspective. It could easily be devastating to get rankings in advertising of any kind.

We are trying to spread our mission statement and attract people for our cause. Switching gears now with a name change including "Honors Lab" would be like starting from scratch. I don't think any one wants that. There are many factors to consider and any marketer worth their salt would advise against. If you want to add another section to what we have now would be fine as long as you don't change the main names as I've pointed out.

That would be like "Coke" or "Nike" switching names. It would cause public confusion and set us back years.

I like our names and more importantly, they are recognizable. After all, that is what we are aiming for, right?