Zinzin

Pebble

A Kinder, Safer, More Fun Social Media Platform

Pebble logoPROJECT: Rename a new social media platform

PEBBLE: A small, rounded stone, especially one worn smooth by the action of water. Also called pebble leather: leather that has been given a granulated surface. Any granulated or crinkled surface, especially of a textile. A transparent colorless rock crystal used for the lenses of eyeglasses.

BRAND POSITIONING: Disappointed and fed up with the wreckage of so many social media platforms, our client (co-founders and ex-Twitter employees) decided it was time to help turn the tide of social media back towards a hospitable place to have authentic human conversations. A place that values kindness, trust, safety, and a positive user experience above all.

They created a new social media platform first called T2, a temporary name for use during initial development in a public beta. But the co-founders always knew they wanted a different name — one that perfectly reflects the values and vision behind their brand positioning. That’s when they called us, after being referred by a happy former Zinzin client, the CEO of Quilt. (We love it when that happens!)

Zinzin created the name Pebble as a response to our client’s clear vision and brand positioning: to be authentic and humble, bringing a refreshing experience, even magic moments of delight through connection and conversation with real people. A renewed vision for social media as an oasis without the toxic stew of bots, misinformation, and hate speech.

Pebble maps to the concepts of small, humble, and part of the natural environment as the result of natural processes. Each pebble is unique and has been smoothed by the action of water, signifying the passage of time. However, when tossed in a pond, even a little pebble makes ripples that expand ever outward, a metaphor for the potential of each and every individual using this platform to create far-reaching effects on culture and society.

Ripples in shallow water from a pebble tossed, many more pebbles visible on the sea or pondbottom
Photo: Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash.

A pebble is also something simple and familiar the world over. Whether you toss it or hold it in your hand for luck, a pebble is never singular or alone. It’s forever part of a greater collection or gathering.

Yet another ripple in this project was that the client required an exact-match domain name. However, they did not require a “.com” TLD (top-level domain). Zinzin helped Pebble sort through a number of domain options. Together, we serendipitously learned that “.is” is the country-code TLD for Iceland and that pebble.is was available for registration.

The beauty of this domain is that it seamlessly reinforces the brand positioning that Pebble is fundamentally about people:

  • Pebble is…me
  • Pebble is…you
  • Pebble.is/zinzin
  • Pebble is…all of us!

UPDATE: (November 1, 2023): Unfortunately, as is true of many startups, Pebble was not able to secure its Series A funding. This was mainly because, between its creation as T2 and its relaunch as Pebble, both Threads and Bluesky launched. Investors were not convinced that Pebble could grow large enough to gain a critical mass of users. The 20,000 enthusiastic early adopters of Pebble might beg to differ, but that’s how it goes sometimes (often!) in the ruthless world of tech and venture capital.

Read Pebble founder Gabor Cselle’s fascinating article about this startup adventure, From T2 to Pebble: The Rise, Challenges, and Lessons of Building a Twitter Alternative.

EXTRA: Zinzin & Pebble (then T2) on Japanese TV

This naming project created yet another ripple that extended all the way to Japan. During our brand positioning meeting with Pebble’s co-founders, Japan’s NHK filmed us for a television business show.

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL:

“My co-founders and I were very happy with the depth of the brief Zinzin delivered for possible names. We also appreciated their help with the trademarking process. In the end, we also received very strong validation and feedback because our community really liked the name that we chose.”

—Co-founder, Pebble 

Clutch interviewed several of our fantastic clients about their experience working with Zinzin. To read these full reviews, see References/Testimonials.