UPDATE: No, just no.

"Not surprisingly, there are a lot of syphilis jokes flying around the interweb machines".

My favorite part is where some executive states that renaming the SciFi network "SyFy" gives it a more human feel. Because everyone knows geeks are robots. *sigh*

I went to business school, received my degree in Marketing, and it shames me that businesses put so much stock in what I like to call "textbook marketing." You know, statistics, focus groups, surveys, etc. Anything where they can look at a paper report and see just how successful their decision will be. New Coke anyone? If there is one thing I've noticed (okay, two) it's consumers do not like to be told how they are going to like something more because statistics show they will AND consumers hate it when companies change something that doesn't need changing. Does the new name "SyFy" improve the quality of programming directly? No. Did SciFi really think people wouldn't accept fantasy programming on a channel supposedly known for science fiction? Yes. Are they dumb? YES!! Allow me to reference Reign of Fire again: I do not view that film as "SciFi". It is FANTASY! Sure, it takes place in the future but it involves DRAGONS! FACT: Dragons do not exist (*cry*). FACT: They are creatures of myth or FANTASY!

At least be honest and just say "Hey, we're changing the name because we want to be able to trademark it, deal with it." Don't try to sell the public on your business decision. It just makes you look dumb when you try to spin it as "Ooooh, look at this shiny new name and ideas of programming, you're going to love it!" Especially when the audience you're aiming to entice replies "We hate it, change it back DUMBASS!" Granted, my opinion probably doesn't count much since I qualify as a geek and that makes me a cyborg.




One more thing:

SKYNET IS LIVE!!