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Pronouncing Sphinn: Is It Spin or Sfin?
Went Hot: July 16, 2007 - 2:51 pm
Posted By: bwelford 720 days ago
Topic Type: Discussion
Category: Sphinn Zone
45 Comments
Comments
I believe it is pronounced "spin." But I can be wrong..
In fact I automatically assumed it was pronounced sfinn. So I went to check and found I was wrong.
I see little merit in sp-hinn. It's really an acknowledgement that all the better versions of Spin had gone.
Now we have a word with some mystery attached to it. .. as in the Riddle of the Sphinx. You also have a somewhat useful search vehicle for news feeds called Sphere. There's also sphagnum moss and sphincter but that's somewhat irrelevant, I guess.
Anyway I think pronouncing it sfinn has a lot going for it.
Well, I think I said we pronounce it "spin," and I'm afraid I'm sticking with it. But I also said people can pronounce it however they like. Did you know when ClickZ launched, it was supposed to be pronounced like Clickzzzzzzz. But everyone said Click Zeeeee, and that's how it's known today. Maybe we'll end up being called Sfin.
Sorry to disagree with the host but on http://sphinn.com/about.php I read the following:
Finally, why Sphinn? We liked the idea of a place where marketers could put their own spin on news by commenting on stories or having discussions. But spin.com was taken, as was spinn.com and sphinnn.com was a N too far, we felt. So we went with sphinn.com, pronouncing it "sp-hinn."
I guess I didn't realize you were dropping your aitches, Danny. :)
Can't wait to look back at this in 6 - 12 months and see what the community went with...
Hmm, I could have swore I wrote that, but I agree, I don't see it. Maybe I just thought of writing it. Well, if in 6 months from now everyone's saying Sfin, I'd probably do the same. But I'm sticking with Spin for now :)
I too have been going with "Sfinn".
Barry,
I heard a rumor that this was really a tribute to someone's uncle Sven, and we're supposed to pronounce it that way, despite the spelling.
Seriously, though, the directions to pronounce the word sp-hinn aren't clearing this up for me.
Does this mean ignore the h completely, or say it
"spu-hinn!" like you're celebrating scoring a goal or something? It might also sound a bit like a wheeze if we go with this option. As in, running to the doctor's office, panting,
"Doctor, huh hah huh, I, hah huh ha, I spu-hunn all the way here."
Very curious on this!
Miriam
Oh, uncle Sven. I find it painful to talk about him.... :)
So officially, say it like the word "spin," with the H silent, if you want to say it the way I do.
I absolutely can't wait until the next conference to see what people call it to me when they actually speak it unprompted. This will be fun.
FYI, made a slight title change to this topic, just to note the two main different ways being discussed on pronouncing it.
Haha, thank you, Mr. Sullivan.
I get it now.
Miriam
I keep reading it as Sfin.
I'm not too worried about the name, it's the logo that I wonder about. How about something web 2.0 guys? :)
I read it as sfin. English is not my first language, so my vote doesn't count much
Sfin - If you're going to make up pronunciation rules you better put one of those little pronunciation keys next to the logo, or make it part of the logo.
Otherwise it's going to make for awkward conversation at the next Seo-related event where people have to talk by forming words with their mouth rather then typing them into a computer.
What? There's a way to talk other than by typing?
Spin, Sfin....whatever. As long as they're talking about you, it's a good thing!!
Yeah, I tend to pronounce it as "spFINNNNN" and spray spittle on my coworkers' faces.
If Danny says we can pronounce it however we'd like ...In the tradition of Wayne's World, and all this pronunciation entails, I'm going to pronounce it as "Schwing!"
I already have the sFinn going in my brain - so I'm afraid that's what it is - the brain overrides the mouth wayyy to often :)
Any way you pronounce it - i like it ;)
In Punjabi, there is a hard p which sounds like the p in "Papa", and a hard "f" which soulds like the f in "Father"
But then we have a letter called "phapha" which is a pf sound.
So I see sphinn as "spfinn".. similar to Rebecca's take on it.. without the Daffy Duck effect.
"There is no Sphoon."
My mind can't help but read it sFinn. But when I talk about it out loud I don't choose a side - "So I was reading this article on sfin, or spin, or whatever it is..." :P
We've been needing a tagline. Maybe I'll make it:
"We pronounce it spin" or perhaps, "Sphinn -- the H is silent"
Sphinn. Because web 3.0 is about extra letters, not missing ones.
I like it pronounced "sfin" because it doesn't relate to anything previously... I think a new perspective is always welcome.
Danny, I think a good tagline could be:
"Sphinn - Search Marketers are Sphecial!"
but, you will have to add "sphinn" to the check spelling dictionary...
Weird. I just read it as sfin, just as sphinx. I somehow doubt the 2nd n has such a vast influence on how 'sph' is read.
Why not sppin? That'd easily be called 'spin' :)
I'm pronouncing it sfin because frankly Danny, if you wanted to cause this much confusion for people to find your website - you might as well just bought the domain name spin.net, spin.org, etc... lol
At least when you tell people about it and pronounce it weird, they will ask for the spelling. If you say Spin, the are likely to go to everywhere else but here.
I like your tagline ideas, Danny. How about "Sphinn - Because it's easy to rank for"
Hey Matt, if you're telling people about it, you can call it whatever you want :)
LOL@ppedersen,
@Danny, I am mostly typing it in one form or another to others so its all good. lol
Big ups to pitfall & ppedersen.
How about: "Sphinn: We don't care how the hell you pronounce it, as long as you spend lots of time here."
FWIW, I can't see the word Sphinn without hearing "sfin".
PS, what's up with the "powered by Pligg" in the site footer? Shouldn't they get with the program and change to "Phligg"? [;-)]
PS PS, regardless of how it's pronounced, when I click [Check spelling] for the comments, "sphinn" apparently isn't in the dictionary.
I read it from the get-go as being "sfin." guess I'll just have to figure out what people are talking about now when I hear "spin."
It will always be sfin to me. Spin just does not sound right. I really thought Danny was trying to be funny. spin is not funny or even clever. I understand it is an action like digg. You want us to spin the vote wheel or something. I just really thing sfin is cool and funny. It is more fun to say and is different enough that it is not confusing. Saying spin.com will also cause problems saying it verbally. I have always said you should never pick a url you have to explain or spell out. I guess pronouncing sfin breaks that rule too. I just don't get the web 2.0 rule of making sure you lose type in traffic with a non phonetic domain name.
Ouch. Yes, we were trying to be funny and clever. Yes, exactly, we did want you to spin the vote wheel (eventually it will spin). Understand the issues with domain naming but decided damn, we're going for it anyway. If it's always sfin to you, we're just glad you like it :)
I saw it as spin first. Perhaps my mind thought sfin was illogical, so it tweaked it until it made sense.
At any rate, fantastic idea Danny! Great way to bring all the brilliant and not-so-brilliant SEO minds together, and let the best float to the top. It's an awesome resource, I've found myself neglecting all my other feeds ever since you launched. Guess I'm sphinnished with them. lol
Another thread got going here
http://sphinn.com/story/822
I closed that from What's New but thought the idea of an audio file on how to pronounce was funny.
LOL Danny, imagine this and I might have to make the video. A young child at a Spelling Bee standing there in front of the microphone when the panel calls out the word "Sphinn". Spell Sphinn... hah, and the kid just can't get it right.
i like the audio file idea as well. Is it weird that I PREFER "spin", but I find myself saying either 'spfinn' or 'sfinn'? Then there's the coworker who insists on throwing her own twist on it "schfinn" (that's the one that's driving me nuts - how is that even close?!?)
Yup. Another vote for "Sfinn". I bet it will stick.
I'm up for "spin" only because that's how I initially read it when I read about it. Sphinn. I see how some could confuse it with sfinn or however, but spin just sounds 10 times better.
Plus the circle logos for "sphinn" are so spinnable.
"Sfin" because of the spelling.
I guess there was always "schpinn" -- but then, you'd sound drunk. (At least, in English. And it appears to be taken, anyway. I guess that's a good thing.)
Hmm, however you say it, I thought that a Google search to see if they had any "did you mean..." suggesions to offer might be in order... and I see that there are already 300 000 results for "sphinn" in the SERPs - and no suggestions to go elsewhere.
It's definitely sfin as that's the only thing that makes sense with the way it's sphelled.
SEOPopularityContest.com is still available ;)
This is a funny blog post about how to say sphinn, plus the video is hilarious.