What should you call your social media center?

What struck me were the terrible names that some companies were coming up with for these departments, such as “command center” or “war room.” Owyang’s suggestion was Center of Excellence, an improvement over military-style names, true, but it made me yawn.

Thirty years ago, when Tom Peters rocked the business world with “In Search of Excellence,” “excellence” rocketed to the top of the word parade. Three decades later, with another world-rocking phenomenon, can’t we come up with a name that’s shiny and new?

Names are important. Given that social media is all about being social and connecting, can’t we come up with something more personal and fun?

To help all the companies that are grappling with this quandary, allow me to toss out a few suggestions. As when I named my babies, I considered nasty ways the mean kids could twist the name.

Social media hubs

This complements the hub-and-spoke model that Altimeter’s research revealed is becoming the most popular structure. However, don’t forget that the hub approach forces air travelers to meander hub to hub before they reach their destination, so it’s probably not a good name. It suggests inconveniencing customers.

Social machine