Kevin Rose, geek tv personality and founder of digg.com, recently announced that he is working on a new “IM replacement” as a third sidebar venture. Following the success of digg.com and revision3.com, everyone is watching to see what Kevin “BusinessWeek” Rose is going to do next.

But Stan Shroeder of Mashable has burst Kevin’s bubble by posting on digg a massive list of competitors in the web-based instant message and communication space. In other words, Kevin has his work cut out for him if he wants to succeed in a field that is already packed full of chaos.

When reviewing the list, I found it striking to see the trends in ‘Web 2.0′ branding. How great it is that our era finally has ‘a look’. And the naming conventions to go with that look are so clumsy-brilliant it’s almost beautiful. Names like Meebo and Tworl may seem rediculous, and in many ways they are, but no more absurd then in the 50s when everything was ‘blank-o-matic’ or in the 60s when everything was ‘electro-blank’ or in the 90s when everything was ‘e-blank’ and nowadays when everything is ‘i-blank”. I think if I were to start a web 2.0 company, I’d call it “Blnk” (pronounced ‘blank’), or maybe “blankoo”.

The Web 2.0 aesthetic is easy to mock, but it’s also tons of fun. Personally, I find the unconventional approach to identity is a refreshing shift from the Saul Bass and Paul Rand-ness of the American 50s and 60s, or even the Wolff-Olins-ness of the British 80s and 90s. Things change so rapidly now, and trends shift so fluidly, that one could argue how in the world of identity design, anything goes. A quick glance at sites like logopond.com will turn up logos of all shapes and styles, including the Web 2.0 style. What’s interesting to observe is that for every logo that feels ‘classic’ there are two that feel ‘outdated’. A quick look at BrandNew will illustrate how dramatic a logo update can be, and how modern the new identities feel. But as we have seen with the new at&t, for example, newer isn’t automatically an improvement.

While some of us geeks may be holding our breath to see whether or not Kevin is successfull, I’m waiting eagerly to see how their brand identity stacks up. Another interesting thing to ponder is how will the Web 2.0 aesthetic be observed in years to come. Will it be revered like Art-Deco from the 30s, or continually mocked like that flowery shag carpeting from the 70s?

• Kevin’s blog
• diggnation video podcast
• BusinessWeek’s cover story about Kevin and digg

// a tale of brands & branding, web technology
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