Baidu’s domain name is the cheapest? Let’s take a look at the interesting naming facts of Internet giants!

Alibaba: Alibaba.com,Did you know how these companies like Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and 360 got their brand names and domain names? Today, let's talk about the interesting stories behind the names of these internet giants!

Alibaba,One day, while dining in a restaurant in the United States, Jack Ma asked the waiter if he knew the name "Alibaba." The waiter not only knew it but also mentioned that the magical phrase to open Alibaba's treasure was "Open Sesame." Jack Ma inquired about this name in various places and discovered that the story of Alibaba was known to people all over the world, and its pronunciation was consistent in almost all languages. That's how Jack Ma decided to name the company Alibaba, which had a global appeal.

However, the domain name Alibaba.com was already owned by a Canadian. Jack Ma was determined that this domain name would become famous worldwide, so he spent $10,000 of the initial $500,000 startup capital to buy back the Alibaba.com domain from the Canadian.

Jack Ma also registered alimama.com and alibaby.com because he felt that "Alibaba Daddy, Alibaba Mommy, and Alibaba Baby" should all be part of the same family. Today, Alibaba's market value is HKD 3.64 trillion.

Tencent: QQ.com,Pony Ma chose the name Tencent for the company with a significant meaning. On one hand, there's a "腾" character in Pony Ma's name, making the company closely related to him. On the other hand, "腾" also signifies taking off and prospering. The addition of "讯" as a suffix was influenced by Pony Ma's previous employer, Run Xun. The English name, Tencent, was chosen with reference to the famous communications company Lucent.

Even more famous than Tencent.com is QQ.com, and the story behind QQ.com is quite interesting. Two-letter domain names are usually considered very expensive, but that wasn't the case a few decades ago. QQ.com was owned by a software engineer named Robert Hentschel in the United States, and he initially listed it for a staggering $2 million.

So, Tencent's American employees contacted him, saying they wanted to use QQ.com for a personal website and asked if he could sell it at a lower price. Since the seller hadn't sold the domain for a long time, he immediately lowered the price to $100,000. In 2003, Tencent, along with legal fees, managed to buy the domain for only $110,000. This shows Pony Ma's cleverness in negotiation, but it also highlights the importance of trust between people.

Qihoo 360: 360.com,Zhou Hongyi once said on Weibo, "Although I'm not superstitious, naming is indeed essential. For example, the original name was Qihoo, which didn't sound favorable in Chinese culture. So we changed it to '360,' which signifies comprehensiveness and all-around protection." In English, the company is known as Qihoo 360. In 2015, Qihoo 360 acquired the brand domain name 360.com from the foreign telecommunications company Vodafone for a whopping $170 million.

Baidu: Baidu.com,The name "Baidu" is derived from a line in a poem by the Song Dynasty poet Xin Qiji: "Searching for her among a thousand, hundred times over; she's by the lantern's glow." The phrase "Searching for her among a thousand, hundred times over" symbolizes Baidu's relentless pursuit of Chinese information retrieval technology. The idea for the bear paw logo came from the excitement of "hunters tracking bear claws," which was similar to Robin Li's "analytical search technology." This became Baidu's search concept and eventually its iconic image.

Fortunately, when Baidu was founded in 2000, domain name resources in the .com space were still relatively abundant, and the business had just started, so there was no rush to secure the domain name. Therefore, Baidu only spent a small amount to register Baidu.com. Today, Baidu's market value is HKD 449.692 billion, and it's safe to say that the value of this double-pinyin domain name has multiplied many times over.

As internet companies, having a brand name and domain name that aligns with their identity, is easy to remember, and is distinct is essential. A good domain name complements a brand and is one of the important factors in helping a company quickly dominate the market. Over the years, these companies have solidified their brands and domain names in the minds of people.

After reading these stories, do you have a different impression of them? If you found this interesting, please hit the "like" button, or leave a comment in the section below about other companies' brand names and domain name stories you'd like to know about in the next edition!