I shouldn’t have used the short form, fem, which sounds derogatory. Wasn’t thinking. But pink, as a colour, is associated more with femininity than almost anything.

Thanks Paul for shedding light. I do see you how you are working the participatory and in-the-moment sides of the web. I was surprised that there wasn’t an online, searchable Who’s Who already, so you’ve definitely cottoned on to something.

But isn’t searchability also a very different thing now? At the moment, all roads, even the yellow brick ones, lead to Wikipedia, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Hilton

And yes, you are right Chris, the only thing the Tin Man didn’t have was self-awareness.

The logo lettering was originally supposed to look like finger-painting, though it turned out a bit more like construction paper cut-outs. The overall effect is raw, anyway, which was the intention to denote the contributions of the fans who will post content about their favourite celebrities.

Rene, welcome!

Robert, I don’t know what their business model is, either, but I have the impression their marketing is directed to a more web-savvy audience than Who’s Who is (more open to irony and humor). As for the Tin Man, did you forget that he actually had more heart than any other character in the movie? And really, what’s with the “fem” comment, Robert? Next are you going to make fun of The Name Inspector for his lovely lavender header?

I agree with the old movie poster comparison. Nice link to the Vertigo poster.

Who’s Who is a prestige publication, collecting the names of the rich and powerful, and those who have achieved public recognition. It’s a kind of gold standard. So I have big reservations about the use of declassé tin. Conrad Black is not going to care if he is registered in tin, or understand anything about tinny, tiny Vietnamese robot fingers, but something like this, http://www.marquiswhoswho.com/, he’d get.

The revenue model of Who’s Who is selling the directory to the very people who are in it. It’s an ego machine. A quick surf didn’t turn up anything about TinFinger’s revenue model, but if that’s it, then I’d say they’ve got some ways to go.

I’m also reminded of the Tim Man from the Wizard of Oz. “If I only had a heart!” he sings. That’s funny actually, given the perception (if not reality) that the Who’serati must be heartless to have gotten to where they are in Who’s Who.

And, since it’s come up, the logo. Pink F? for fem perhaps? Goofy lettering? The style is quirky, perhaps coolish, but imho will date very quickly. On the upside, it does kind of look like old movie poster typography… Saul Bass comes to mind, which is something:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vertigomovie.jpg

Rene

Thanks very much for the writeup, I enjoyed it immensely.