We Have a lot of Irons in the Fire
Over the past 18 months, we have been working on a number of new products and initiatives.  Many of you have seen different projects we have been working on and have seen names such as “WebArtSites”, “FineArtViews”, “Praxis Technology”, “MyStudioSite” and have wondered, “What the heck is all this stuff anyway?” 

We will be explaining in more detail in the near future, but in short, these are all various services and projects that we offer (or are experimenting with), but did not want to integrate directly into FASO until they were fully tested to be sure they were up to FASO standards.

A New Moniker
Most people currently know us as "FineArtStudioOnline.com."  This name is a good description of our main product, but was never really intended to be the name of our entire company.  As an overall company name, it has a few drawbacks.

It is too long.  It is easy to misspell (it has TWO o's in the middle), which becomes an issue when we are telling people about the company verbally.  And most importantly we offer services to artists, galleries and collectors (and are developing more) that are not reflected by the name FineArtStudioOnline.com.

We are have struggled to come up with a name that solves several issues (and has an available domain) and integrates our services under one moniker.  We wanted a name that reflects that we primarily work in the art industry, but also something a bit “cutting edge” that could also reflect that we are a high-tech company.  We wanted something short and snappy.  We plan to stay primarily in the art industry but are working several initiatives including art blog software, print ad production services, a centralized “marketplace” for art that targets art collectors, email lists and newsletter services, perhaps art forums, perhaps sponsored competitions/exhibits. We also offer services that are for artists but not necessarily ONLY for artists such as domain names, email addresses and spam filtering.  We wanted to come up with a name that covers everything and is broad enough to expand with us. 

We are now looking to integrate everything under this one big banner.  One big name that covers what we do.  The name that we have come up with is “ShimmerFly Art Hosting.”

We certainly will never drop the name or web site FineArtStudioOnline.com and if you choose to completely ignore this email, you will see no difference whatsoever in your service.  The FineArtStudioOnline.com web site will stay as is.  But we need your help.

We need Your Help!
We have gotten some anecdotal feedback regarding the name “ShimmerFly.”  Most people like it.  A few people don’t like it.  Some people don’t really care.  What we really want is YOUR feedback.  If everyone just completely hates it, we may go a different direction.

Vote Here
We have set up a test site at shimmerfly.com.  We would like for you to visit the site and click on “ShimmerFly Vote.”  You can let us know how you feel about the name before we continue our branding process.  I consider it the ultimate “crowdsourcing” project.  We’re letting our customers actually help us name the company!  You can also suggest alternative ideas if you wish.

So please, exercise your right to vote! 

Visit the link below and the click the “Shimmerfly Vote” link:
http://www.shimmerfly.com

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic