Doctacosa

A direction that I've been working toward for quite a while has been about branding. I've got the name and logo for Interordi that I've been using in some fashion for over 20 years now, always as a more subdued reference while other names have taken the forefront. Obviously, right now, that's the Creeper's Lab, but that could change eventually, much like it has in the past.

This isn't so much about pushing the Interordi brand itself aggressively like saying buy a t-shirt, but more about creating an awareness that there's more I do besides run a few Minecraft servers. If I was to launch a new site or product, I'd like people to know about it, and that's where having the branding comes in. The Interordi newsletter I've recently launched to annonce major updates is a key part of this, giving me a way to reach out to people that could be otherwise inactive on the network.

One notable step on branding has been the introduction of Interordi Accounts. An upgrade over the forum registration, this lets people create one account that can be used all over the network. From a potential player's point of view, it's also easier to explain that they need an Interordi Account to get whitelisted, rather than tell them to register on a forum to access a game. It flows more naturally. If I launch another service, tool or game later, people will be able to use the very same accounts to continue. As such, each location will link to the others.

Likewise, still pushing the visibility aspect, having one clear name helps to highlight that there's more. I've been gradually publishing some of my home-grown plugins, now available as public downloads, with more on the way. Other server owners might find one of my plugins, download it and move on. However, if I place a clear logo somewhere in each description, with a link saying something like “Check out my other plugins!”, each one becomes a possible entry point to raise awareness about the whole set!

Several of the things completed in the past year have played a role. Modernizing the forums was much needed, then the new Interordi homepage became a much more welcoming entry point.

What's the next step on this trip? I'm not even sure about that myself! There are a few things I want to do, plus more that I probably haven't even thought about yet, so it's all a work in progress.

#branding #creepers_lab #interordi

– Doctacosa