Giving Glover Gil.ga
Giving Glover Gil.ga
My linkname pitch to Donald Glover
You can also read this pitch at Gil.ga. If you don’t understand what a linkname is, or why I’m doing this, go here. (Or don’t, because the pitch explains.)
ℹ️ Important context: Donald Glover, the award-winning multi-talented creative, has a creative agency called Gilga which lives at Gilga.com. So I bought the five-letter linkname gil.ga to give to him.
✉️ To: Donald Glover
tl;dr: Pitch for Gilga to pioneer a new way to name creative projects, called a linkname.
As part of which, I’d like to give you the linkname Gil.ga, only asking that you consider using a linkname to help popularize the concept.
What’s a linkname?
A name that’s also a valid website.
🕶️ will.i.am is the most famous example of a linkname — but until I invented the word ‘linkname’ (and gave one to King Charles) there was no term or definition for it.
Linknames matter because platforms like Instagram and TikTok increasingly own the internet and make creators dependent on them.
Linknames reduce platform dependency. Using a linkname:
🪧 Signposts a website outside of platforms
🤝 Tells your audience you’d like a direct relationship with them
🚨 Makes your name stand out
Why should you care about linknames?
You push the envelope of what’s possible in popular culture, and you’re not afraid of unusual names, e.g. 3.15.20. Using linknames would be another innovation
Prince made headlines for changing his name to a symbol. Choosing a linkname for a new project would make a statement
Unusual names are not so unusual. Up-and-coming R&B artist Liv.e is linkname-esque
Innovation in naming happens in phases. The linkname phase is waiting to be manifested
If you use a linkname, it could trigger a generation of linkname artists, who build their audiences direct and have more power vs. major labels
How linknames can push the envelope
Imagine:
💿 An album named with a linkname, where the site behind the linkname is a complementary experience — like an entire video game based around the album’s theme
📺 A linkname easter egg in a TV show — hardcore fans realize there’s a whole other online world waiting to be explored, which changes the show’s meaning
It’s like an NFT, except without the bullshit and using something people are already familiar with — domains.
💡 Linknames open the door for going multi-sensory and multi-platform in today’s insanely rich creative world. It’s the kind of innovation that would look great in the portfolio of a creative studio like Gilga
What I’m giving
🎁 I’d like to give you the linkname Gil.ga, which I bought specifically to give to you
What I’d like you to consider in return
🖊️ For Gilga to use a linkname in a project. Handshake agreement, no deadline
Why I’m doing this
🌎 If you use a linkname, it’ll popularize the concept and help creatives regain power vs. the large platforms they depend on. That’s the world I want to live in
🔨 It’ll also build up my reputation as a tech activist who seeks to undermine large platforms like Instagram and TikTok
About me
🧔♂️ I’m a tech entrepreneur, activist and writer who was banned by Facebook in 2021 for creating tools to help people use it less. My current blog, 12Challeng.es, received 20k views last week.
I’m also a musician, hence why I care about helping creatives depend less on big platforms.
On Slate.com: Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less
On NY Post: Facebook banned developer who made an app to let users limit news feed
If yes
Let me know at hi [at] louis [dot] work, CC your technical folks, and I’ll transfer the domain over!