crazyeyesinfoworldshizzle.com?

As we all know, there’s a cultural gulf widening between that oh-so-sought after “wired teen” demographic and the rest of us. As we’ve all read in [name your media source] everyone from newspaper and radio executives to movie moguls and prospective employers need to be boning up on Myspace, Facebook and the latest ringtone and viral video fad so they can appeal to Internet and tech-savvy teens and college grads. But looking at Myspace.com and Web hosting company Dotster’s latest effort to appeal to teens makes me ask “Why bother?”

So just what is “Pimpedemail?” Well, basically its a “pimped” up version of the Web domain lookup and registration services that pretty much every other hosting service worth its salt offers.

The difference? Well…there’s the “image” thing. You know: souped up vintage 70’s sedans, piles of cash and that kinda gothic lettering that’s somehow become synonymous with “pimps.” I checked carefully, but couldn’t see any exploited sex workers on the site though they, of course, are part of the “pimp” mystique. Hell — they’re what being a pimp is all about, right? So I’m not sure exactly what, at the end of the day, Dotster’s pimps are pimping … besides their own sorry service.

Then there’s a kinda “teen” friendly domain name generation feature that turns your boring old domain name into a ‘hip buzz phrase’ (this is their wording, not mine) more likely to appeal to teens and the rest of the MySpace crowd.

Curious, I typed good old “Infoworld.com” in and here’s what I got:

crazyeyesinfoworldshizzle.com

ininfoworldwetrust.com

infoworldatthedisco.com

justinfoworld.com

worldofinfoworld.com

Are these really cooler than infoworld1234.com? I don’t think so. Dotster and Myspace should tweak their “hip and cynical” algorithm a bit to get it working just right.

Dotster’s CEO, Clint Page, is quoted saying that he “hopes PimpedEmail will foster a greater sense of creativity and control for teens who purchase domains….PimpedEmail is a fun service that is accessible to Internet users of all experience levels, but it may also become an on-ramp into a new hobby or even a future career for some of our young customers.”

Hmm…an on-ramp to a new hobby or even a future career for some of our young customers. You mean like … pimping??!

Then there’s the small print. Folks who sign up pay $7.95 a month for the e-mail forwarding service, with a “small additional fee” to do domain forwarding. Huh?

First of all, you can buy a whole Web hosting package with storage and e-mail accounts for a lot less than $7.95 a month, and companies don’t typically charge you extra just to do domain forwarding, in my experience.

Second, why wrap the new service in a risque and, basically, misogynist image like “pimping.” Yeah, I’ve seen Pimp My Ride, it’s a good show, but given a world of possibilities with branding this new service, it’s hard to see what Dotster and MySpace were thinking of with “pimpedemail.”