I see Google are now telling us when we can and when we can’t use the word Google in our everyday speech!
we do have a brand to protect, so we’d like to make clear that you should please only use “Google” when you’re actually referring to Google Inc. and our services
I actually think they are serious too – if this were April 1st, I’d understand why the post was put out there but as it is not, I am bemused by the company’s trying to stop people using its name (use of its name, even as a verb, instead of a noun, by definition increases its brand awareness).
Plonkers.
It’s all about the trademark I’m afraid. The same has happened with people using WordPress in domain names recently.
Another Google hack, perhaps?? Anyone know?
Here come the lawyers. Google has to do this in order to ensure their trademark down the road. I’m pretty sure their won’t be language police after me for use google to describe searching on Yahoo!
I can see why they need to protect it!
Thermos, Hoover, etc. have completely lost their brand identity.
If thermos advertise “Buy a Thermos Flask”, you would buy any brand, not a ‘thermos’
Donncha and Randy, sure, I know that but the language of Google’s post is that you can’t even utter “I googled something at Yahoo! the other day” without, as Randy said, the language police storming the premises. Domain names are an entirely different matter.
It is getting ridiculous.
It’s more a case of Google are too successful. Their full range of products isn’t encompassed by ‘googling’. They want to make people aware that they offer more products than just the search engine.
It’s a dumb way to go about IMO
I googled “raftery” on Scrudu.ie and you came up first.
Half the world seems to have over-reacted to this. I don’t blame Google at all and I thought the post was rather light-hearted.
If you wanna see “evil” visit http://www.adobe.com/misc/trade.html#photoshop
Although I can’t blame Adobe either. Trademarks are very valuable commodities.
Any soft drink in the Southern US is often just “a Coke”.
Nobody says Petroleum Jelly (even if it’s not Vaseline Brand).
Want to make a copy of that document. Go “Xerox” it.
More often than not people refer to bandages as “Band-Aids”.
So all those businesses have effectively lost their trademarks. Some companies spend a fortune just coming up with one only to see it vanish in this manner.
It’s all about Trademarks. 🙂
Uh oh Roger – The Google lawyers are even now en route with a raft of documents to sue your ass and keep you in court for the next 10 years!
Scott, I can’t see Coke hurting over what people down south call soda. Most people over here say photocopy not Xerox.
Tom it’s just normal business practices, every business if they are successful will have to do this at one point or another, thats because if you do not protect your mark, you lose it. Look what happend to hoover, xerox etc. Google does not want that, which seems 100% fair to me… Brand means everything unfortunately!