To google or not to Google

Ars Technica: Google says 'no' to Googling

At first glance this seems like standard trademark stuff. Companies don't like their product to be turned into a verb because it can lead to them losing their trademarks. Think of making a xerox or using a kleenex (of of those was the original case I think) or rollerblading, which I think legally you should be calling inline skating or some other crap.

Second glance though and thinks are different. How many people who say they are googling are actually using All The Web or Yahoo or some other engine? Not many I think. To google is not to do any old online search, its to search using Google. Now this might not be true forever, but at the moment every use of the word as a verb is actually good for Google, its advertising, and its not referring to a generic product at all.

Posted by William Blaze at June 20, 2003 07:44 PM | TrackBack