Thursday, August 17, 2006
It's OK to Google - Just Don't Say You're Doing It
Did you see today's story that Google is taking legal action to protect its trademark by insisting that people quit using its name as a verb? The odds aren't good that people will stop saying, "I googled it."
Maybe this is a sign the company is taking itself a bit too seriously. Any time you bring in the lawyers, you know someone has his/her underwear in a knot. Obviously, Google needs to protect its trademark and one way to do that is to insist that people use the word the way it was originally intended. To heck with the compliment that is implied in the fact that Google became a verb quickly. One thing they can do is at least prevent dictionaries and legal documents from diluting the name by forcing an explanation of the company's services and how it should be referred to.
In any event, I don't know that I can stop saying, "Google it" any more than I can stop saying, "Do you have a Kleenex?" or "I need a Xerox of this." And can you even IMAGINE a day when we don't Edel-everything?
Maybe this is a sign the company is taking itself a bit too seriously. Any time you bring in the lawyers, you know someone has his/her underwear in a knot. Obviously, Google needs to protect its trademark and one way to do that is to insist that people use the word the way it was originally intended. To heck with the compliment that is implied in the fact that Google became a verb quickly. One thing they can do is at least prevent dictionaries and legal documents from diluting the name by forcing an explanation of the company's services and how it should be referred to.
In any event, I don't know that I can stop saying, "Google it" any more than I can stop saying, "Do you have a Kleenex?" or "I need a Xerox of this." And can you even IMAGINE a day when we don't Edel-everything?
# posted by Marilynn Mobley @ 11:56 AM 
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While I do understand where Google is coming from, I think it a bit absurd that they think it necessary to resort to legal action.
After all, it is a compliment to their company that people are using the phrase.
After all, it is a compliment to their company that people are using the phrase.
At Edelman Summer School, there was some discussion about how people use corporate logos on MySpace and the like--i.e. having Playboy bunny logos as backgrounds and such. And the conversation led to this point: If you control your brand too much, your target audiences can't engage with it or experience it.
It's a point where traditional brand managers/advertising execs ("the brand police") differ from the Edelman world of the relationship imperative. In an age when brand experience and interaction is increasingly key, the paradigm is going to have to shift. The challenge will be how to know where to draw the line to keep it from being abused to the brand's detriment.
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It's a point where traditional brand managers/advertising execs ("the brand police") differ from the Edelman world of the relationship imperative. In an age when brand experience and interaction is increasingly key, the paradigm is going to have to shift. The challenge will be how to know where to draw the line to keep it from being abused to the brand's detriment.
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