Just Google it! Actually, don’t.

More cases of how words can cost or win companies millions.

Google

Using Google as a verb has become a popular phrase in today’s world, but you will never hear an employee of Google use it that way. They will always tell you to “search using Google”.

This is a trade mark issue. When the Language council of Sweden wanted to add the word “ungooglable” to its lexicon, they meant it to define “something that cannot be found on the web using a search engine.” Google jumped on this quickly asking them to add a reference to google.com in the definition. Legally, this is their right. (Matacoins, 2013)

When a company loses control of a trademark word, other can start using it. If Google is not careful, one day Bing or Yahoo could have a “Google bar”. It used to be that the only company allowed to make “escalators” was the Otis Elevator Company. Everyone else had to make vertical moving stairs, until the word escalator became equally defined as “vertical moving stairs” (Matacoins, 2013).

There is a trust developed in certain words. I will trust a “Google Search” over a “Bing Search” so there is some customer relations built with language. When nouns get a “verb makeover” it can be great for the English language but terrible for the bottom line of that business.

Apple

Apple made some waves when they claimed their Ipod was the “funness ipod ever”. They also made “nano” a verb when they claimed they “renanoed” the ipod nano.  Apple was clearly trying to make people do a double take with the words (for lack of a better word) they chose for this ad (Fogarty, Can Apple Get Away with "Funness"?, 2013). Funness is not a word, and funnest or funner gets grammar people all riled up. If the objective is to get people to notice your product, Apple used language to make this mission a success.

Bibliography:

Matacoins, D. (2013, March 26). Google Doesn't want People Using "Google" as a verb. Retrieved from Outside the Beltway: www.outsidethebeltway.com/google-doesnt-want-people-using-google-as-a-verb/

Fogarty, M. (2013, January 24). Can Apple Get Away with "Funness"? Retrieved from Quick and Dirty Tips: www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/can-apple-get-away-with-"funness"