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Leader: Why Google needs to relax
Is search giant becoming the ultimate bad winner?

By silicon.com

Published: Monday 14 August 2006

The latest cracks to appear in Google's once ultra-cool public image are to do with a very po-faced defence of its brand and the insistence that the media must stop talking about 'googling' as a generic verb - because it could do serious damage to Google's brand.

This is about as humourless and petty an approach to PR as we've ever heard and one which confirms Google is heading firmly down the road of other tech companies who appear to have deployed their lawyers around about the same time they underwent a total sense-of-perspective bypass.

In some quarters it's being claimed that Google is still treating this as a bit of a joke and those of us reacting, well, like this, are missing the point. While the likes of CEO Eric Schmidt can maintain some levity, what right does the media have to be uppity?

Despite these protestations, we can't help thinking there is no humour about Google's stance. It's something which, granted, should be very funny but actually raises concerns that Google has now reached the 'diva' stage of its meteoric rise, recognised as the moment when a once humble star believes she has attained a suitable level of fame to get away with making ridiculous demands.

How long before we hear 'Eric Schmidt doesn't do stairs' or 'Larry Page must only be photographed on his good side'?

The problem Google has created for itself here is that it will inevitably fail in its attempts, so why bother and risk the moans and groans of the public?

One linguistics expert assured silicon.com that the cat is well and truly out of the bag now regarding the everyday use of 'to google' and she expressed serious doubts that Google, or anybody else could ever force people to stop doing so.

The other issue here is that Google should stop whingeing long enough to recognise when it's won.

Of course, if a brand becomes used in a generic fashion then the company loses some control of the way that brand is represented outside its own core messaging (though worse things happen at sea you know). But for 'googling' to now be synonymous with internet search means Google undeniably owns that industry.

In taking this stance Google is - in PR terms - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

One PR exec we spoke to expressed his own doubts.

"Will Google really be able to hoover up every use of the verb?" he asked rhetorically before correcting himself. "Sorry, that should be: will Google really be able to vacuum up every use of the verb?"

The answer lies in the question. Next time you're in the jacuzzi, hoovering the lounge or xeroxing some documents, stop and think what chance Google stands with this crusade and then try to come up with a reason why it should even try to wage it.