Don't 'Google' it !
How often have you told someone to "just google it" to find an answer to their question? It's certainly a common expression in our office.
You may not be able to "google it" much longer if the legal people at Google get their way. The search company is concerned about the trade mark implications of people using the term as a verb to describe searching the Internet, rather than using the noun 'Google' referring to the company.
Watch out for these expressions as well:
- write the user guide for beginners not "For Dummies"
- use meta-data to describe data about data not "Metadata"
- write online help for a WindowsR-based application not a Windows application.
For more discussion on the Google trade mark issue visit www.builderau.com.au and read the News article "Google wants people to stop googling".
For more information on trade marks that have entered common usage visit http://en.wikipedia.org and read the entry "Genericised trademark".
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