Why Is Google Unhappy About Getting “Verbed?”

The first recorded usage of “Google” used as a verb was on July 8, 1998, by Larry Page, who wrote on a mailing list: “Have fun and keep googling!”

“Google” was officially verbed in the Oxford English Dictionary on June 15, 2006 and to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in July, 2006.

I firmly believe that having the public utter your company name as a verb is like going to heaven without the inconvenience of dying. Getting “verbed” is the ultimate accomplishment for any brand – the marketer’s Shangri-la.

But Google doesn’t see it that way.  Its legal department isn’t happy about getting “verbed” probably because they’ve bought into the myth that a company risks (more…)