Opinion: Don't Artificially Influence the Natural Evolution of the English [language] Animal! (Originally posted to the Web with the title, "Google: A Noun or Verb?")

(This post was originally going to be a comment on this blog article on Tidewater Musings, but it grew enough that I think it deserves an entry and a crosslink here. After all, my paw was already on the mouse.. =;o) )
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Well, they'll have to sue me.. I've been known to use "Google" as a verb. In fact, I think I'm going to go Google "development of the English language" right now. =;o)

Google lawyers, come here, this little fox'll tell you a secret... =:oP.. *PFFFFT!*

Seriously, who do they think they are, trying to steer the development of the English language. It's a living animal, with is own evolutionary path - the ultimate expression of public domain knowledge, which spans many generations and thousands of miles.

I suppose they have to say something to protect themselves from a trademark (service mark?) law point of view.. But on the other hand, IMO, the "verbalizing" of their trademark is the ultimate sign of:

1. Their success.
2. The respect of millions of Web users throughout the world, who have come to like their useful service with its clean interface.

Please don't party-poop, Google. Don't kick the public in the muzzle for their homage to you - reflected in the evolution of the English Animal.

Besides, there are plenty of words which are both nouns and verbs. Try "search," for instance. When someone goes to Google, they want to search for something. On the other hand, when the police are looking for a suspect, they might bring in a bloodhound to join in the search. =:oP

Did I just mention hounds? *gulp*  ¶ 11/06/2006 11:44:00 AM