4 ms·
I'd say that the URL for Apple iPod is: http://google.com/search?q=apple%20ipod and for Sony Walkman: http://google.com/search?q=sony20walkman Really, I
by wulczer 15y ago
I'd say that the URL for Apple iPod is:
http://google.com/search?q=apple%20ipod
and for Sony Walkman:
http://google.com/search?q=sony20walkman
Really, I see people going to their GMail by typing "gmail" in Google. And ask 100 strangers on the street how important the tidyness of the text in their browser's address bar is to them.
- simonw 15y agoYup... and unfortunately for Sony, the top hit for "sony walkman" is Wikipedia. If their URLs didn't completely suck maybe they would have better luck with their SEO.
- wulczer 15y agoI think it's Wikipedia because "walkman" has a much longer history as a brand name, from cassette players to cell phones. I remember times where back where I lived "walkman" was a plain noun meaning "any kind of portable cassette player".
- lachenmayer 15y agoWell, in a way the same thing is true with "iPod" now: It's used to refer to "any kind of MP3 player". But search for "ipod" on Google, and the Wikipedia page telling you all about the history of the iPod is not the first result, it's a page where you can actually buy one. Several pages, actually.
- innes 15y agoHmmm. I don't believe people use the term 'iPod' to refer to any old MP3 player.
- JacobAldridge 15y agoSome do (my parents for example), and I suspect even among those who recognise different brands, there's decreasing awareness of what MP3 is. It's not uncommon for a brand to become synonomous over time - Walkman was an earlier example in this thread, but others include Liquid Paper, Roller Blades, and even Biros. Dangerous territory, because in the instance where it does become generic your trademark protection disappears (see also the battle Xerox continues to wage in that regard).
- montibbalt 15y agoAlso, Kleenex. Possibly the "Duck" brand of tape as well since people seem to have trouble saying duct tape.
- jokermatt999 15y agoActually duct tape vs duck tape isn't all that clear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape#Etymology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape#Etymology Duck Tape is trademarked, but it's possible that was the original term for it. It's weird.
- lachenmayer 15y agoMany of my friends do; also many older more "technically-challenged" people I know do. I don't appreciate the downvote.
- innes 15y agoI know of no-one who does, technically challenged or otherwise. Also, I don't have downvoting rights.
- rmc 15y agoI suspect Wikipedia's massive page rank helps with that. Pretty soon wikipedia will own most keywords.
- lachenmayer 15y agoYou're right. URLs like Sony's are exactly the reason why people completely ignore URLs, and the only URL that any average joe ever types in the address bar is www.google.com.
- hammock 15y agoDespite the google argument, URLs still count for sharing links with people. If you have to email someone a nasty unreadable 140-char URL, it depresses the shareability of that link in every way - digitally, orally and written.
- ubernostrum 15y agoActually, no, it goes deeper than that. Most people never learn how to use the address bar. Period. It's not that the URLs are too hard or complex to learn, it's that they don't know there's anything they could learn to type in there.
- lachenmayer 15y agoWell, part of the reason for that is that people never actually need to learn about URLs, Google is perfectly adequate for the average web browsing needs. And I would say most people know how to copy/paste URLs to share them, so it's not a problem of 'learning' what they are and what they're for.