3 ms·

Before Google we never Altavista'd or Yahoo'd anything, I don't see why this has to be a problem. Also, please stop abusing the word "pivot" :(

BasDirks 15y ago
Right, before Google.. but maybe that's the point: they never became as ubiquitous as Google.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
  - BasDirks 15y ago
    No, but it helps. My grandma says "I'll Google it". In the case of Altavista (yep she already had internet back then), she'd say "I'll try to use the site you bookmarked for me". Reason #1 for her familiarity with Google is the ease-of-use: an obvious box for typing shit, one obvious list for clicking shit, combined into one website for finding shit. But the apparent naturalness of Google as a verb—even in Dutch—makes old (and less old) folks feel like they are with the times. A verbalizable name helps because verbs tend to integrate into everyday talk more easily, whereas nouns always have a sense of otherness attached to them. With a service like search that is so central to the web-experience, you don't want that otherness, but perhaps when you are competing with Google Search it is best to have that sort of distance.
njharman 15y ago
Give you a hint, why. Which one of those companies dominates search? Which are dead or also rans?
IsaacL 15y ago
I agree. Google became a verb because the search engine was successful, not the other way around. Furthermore: - Microsoft spent pots of cash trying to verbify their search engine with their "bing and decide" commercials. As far as I know, this hasn't worked for them. - IIRC Google themselves tend to use the form "do a Google search" - or they risk losing their trademark. - Duck Duck Go is a catchy name - three punchy syllables. (I've recently become a fan of The Name Inspector's blog). - And people should definitely stop using "pivot" when they just mean "change". Or "disruptive" when they mean "new". It's the startup equivalent of the crystal healers who use words like "quantum" to sound more intelligent.
- vacri 15y ago
  Or 'impact' when they mean 'affect', though sadly the battle is lost on that one...
- mtogo 15y ago
  But my disruptive agile cloud startup is going to pivot into being more of a social media cloud platform!!1!1oneone

BasDirks 15y ago

Right, before Google.. but maybe that's the point: they never became as ubiquitous as Google.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- BasDirks 15y ago
  No, but it helps. My grandma says "I'll Google it". In the case of Altavista (yep she already had internet back then), she'd say "I'll try to use the site you bookmarked for me". Reason #1 for her familiarity with Google is the ease-of-use: an obvious box for typing shit, one obvious list for clicking shit, combined into one website for finding shit. But the apparent naturalness of Google as a verb—even in Dutch—makes old (and less old) folks feel like they are with the times. A verbalizable name helps because verbs tend to integrate into everyday talk more easily, whereas nouns always have a sense of otherness attached to them. With a service like search that is so central to the web-experience, you don't want that otherness, but perhaps when you are competing with Google Search it is best to have that sort of distance.

njharman 15y ago

Give you a hint, why. Which one of those companies dominates search? Which are dead or also rans?

IsaacL 15y ago

I agree. Google became a verb because the search engine was successful, not the other way around. Furthermore: - Microsoft spent pots of cash trying to verbify their search engine with their "bing and decide" commercials. As far as I know, this hasn't worked for them. - IIRC Google themselves tend to use the form "do a Google search" - or they risk losing their trademark. - Duck Duck Go is a catchy name - three punchy syllables. (I've recently become a fan of The Name Inspector's blog). - And people should definitely stop using "pivot" when they just mean "change". Or "disruptive" when they mean "new". It's the startup equivalent of the crystal healers who use words like "quantum" to sound more intelligent.

vacri 15y ago
Or 'impact' when they mean 'affect', though sadly the battle is lost on that one...
mtogo 15y ago
But my disruptive agile cloud startup is going to pivot into being more of a social media cloud platform!!1!1oneone