Wednesday 05 January 2005
"Google" as a verb - probably not common among global vocabularies
Before I first heard of Google, from my mother, before Google was at all popular...
The word "google" conjured up visions of googley eyes. Like those moving eyes sold in craft stores, that I used in making my sock puppets.
The only other use for the word was by my mother, throughout my childhood, she used the word "googles" to refer to those bits and pieces of stuff that hang around in the basket of kitchen sink drains.
Or even sometimes referring to those pieces of lint-like material developing on worn clothing - also known as "pilling" or "pills".
But now apparently CBS News has deemed the word "google", as a noun or even a verb, to be "part of the global language".
CBS News | Defining Google | January 2, 2005 20:01:07
"Has there ever been a brand name like Google?"
Considering a significant portion of the United States uses the word "Coke" to describe all forms & brands of soda, I think the answer to that question is highly debatable.
Generic Names for Soft Drinks by county
I mean, I'm imagining most people who do use "google" as a verb, are actually using Google, not using some other search engine and calling it "googling".
But what strikes me most is this "it’s now a part of the global language" nonsense...
I've thought about this...
I have at least one blood relative who has never used the internet, ever. I have 6 personal friends who do not use the internet at all. (At least 2 of them have never used the internet.) I have personally known, within the last year, at least 4 people who were not using the internet. I have a relative who uses the internet while this person's spouse does not use it, never touches the computer. I have 2 friends who do not use the internet, even though their spouses use it. I have met 2 people who have told me that not only don't they use the internet, but they have "nothing with screens" in their home.
That's 15 people right there, in the U.S., who are definitely not using the word "google" in relation to the search engine, in their language. Some of whom probably wouldn't even recognize the brand name. And this isn't including the 20 or so people that I am acquainted with, that I suspect do not use the internet at all, and it isn't even including the many people I know who barely ever use the internet, and certainly aren't using "google" as a verb in their vocabulary.
So then we have to look at places such as Borneo, the Amazon river basin, the Congo, the rural areas of India & Bangladesh, just to name a few...
The latest asserted statistics my pal John D. found on the web, at Article Hub, about 2 years ago, which claimed almost 94% of the world's population had no internet access whatsoever, and that of the about 6% of the world's population that had internet access, only about 1/3 (one third) of those people with internet access were actually surfing the web.
I had asked someone else about how many people in the world were on-line. The statistics he found were that about 1 billion people are on-line, in the world. That would mean only about 15% of the world's population is on-line.
Even if the current stats on this for today showed in increase... say 25%? Even counting those who use the internet but don't surf the web or engage in searching at Google.... It's not a lot. Even 33% wouldn't be "most", after all.
It's just not a lot, by any stretch of the imagination. It means internet users are in the global minority. And those who use Google on the internet are probably a smaller minority. And I'm sure yet an even smaller a minority - those who actually use "google" as a verb in their vocabulary.
So where do they get off using this "global language" statement?
Of course, I'm sure a lot of 'bloggers' wouldn't notice this, since many bloggers seem to think the whole world is watching them, hanging on their every word. And considering that most people I know who do use the internet, don't even know what a blog is, or have only seen mine, that's even more inaccurate an idea. I wouldn't like to give myself a headache with those statistics.
But of course far be it from me to spoil anyone's delusions of grandeur.
I think I'm fairly far from being anti-internet, or anti-technology. Obviously, considering this, here, right now. But yeah, Google kind of disturbs me. And I do succomb to a bit of paranoia every time I type something potentially seemingly odd out of context into the Google search engine, wondering if someone's watching and taking note.
Apparently I'm not the only one since that little movie 'EPIC' exists.
I'm not the most efficient web searcher, I'm sure. But for some reason, almost everything I put on the web gets a rather relatively high Google ranking. I used to think this was particularly useless really. But now I'm generally rather amused by it.
So yeah, Google remains the web search engine entity I love to hate. But they haven't taken over the world... even I can't make that scale of paranoia funny, damn it. But you better believe that news televisions shows, and blogs alike, will find some sensationalism somewhere.
(CBS link via Bag & Baggage)
(a wee bit on another little inaccuracy and bloggers @ kottke.org)
posted by Chloe | Wednesday 05 January 2005 2:20 AM
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