July 23rd, 2007
Note To Self 16: Branding
The spark for this came from this page discovered with guidelines for how to use the word “Photoshop”. And yet I hear Google being used as a verb in TV and movies all the time and I seriously doubt it’s hurt their business any. I do realize the possibility is there for the word to become generic, but I’m not seeing it happen with Photoshop. It’s kind of like expecting ‘Flash’ to become the term for any animation that appears online. There’s still many other ways to edit images.
It just goes to show what one gruntsponge can’t face: Language is always evolving.
August 11th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Mmm. The trouble is, when Fark.com suggest you photoshop an image - I’m going to do it using Paint Shop Pro! Google get really antzy when you use there brand as a verb so I expect Adobe will get keen on this. It must be a kind of brand virility symbol! Notice I used Photoshop without capitalising it there. I can hear their lawyers walking up the path now…
The worst people to upset are the Biro people. If a journo refers to “a biro” meaning some crappy ballpoint pen then they are likely to receive a lawyer’s letter explaining that the word “Biro” should be capitalised and refer only to the superior Biro pen as invited by Mr Biro and made exclusively by the BIC company.
I must go - I’m going to hoover the carpet and have a Pepsi coke.
August 18th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
It’s like sony’s walkman, it used to be a brand name but everybody used it for every brand of portable casette player. The same happend with discman
August 21st, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I think George Bush is a dirty filthy liar, an imbecile, a theif and a trator. I wish we’d impeache him alreaddy.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 pm
As the above comments say, it is not language evolving it is the fear of a company losing its’ trademark… do some research m8.
Joke isn’t funny either
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I seem to recall that Xerox ended up having problems enfprcing their trademark, since their name had become a generic term for photocopier.
Adobe may be trying to stave off the same problem.
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:47 pm
In Texas if someone asks if you’d like a coke, and you reply “yes”, they ask you , “what flavor”. You might answer, “Dr.Pepper please”.
It seems that a coke in Texas is equivalent to pop or soda in other places.
Like weedeater is generic for all string trimmers.
I propose we all just gimpshop images from now on.
P.S. PDF’s are the scourge of the internet, so Adobe can bite my gimpshopped as*.
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:18 am
Journo…
Good to know ……