Barney's Blog

Blog archive

Cheeseburger, Fries and a Large Google, Please

Brands become huge when they're used as common words. A Kleenex is a tissue to most -- doesn't matter who cut down the trees to make it. A Coke is a cola, and most of us would gladly accept a Pepsi or even an RC if the real thing wasn't available.

And when we search the Internet, we don't MSN Live Search it -- we Google it, baby!

And that ubiquity is the main reason why Google is the most valuable brand in the world today, two places ahead of Microsoft.

While I often cast doubt on just how broadly Google competes (I see it as a search and ad company), this brand gives it a huge leg up in any new markets it cares to enter. If it made a super-caffeinated cola beverage, I'm sure we'd all be asking for a Google instead of a Coke. Then Coke could strike back with a killer search engine!

Posted by Doug Barney on April 24, 2007


Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.