In Has auto AC been improved so much it’s no longer an energy sink? Unca Cece notes “For the easy questions you’ve got Google. For the tough ones you’ve got us.” I believe this is a good motto that belongs on the website’s banner pages. “It’s taking longer than we thought” was fine for the 20th century, when the columns were still available in book form, but the digital age needs a new motto, and this is it.
A question from the article. When did we get a klaxon?
Came free with the cattle prod.
It’s interesting to compare recent columns to the classic ones that have been recently reposted. E.g., the Garbo one. Lot of easily Googled (now) ones from the mid-'80s. Now [del]Ed[/del] Cecil has to work for a living rather than just looking things up.
The OP’s suggestion is sort of timely. But I don’t think Google will appreciate the trademark abuse.
“Ed Cecil” sounds like a character in a failed attempt at Nephelokokkygian allegory by Steinbeck.
“For the easy questions you’ve got [generic search engines]. For the tough ones you’ve got us.”
Maybe “For the easy questions you’ve got the Internet. For the tough ones you’ve got us”? (Of course, these days Cecil is mostly part of the Internet, but the column still runs in print form some places, doesn’t it?)
I don’t think it qualifies as trademark abuse. We are clearly not claiming to be Google, but actually asserting a difference.
And google, googling, etc. are widely used, without the company flinging cease-and-desist letters or lawsuits around – it almost seems that they like that – gives them more publicity for their product. And their product can’t really be copied. Microsoft Bing & others have tried, but without much success. People using “google” for “searching” reinforces their product image. The worry with physical products was that ‘kleenix’ or ‘asprin’ would be declared a generic term, and then anyone could legally call their facial tissue or pain medication that, thus cutting into sales of the original. That doesn’t happen with internet ‘products’ – people aren’t likely to say “I’ll go google that” and then browse Bing.com.
I’d wager that a slogan written by a committee of dopers would end up with so many clarifications and disclaimers that it would be about 50 words long with multiple nested parentheses and two or three footnotes and links to citations.
Agreed - the only thing Google may complain about is the fact that we are implying Google is only good for simple questions. But I think they are far more likely to appreciate the free publicity than be worried about that. It also strikes me that as Google and the SDMB have a commercial link already (the GoogleAds), it would perhaps be easier to check this with Google.
Personally I think it’s a great slogan and I fully agree with the OP.
For the easy (not implying anyhting bad or derogatory of the person(s) asking it and understanding the rich variety of cultures and life-experiences) you’ve got the vast expanses of the internet search engines (without favouring any one search engine in particular). For the tough (without implying lack of intelligence or desire to search) you’ve got us (not necessarily all of us but some not-quite-representative sample of the people who have a SDMB account):
You’re probably right that it could be used. When Pepsi has coke products and labels in its commercials, there’s likely legal ground.
Read the FAQ:
Don’t be too sure. As soon as people collectively in their mind associate “google” with the generic for “search the internet”, they will collectively begin to do exactly that: say “I’ll google that” and then go to Ask.com or bing or Yahoo! That is the way the human brain works - you make the word a generic and it becomes a generic placeholder.
Just look at how “coke” is used in the American south. Walk in to any restaurant and order a “coke” and you’ll almost certainly get asked, “What kind? We have Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist…” If it can happen to Coca-cola, it can happen to Google.
They can’t do much about how the average Joe uses words. Xerox and Kleenex have already faced that dilemma. They can, however, scrutinize how their logos are used and anyone putting a business/professional front on the use. That they can and will pursue - because if they don’t, they become aspirin.
GoogleAds doesn’t really imply any business connection. Not anything significant. Certainly nothing to the sort that means SDMB has a special connection to the Google business office. They just applied as a customer for GoogleAds, same as any other customer.
It is a monumentally bad idea to namecheck ANY other business when writing a slogan. It automatically makes it’s value contingent on another entity that you have no control over.
Even replacing it with a weaker, generic “search engines” misses the point of the value of knowledgeable, researched information vs. wading through the misinformation the internet abounds with. Type in “Obama is” into Google’s search bar to get a sense of how easy answers are obfuscated.
Reducing the Straight Dope to a glorified “ask.com” also ignores the quality of writing in “Cecil’s” writing, a voice that the existing slogan communicates expertly.
Leave it alone.
Summed up in three words.
mmm
Why not just “For The Tough Questions, You’ve Got Us”?
It says what needs to be said, is probably more memorable, and eliminates the problems associated with trying to come up with an introductory phrase.