Sometimes, when a company become so well known for its products, the company’s name actually enters modern language as a replacement for other more accurate terms. For instance, instead of saying “I’m going to make a copy,” have you ever said “I’m going to make a Xerox”? Or how about asking for a Kleenex, when all you really wanted was a tissue, no matter what brand it is. In the Internet world, there is no better example of this phenomenon than Google.

When people talk about searching the Internet, they often refer to “Googling.” From a grammatical perspective, this doesn’t make much sense. Technically, you should say, “I’m doing a search using Google,” or “I’m Google searching…” (but even that’s stretching it.) Of course, we don’t have much room for grammar in our go-go-go society, which is why using Google as a verb has become pretty much accepted as a way of referring to Internet searching in general. In fact, Google has become so synonymous with search that the American Dialect Society has named Google (as a verb) the word of the decade.

Given the growth and importance of the Internet to our society during 2000-2009 , it’s no wonder that the American Dialect Society would choose to bestow this honor upon Google. After all, Google carries 67% of all search traffic in the United States, and it’s arguable that no company has had a greater impact on how we access and analyze information. Of course, elevating Google into the annals of common language also carries some risks. While the word Google may be synonymous with search, it shouldn’t be synonymous with truth. What appears at the top of search results is not always the most accurate or up-to-date information, particularly if someone has had their name slandered online.

The only way to ensure that the information about you on the web reflects what you want is to proactively control your online reputation. At Reputation.com, we offer several innovative tools to help you do this, including MyReputation for monitoring your name, MyEdge for promoting your name, and MyPrivacy for protecting your private information. For more information on these services, and how each one can help you protect your good name online, feel free to contact one our online reputation management experts today by e-mail or phone at 877-720-6488.