Do you find yourself still saying "Just Google it" even though you want an open #Internet?
Branded phrases like this are deeply embedded in our vernacular these days, so don't fret!
Slow down and make a conscious effort to say "Search on the Internet" instead.
We know someone that made a "Google swear jar" and each time they used the G-word in conversation, a dollar went in the jar.
Now THAT is commitment!
@theprivacyfoundation I've heard that at Microsoft in the 90s it was against the rules to refer to maxing a photocopy as "xeroxing" or referring to a photocopy machine as a "xerox machine". Companies are very conscious about branding, and most of them try to stop branding for others while working towards one day having their brand synonymous with a verb.
Since learning this I've made an effort to never refer to a common action or thing with a brand name.
@mister_monster @theprivacyfoundation #Wikipedia has a nice list of former and current trademarks used as generic/common terms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks
For instance, did you know that the generic term for 'Bubble wrap' is actually 'inflated cushioning'? Or that a #Frisbee is actually just one brand of 'flying discs'?
#TIL that 'Lava lamp' is also a trademarked 'Liquid motion lamp’.