CONTENTS FEATURE: Don't 'Nikon' friends, or 'Google' them either GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: You don't 'Nikon' your friends, so don't 'Google' them either      Ellen is going to Honda to San Francisco this morning. She told Fred she would Cingular him when she arrives, and will Nikon the old friends she's going to meet there. Fred promised Ellen that he would Snapper the lawn while she's gone. Their son Billy will Fender at the dance tonight.      Those statements are puzzling, absurd and childish-sounding. That's because they're lacking verbs; in their place are proper nouns that should have been the direct objects of the missing verbs.      Ellen is not going to "Honda" to San Francisco; she will drive her Honda there. She won't "Cingular" Fred; she'll call him using her Cingular wireless phone, and she'll take photos of her friends with her Nikon camera. Fred will trim the grass with his Snapper lawnmower, and Billy will play his Fender guitar tonight.      That's how those concepts should be expressed—with recognizable verbs and with trademarked proper names used as adjectives: her Cingular phone; the Snapper lawnmower; his Fender guitar. The sanctity of trademarked names is sometimes violated, however, as an unintended result of popularity. Some brand-name products and services gain such widespread acceptance that consumers begin to regard them as synonymous with the functions of those products. They begin applying a brand name generically, to all similar products, even those of competitors.      Despite objections from the Coca Cola Co., people casually use its trademarked nickname "Coke" in reference to any cola beverage. For years the Xerox Corp. has reminded consumers that they can photocopy documents, but they can't "Xerox" them. In the United Kingdom, vacuum cleaning is commonly called "Hoovering." Many people are accustomed to using the term "Kleenex" for any brand of facial tissues, but Kimberly-Clark—owner of the Kleenex brand of tissues—sniffs its disapproval.      Such rampant misuse threatens the trademark protection of brand names, which can be revoked when their common use as generic terms eclipses use by their registered owners. Companies that were forced to surrender trademarks include the Bayer Co. (which lost ownership of the name "aspirin"). The Pilates exercise system likewise lost its trademark protection. The inclusion of trademarks in dictionaries as generic terms can hasten revocation of their protected status.      Include Google as the latest high-profile trademarked name now threatened as a result of chronic misuse. The ubiquitous Google.com search engine swiftly eclipsed competing services following its launch in September 1998 from a garage in Menlo Park, Calif. Before long, people began making conversational reference to "googling" someone or a topic of interest.      That use prompted the American Dialect Society to designate the rogue verb application of "google" as the "most useful word of 2002." The Oxford English Dictionary added "google" as a verb in 2005. And the 2006 copyright version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, scheduled for publication this fall, also will endorse the use of "google" (in lowercase) as a transitive verb, along with the inflected forms "googled" and "googling." The dictionary does acknowledge that the term is "often capitalized," and credits its etymological origin as "trademark for a search engine." The definition reads, "to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web."      But people are using "Google" as a verb in reference to any Internet search—even using Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Ask, AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Lycos and other Google search engine competitors.      The term has begun taking on far broader conversational meaning than even that, however. Some people equate "googling" with "looking" anywhere—not necessarily on the Internet. People attempting to be humorous have said they are "googling for their car keys" or other objects they can't find. Folks at Google corporate headquarters likely find such encroachment troubling.      In published guidelines, Google Inc. says its trademarked name should be used "ONLY as an adjective, NEVER as a noun or verb, and NEVER in the plural or possessive form." The guidelines advise use of a generic term following the mark—for example, Google search engine, Google search, Google web search.      "Defining Google as using the Google search engine is appropriate," said Google Inc. spokesman Steve Langdon. The company says its name was derived from the word "googol," the term for a number consisting of a 1 followed by 100 zeros. The Google name is intended to reflect the immense amount of Internet information that it catalogs for retrieval.      TiVo Inc. is confronting a similar problem. The popularity of its digital video recorder (DVR) and service features has prompted consumers to refer to "tivo-ing" programs—even though they may be using a DVR manufactured by another company. TiVo officials discourage use of the company's name as a verb.      "The unqualified success of the TiVo brand is that TiVo does more than simply record television shows (which can be done by any DVR). To dumb-down the TiVo brand by claiming that it is a verb or synonymous with 'recording' demeans the brand and underestimates our consumers," said Matt Zinn, vice president, general counsel and chief privacy officer for TiVo Inc. "You are correct in discouraging people from making a verb of a trademark and also encouraging people to use trademarks only as source indicators of their owners' products and services, and not for a whole industry," Zinn told EditPros. "TiVo's fanciful name and mark are not available for unauthorized, third-party use."      Adobe Systems Inc. is likewise concerned about hijacking of its PhotoShop trademark. The company discourages the slang verb "photoshopping" in reference to use of image editing software.      "Trademarks are proper adjectives and should be followed by the generic terms they describe, Adobe declares on its Web site. "Trademarks are not verbs." It accompanies that statement with an example of incorrect use ("the image was photoshopped") as well as proper use ("the image was enhanced using Adobe Photoshop software").      Adobe also says, "trademarks must never be used as slang terms," as in, "A photoshopper sees his hobby as an art form."      You're not going to Weber hamburgers this weekend. You're not going to Maytag your clothes or Science Diet your dog. Please don't Google, either. Feel free, however, to research information on the Web with the Google search engine or any other search portal of your choice. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions 1. Mare Y. wrote:      "We are having an argument over the collective noun "staff." Although you already answered one question on this subject, I wish you would consider this particular example: All Parking Services' staff is required to attend. (I think it should be "are" because it is referring to individual members." The grammar coach replies:      Substitution of a different collective noun will help answer your question. Just as a staff is a group of people, so is a team.      A statement declaring "All hockey team is required to attend" would sound peculiar. So would one reading "All hockey team are required to attend."      The solution is to use a noun that refers to individuals rather than to an entity. So we would suggest "All hockey team members are required to attend" — or, in your case, "All Parking Services staff members are required to attend."      You could circumvent the collective noun problem entirely by instead saying "All Parking Services employees are required to attend." 2. James B. wrote:      "I say that it's pompous and poor etiquette to address yourself as "doctor" or most other titles. For example, you answer your phone saying, "this is doctor John Smith." That should be up to the other person to address you that way. Even the president doesn't answer the phone saying "this is President Bush speaking"; he says this is George Bush speaking. What do you say about this?" The grammar coach replies:      The question you asked is likely to elicit widely different responses, with the lines drawn between people who have doctoral degrees and those who don't. Some people who have completed rigorous doctoral studies insist on that recognition; some people who don't have doctoral degrees may resent those who do.      A doctorate is an academic degree conferred for attainment of the highest level of understanding in a given field. Educational institutions grant doctoral degrees in disciplines as divergent as philosophy, theology, psychology, law, education and business administration. Those are regarded as research doctorates, in contrast to doctoral degrees granted in the professions—a category that includes medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, law and pharmacy. In the academic realm, anyone who has earned a doctoral degree, regardless of the field, is bestowed the title "doctor." Most people, however, associate that term with health-care professions.      The Associated Press Stylebook, the standard reference source for newspaper journalists, says, "Use 'Dr.' in first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy or doctor of podiatric medicine degree." The stylebook adds, "If appropriate in the context, 'Dr.' also may be used on first reference before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. However, because the public frequently identifies 'Dr.' only with physicians, care should be taken to assure that the individual's specialty is stated in first or second reference." The AP stylebook further says, "Do not use 'Dr.' before the names of individuals who hold only honorary doctorates."      A physician who greets a patient by identifying himself as Dr. John Smith is certainly within the bounds of propriety. Such clear identification is justifiable and useful.      But he is likely just "John" to his golfing buddies.      Using "Dr." in the introduction of a business seminar speaker who has a doctorate in business administration is appropriate because it identifies level of expertise.      But using the title "Dr." in the hope of securing a restaurant reservation can be perceived as pretentious, presumptuous, even rude.      So in our view, the propriety of use of the title "Dr." depends upon context. When it's used to inform, that's fine. Its use for apparent ego gratification or to gain unfair advantage, however, can breed resentment.      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500      Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros services? If you do, EditPros may reward you with a "finder's fee" of up to $500.      EditPros, established in 1993, performs writing, editing, proofreading and publication management services for newsletters, brochures, Web sites, annual reports, research studies, business proposals and other informational and marketing materials. Our office is in Davis, Calif., between Sacramento and San Francisco.      Our clients include educational institutions, private corporations, health-care organizations, trade associations, scientific research institutions, Web site developers and government agencies. We have worked with some of them for more than 10 years.      If you recommend our services to a friend or business colleague, and that introduction leads to an assignment for EditPros, we will award you a "finder's fee" equaling 10 percent of the amount we earn on the first assignment for the new client, up to a maximum finder's fee of $500. Naturally, the finder's fee is applicable only to clients for which we have not worked previously.      This offer will remain in effect until further notice. YOUR TURN: Ask the "grammar coach" or subscribe      We invite you to submit your questions to the "grammar coach," and we welcome you to subscribe to this monthly newsletter—which we'll send to your e-mail address at no charge. We respond to all "grammar coach" questions personally, but delays may occur because we must place top priority on assignments from our clients. We appreciate your patience and your interest.      You also can change your e-mail subscription address. 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