Google == Internet?

Monday, April 23, 2007 by Dave Winer.

Remember the newspaper guy so many were calling clueless for saying that Google was getting all his content for free without paying for it? I defended him, saying that from where he stood the name Google was synonymous with everything we think of as the web or the Internet.  

Now there's a study that ranks Google as the most valuable brand, not just in tech -- it's worth more than Coca-Cola, Marlboro, Wal-Mart, GE, and of course Microsoft and Apple. Google is the #1 most valuable brand in the world. That's right -- Google. How did that happen??  

Now, if you stopped a man or woman in the street and asked what Google means, what would they say? 

I don't know, but I suspect they would say "The Internet."