Booble vs. Google
by undermyspell - Adult Grind

If you are involved in the adult industry then you have been hidden in a shell if you haven't heard of Booble. It's a blatant knockoff of the very popular Google search engine but with a decidedly adult theme to it. The old adage of imitation is the most sincere form of flattery does not hold water for the Google staff though. They feel that Booble has infringed on their trademark and have sent them a cease and desist order to immediately shut the site down and transfer the domain to the owners of Google. Google also feels that the Booble site can potentially confuse surfers and that it will tarnish Google's good name by those offended by adult related material. Booble owners have stated that it is simply a parody of Google and thus under trademark law is not considered an infringement of said trademark. Now, it appears that it will end up with Google either just paying the people off at Booble for the domain and related site or duking it out in court and letting the court decide the proper definition of "parody".

I took the liberty of getting a good solid definition of "parody" from the Encarta dictionary online. This is the result that it gave me.

PARODY - 1. amusing imitation: a piece of writing or music that deliberately copies another work in a comic or satirical way 2. parodies in general: parodies as a literary or musical style or type 3. poor imitation: an attempt or imitation that is so poor that it seems ridiculous

If you dissect these definitions then I assume the first thing that you would have to do is to ascertain whether you find the Booble website an "amusing" imitation. It's very obviously an imitation but whether or not it's amusing is going to be answered different ways from the opposing parties. Now, the next crucial piece would be to evaluate whether it's done in a satirical way. I once again looked up satirical with my trusty dictionary and the definition is "the use of wit to attack the vices and follies of humankind". This definition definitely weighs on the entire process considering the fact that nothing about the site is used to attack the vices and follies of humankind. I would be more apt to say that the site promotes the vices and follies rather than attacks them. But, then again I guess that the answer would vary depending on exactly who you asked about it. You also couldn't argue that it's a poor imitation considering Google is one of the most renowned and recognizable websites in the world and the Booble site is virtually a carbon copy of it with the exception of the rather ample breasts in lieu of the "o's". So to call it a poor imitation would be a stretch even to someone who can't see the monitor in front of their face.

Upon visiting the Booble website it is immediately apparent that they are attempting to capitalize on adult internet traffic which is pure brilliance but I think that the way they have approached it leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, it's always nice to see someone take on the big guys and win but in this case I think they really should just let it go and enjoy their proverbial 15 minutes of fame and walk away. Why do I feel this way? First and foremost I have a serious issue with the techniques you must employ to be listed on Booble with an adult site. The following statement is directly from their submission page: "Note that submissions are required either to have an affiliate program, or, to have a link to Booble.com posted on the submitting site. Temporary logins and passwords are required for pay site review and categorization. Booble.com reserves the right to discontinue listing at its own discretion."

I'm not so against having to have a link up to any site i'm submitting to simply because we all play the search engine and link popularity game and it's almost become a standard in the ever changing search engine game. The part I do have a problem with though is the need for them to have a password and username to paysites. Why exactly do they need a password? Well, in my opinion there are two possible scenarios. First scenario may be that they are complete perverts and want to amass a serious collection of porn for personal use. That would be enough reason for me to want to see them disappear from the face of the earth but I feel there may be a far more sinister reason for their need for these passwords. In recent weeks we've seen the emergence of file swapping programs for profit. Imagine if you had content from virtually every paysite on the internet and what you could potentially earn if you joined a program that paid you to swap files. You would be able to touch upon every niche, name and facet of the porn industry and regardless of the file searched for it would be readily available from said computer or server. That may be a far stretch of the imagination but I have seen much more dubious scemes performed and performed successfully. It would be a cold day in hell before a search engine got a username and password for a site that I owned or worked for.

I think another part of the site that chafes my ass is that on the front page there are 3 of the 11 links that are links to programs that the Booble people are affiliates of. That is slightly over 1/4 of the links that are direct money makers for the program owners. Now, given the publicity they've received in the last few weeks I would have to say that is probably raking in a fair amount of revenue. Don't get me wrong I have no objection to intelligent webmasters earning their fair share but I also despise those that ride the coattails of others. I do not think that this can be considered a parody of Google simply for the major purpose of Booble and that's to put bling in the bank.

by undermyspell - Adult Grind