Skip to main content

Get over it: Why Google’s Father’s Day doodle wasn’t offensive

google-doodle-happy-fathers-day-2011
Image used with permission by copyright holder

To celebrate Father’s Day, Google replaced the ‘L’ in its standard corporate logo with a tie and added a short, shameless plug for Gmail underneath the search bar that read: “Dad. Father. Pops. No matter what you call him, call your dad from Gmail.” The link in the sentence goes to a page that encourages you to give Gmail calling a try and for the day there was a tiny link in the Google Voice module that said “Reminder: Call dad.” The notice ran for 12 hours.

I didn’t use Gmail to do it, but I did call my dad yesterday, thanks in part to Google’s little reminder. Others weren’t as pleased with the message. Like everything, some people found the Google Father’s Day “call dad” message to be offensive, usually because they don’t have a father to call, for various reasons. Seventy-three people complained on the Google Voice Chat help forum, and a Google employee apologized to anyone who was offended, but it was enough to get the tech media in an uproar. Led by TechCrunch, which excels at stirring the pot, PC World, Forbes, and the  International Business Times have all jumped on the bandwagon, labeling Google’s nice gesture or shameless plug as an epic “social fail” and ridiculing the company for being too invasive.

google-call-your-dad-from-gmail
Image used with permission by copyright holder

TechCrunch’s Alexia Tsotsis writes: “Google, Google, Google … I don’t know if it’s that you just don’t understand the intricacies of interpersonal relationships or if getting the social stuff right is just extremely difficult … Whatever the cause, it looks like you’ve made another faux pas with your innocent Father’s Day reminder to give Dad a call via Gmail for Father’s Day, which offended the sizable number of people who for one reason or another weren’t able to call their fathers yesterday.”

While I feel bad for anyone who didn’t have a father that they want to call, or can call, Google hasn’t done anything wrong here. It was a harmless message up for 12 hours with good intent. If it offended you, you could simply not check your email for a few hours on a Sunday, disable, or minimize the chat widget. I think we all just need to lighten up and get over it.

Yesterday was Father’s Day, a national holiday that happens every year, just like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and all sorts of holidays. It’s almost impossible to roam around the streets without seeing ads for companies and products that try to capitalize on the holiday. Stores have Father’s Day sales, lame TV stations have Father’s Day marathons, and websites tend to write about what’s buzzing, and that’s Father’s Day. I just wrote up a list of Father’s Day movies yesterday and Digital Trends held a phone giveaway in honor of Dad. Is this wrong?

Unfortunately, everything offends somebody. Valentine’s Day sucks for those who aren’t in love, Mother’s Day is a sad day for those who don’t have a mother, Memorial Day is a raw day for those who have lost a family member, and Easter bothers animal rights groups. Christmas gets people even touchier. If Google were to take the high road and please everybody by saying something like “Happy Holidays,” this will annoy those who think you should just say “Merry Christmas.” Hell, a harmless joke in Portal 2, (which was made by a malevolent computer that tries to push your buttons and enslave you for science) even offended a man with an adopted daughter because it mentioned adoption and he hadn’t talked about it with her yet.

If you stop to say anything at all, you’re bound to risk offending somebody. I enjoy Google’s doodles and I’d rather they have them than not. Every one of them probably offends or bothers some remote sect of the Web. But when you run the most popular website on the Internet, that’s just how things go.

Topics
Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
How to change your language in Google Chrome on desktop
Chrome OS

Google Chrome supports a wide range of languages. While it'll default to English in most cases, there's nothing stopping you from changing its settings and displaying pages in Spanish, French, or dozens of other languages.

Changing your default language in Chrome takes only a few seconds, and the technique used is the same across Windows and Mac. Aside from changing your language, note that Chrome now gives you the option to automatically translate pages written in another language – making it easy to read content from around the globe.

Read more
23 of the best Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks
The Netflix home screen.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms for all things movies and TV shows. Home to an immense library of titles, the Netflix archive is constantly changing and evolving, and so are the many ways you can use your Netflix account. 

For instance, did you know you can access region-locked Netflix shows and flicks by using a VPN? Or that you can disable that pesky Autoplay feature? There are tons of Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks out there, so we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all of our favorites! 
Expand your streaming with a VPN

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more