Google Forgetful About Memorial Day

Google Forgetful About Memorial Day

By: Jason Lee Miller
2006-05-31

Google has been known to commemorate darn near anything by changing its logo on holidays, famous birthdays, and designated awareness days. But when Memorial Day rolled around this year, many noticed a definite lack of commemoration • again.

The conservative blogosphere caught fire when they saw Memorial Day, a national holiday set aside in remembrance of soldiers who had died in combat, was passed over a seventh time by everyone's favorite search engine. They took it as an insult to injury Google's recognition of obscure holidays and figures like the Persian New Year, Korean Liberation Day, and the birthday of Percival Lowell (who?).

But there's been nothing devoted to what many Americans regard as one of the most important national holidays, right after Independence Day. Ask.com provided a star-spangled ribbon below the search box. Dogpile.com, too, provided a somber mascot paying his respects to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Google's received complaints about its lack of recognition at least since last year's holiday, when assailed by emails from patriotic bloggers. Google's response, as posted by HiWired:

We have to balance this rotating calendar with the need to maintain the consistency of the Google homepage.

Furthermore, Google’s special logos tend to be lighthearted in nature. If we were to commemorate Memorial Day, we would want to express reverence, rather than mirth. This would be a particularly challenging design. We would not want to, in any way, create a graphic that could be interpreted as disrespectful. In light of the mail we have received about this, we are actively considering designs we could display on this day next year. We welcome any suggestions you may have.

For all of their active consideration, another Memorial Day came and went, without a tribute of any kind. And though the logos do, indeed, "tend to be lighthearted in nature," the company has made allowances for reverent acknowledgement of Dr. Martin Luther King and even France's Bastille Day, which is as much about triumph over tyranny as it is about aristocratic heads rolling down French boulevards. (One may ask Marie Antoinette, if she were here, if the French Revolution was a lighthearted occurrence.)

Or maybe those with fathers, grandfathers, cousins, uncles, brothers, or sisters who have given their life for their country (whether war is agreeable or not) would appreciate some form of remembrance …quot; something akin to the homepage ribbons Google has put forth to raise awareness for AIDS or the terrorist bombings in London. A flag at half-staff would do just fine for some.

The issue has sparked quite the debate at NewsBusters.org, where conservatives and liberals battle it out with more indignation than rational commentary.

Google still has little to say about the matter. In response to a request for comment, Google sent us the same email it sent out last year about reverence, lightheartedness, wariness of disrespect, "particularly challenging design," and a pledge that they "are actively pursuing ways in which we can acknowledge Memorial Day and other such occasions in the future."

If we're writing this same article a year from now, we may know if Google really meant it this year.

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About the Author:
Jason Lee Miller is a writer covering e-business, search, Internet trends and development.