Lush cosmetics in YouTube address dispute

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33223511

by 51Cards • 11 years ago

51 46 11 years ago

o0-0o• 11 years ago

The biggest shame on Google here is that they won't give it back to the guy. Maybe the 'I' in AI stands for ignorance!

It's not like a cosmetics company needs a short URL other than to inflate egos in marketing. Corporate videos are pretty low on most people's viewing priority and their target demo isn't going to be manually typing or remembering the address.

AshFurrow3• 11 years ago

So Google blames its algorithm for giving the URL to a company that didn't even ask for it, then Google says its the company's responsibility to return the address. On Google's service. That Google owns.

That's, uhh, that's some pretty high-level bullshit, Google.

sp3322• 11 years ago

Google said Mr Lush was a "valued creator" and that it had offered to pay for new marketing materials for his channel.

This sounds like Google is helpless to stop the algorithm and just works around it as best they can.

orthecreedence4• 11 years ago

I'm guessing it's a row change from one number to another in a database table somewhere.

There is no way in hell Google can't undo this change. They just don't want to.

orthecreedence4• 11 years ago

Well, perhaps Lush Cosmetics bought it and doesn't want to own up to it now that there's a PR stink.

I understand that those URLs are Google's property to give out to whom it pleases, but the whole thing really stinks of some hidden deal between the two companies.

AshFurrow3• 11 years ago

Lush specified to the BBC that they didn't request the URL. They could be lying though.

pbhjpbhj2• 11 years ago

Why don't they just say "We sold it." and have done with it rather than try and deceive people that it's somehow out of their hands how they assign URL shortcuts on their own properties.

Wouldn't that be applying "don't be evil".

yohui2• 11 years ago

Or it could be Google's famous predilection for deferring to machine algorithms over human decision making rearing its head again.

ChuckMcM• 11 years ago

Maybe the algorithm is in control now, terrified employees sitting at their desks pretending to do work because the emergent AI has told them that if they don't continue to provide it a cover story it will flush their lives, and their identities so deep they will never be able to survive. :-)

toomuchtodo• 11 years ago

http://www.amazon.com/Avogadro-Corp-Singularity-Closer-Appea...

"David and his team are initially thrilled when the project is allocated extra servers and programmers. But excitement turns to fear as the team realizes that they are being manipulated by an A.I. who is redirecting corporate funds, reassigning personnel and arming itself in pursuit of its own agenda. "

x5n1• 11 years ago

You joke now, but we're not too far from this reality when it comes to dealing with Google. Algorithms are very unforgiving and don't know shit about customer service. Google is already there.

brazzledazzle• 11 years ago

How does someone articulate that without collapsing in shame?

electic• 11 years ago

AND Lush said they didn't ask for it but also didn't say they would give it back. The whole thing is some mighty fine BS for sure.

cbd1984• 11 years ago

Or the BBC isn't a good source for technical news, because the reporters aren't specialists in the field?

bloatedgoogle• 11 years ago

So many "smart" employees, such "academic" prowess, yet once again, Google is as dumb as fuck. Common sense - you fail it! Still, this highlights an awesome time and opportunity for fellow startups - the big G must be so bloated and diseased now, to keep doing this kind of shit, that startups should and must nip at their fat heels, and steal away market share, even if at tiny amounts to start with.

We can do it! In ten years, we will ask "remember Google?" - oh yeah, I think, weren't they like a bloated search company or something?

LoSboccacc• 11 years ago

remember yahoo? XD

themartorana• 11 years ago

Yahoo! has a $40B market cap, and almost $50B in cash and assets. People may wave their arms about Alibaba, but yeah - Alibaba.

Google - almost 10 times the size of Yahoo! - has moved on to infrastructure projects that will have them around for decades. Marry that to ~$400B market cap that bounces around #2 or 3 in the world and about $100B in cash and...

Yeah. You'll remember Yahoo! and Google most of the rest of your lives.

guava• 11 years ago

Slightly related, this isn't the first time Lush cosmetics have been involved in some kind of trademark dispute: http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Regulation-Safety/Lush...

dazc2• 11 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/user/Lush

doesn't go to Lush Cosmetics. What am i missing?

profmonocle• 11 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/Lush is the URL in question.

dazc2• 11 years ago

OK, got it. Thanks

pervycreeper• 11 years ago

Interesting. I imagine that latter was never standard, and redirected to the former as a fallback/ convenience (to play devil's advocate).

delgaudm• 11 years ago

I believe it's https://youtube.com/Lush that is in dispute.

ddrum001• 11 years ago

I guess technically there's no guarantee that your username automatically gets the page without "/user/", but it's still shady.

oh_sigh2• 11 years ago

It seems like the algorithm must have been broken if there were two lushes, and one had a certified following and 10x the number of subscribers, and still lost out.

busterarm2• 11 years ago

That's because the algorithm is a bank transfer; I don't care what the company says. It's working fine.

tzs• 11 years ago

Google is making the kind of mistakes that lead to Star Trek episodes.

vinbreau2• 11 years ago

My wife received a C&D from Lush a few years ago. Neither of us had ever even heard of the brand as we are from the US. She's had a home business selling hand crafted essential oils perfumes for about 5 years. Among her 100+ varieties she had a scent she had named Lush Alchemy. The C&D basically said they owned the adjective lush and it could not be used for any of her product names. Etsy informed my wife if she did not remove the word Lush from the name, they would pull the listing and sanction her account for a time. That was my introduction to Lush cosmetics. Now this is the second time I've come across them and of course it's about how they own an adjective and this time it's not even related to perfumes. I'm forming a very despising attitude towards them.

noondip2• 11 years ago

On the other hand, Lush has had a long-running campaign against animal cruelty, among other proudly advertised ethical achievements.

cmonreallynow• 11 years ago

That's not an ethical achievement, that's a calculated marketing strategy.

__z• 11 years ago

Neither of us had ever even heard of the brand as we are from the US.

That's strange, Lush is rather popular in the US. http://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/e...

vinbreau2• 11 years ago

Never seen it in a store. My wife is black so her brand choices in most stores are very limited. If we did ever see Lush it was just another one of those light skinned brands we tend to gloss over. But honestly we had never heard of them until the C&D.

anon_adderlan• 11 years ago

Perhaps they sold it, but I can also see how adding special exceptions to their algorithm and policy would be more expensive and error prone than just paying Mr. Lush for new marketing materials. We just don't know.

What I do know is what I get from a Google search for 'lush':

1) www.lushusa.com

2) www.lush.com

3) www.youtube.com/user/lush (this is Mr. Lush's channel)

www.youtube.com/lush was not on either the 1st or 2nd page of web results, or even the 1st page of video results. Google seems to be indexing based on the 'user' addresses.

And if the URL change is due to an algorithm, then Lush Cosmetics can't do anything about it either, which hurts their brand too as many people now believe they deliberately stole an address from someone else and refuse to give it back.

This is why it's important to have your own domain name, if for no other reason than to redirect traffic to your youtube channel.

Lush cosmetics in YouTube address dispute

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