Barry Diller, Literary Archivist

…The genteel butler that has been Ask Jeeves Inc.’s face for nearly a decade is getting ousted in a corporate takeover. Jeeves, the slightly chubby and balding English butler based on P.G. Wodehouse’s eponymous and ever-resourceful manservant, isn’t the kind of image that e-commerce conglomerate InterActiveCorp wants representing the Ask Jeeves search engine, according to IAC Chairman Barry Diller…
…Diller announced that his company intends to drop Jeeves as a mascot and shorten the search site’s name to Ask or Ask.com. “Not that I don’t like that fat butler,” Diller said

Nor we the fat cat, classless corporate executive.
Oh, who am I kidding? What’s the percentage of Ask Jeeves users who even know who Wodehouse is to begin with? All gentle things coarsen these days or fade away completely.

categories Littrachure | | datetime September 26, 2005 4:42 pm

3 Responses to “Barry Diller, Literary Archivist”

  1. Suzette says:
    September 26, 2005 at 5:08 pm

    That HTS can really turn a phrase, can’t she?
    Maybe Barry Diller is trying to capture the confused seekers who don’t know that they really want Answer.com.
    Have you seen Barry lately? He’s bald and kind of not slim. Maybe he was just a little too uncomfortable with the looks of the Jeeves image. Here he is with his main squeeze:
    http://www.rdl.com.lb/2003/q3/3915/25.jpg
    Perhaps the new mascot will be wearing a DVF wrap dress.

  2. Mr. Bingley says:
    September 26, 2005 at 5:51 pm

    All gentle things coarsen these days or fade away completely.
    Not me; I get kinder, gentler, and more refined with each passing moment.

  3. tree hugging sister says:
    September 26, 2005 at 5:59 pm

    Not me
    That’s because you’re ‘pickled‘ vice ‘aged‘.
    And you’re right, Suzette (and you found a MUCH better pic than any I came across). A smidge too close to home, when ‘vanity thy name is show biz’.

Image | WordPress Themes