Action cameras became a huge trend with the launch of the first GoPro camera, so much so that the word GoPro became a verb. As any business knows, when consumers start to ‘verbify’ their brand, they have done a whole lot of things right to reach their market and beyond.  How GoPro became a verb is one of the most recent examples of verbalizing a proper noun. Hoover was one of the earliest brands that consumers started to use as a verb to describe cleaning a carpet or floor with a vacuum cleaner.  Examples of other brands that have seen the transformation their brand from a proper noun to a verb, we Xerox (photocopy.) We Google (research, look up on the internet),  Fed-ex-ing your package …

How GoPro became a verb – and a hashtag

GoProing Her Bungee Jump

So, what with the huge attachment that users of GoPro have formed with their cameras, it is no surprise that the latest in this trend is the “verbification” of GoPro.  Go-pro-ing your experiences is the most common way this has been adopted as a verb, and admittedly it is the noun which is still the most common currency of use.  But even the fact that we talk about go-pro-ing demonstrates the triumph of branding with the personal connection being formed between consumer and brand. And go-pro-ing has gone one better than many other brands whose names became verbs – #goproing is also a hashtag.

Enter “go-pro-ing” in Google search and we see hundreds of articles and YouTube links – sometimes the word is spelled all in one – go-pro-ing, a dash or even an apostrophe.

Says author, Mike Hoban, in a Fast Company article:

“Technically, the etymologists refer to the practice of verbing as “anthimeria,” which means a functional shift or conversion of word use, and it’s not a new phenomenon. Shakespeare was a serial “verber.” It can be creative and clever but in the business world it is abused and can become buzzword-speak. We ballpark, we partner, we value-add, eyeball, fast track, leverage, and we green-light.”

It is easy to see why GoPro enthusiasts talk about “go-pro-ing” their experiences, whether it is travel or action sports and why and how GoPro became a verb.  The words “shoot” or “photograph” do not seem sufficient to describe the unique footage that this action camera is capable of producing.   So, go ahead – Happy GoProing on your study trip to the USA!

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