Back at the end of 2006, I enjoyed reading David Meerman Scott's Gobbledygook eBook. I see it's been posted again, so for all of you who didn't get to read it, here's your chance.
More interesting is that he had Factiva do another analysis of jargon and buzz words used in the last 9 months and not much changed. Really bringing home how far marketing and PR have pushed the edge of creativity!
See for yourself:
As of Sep 30, 2006, the top 6 words were:
- next generation
- flexible
- robust
- world class
- scalable
- easy to use
From Nov 1, 2006 through July 31, 2007 they were:
- next generation
- robust
- flexible
- world class
- easy to use
- scalable
For fun, I decided to put on a customer perspective and think about what these words would mean to me:
- next generation: what was wrong with the last generation? Is this the next generation of "new and improved?" Everything next generation means I have to spend a bunch of time re-orienting myself and relearning how to do something.
- robust: Does this mean powerful? Like you'd tell me if your product was WIMPY?
- flexible: Like it can assume the Lotus position or like it bends just a touch? Would you tell me if it was rigid and forced me to do something in a way I didn't want to?
- world class: Like a 5-star hotel? Who defines this? Are there qualification rules?
- easy-to-use: For Einstein or can my dog use it? Would you tell me if it was going to be the most challenging thing I ever took on?
- scalable: Hmm, so I can climb it?
Okay, I'm making fun, but when you think about it, what do these words really mean in context? Everyone says them, so how do they separate your product from my other choices?
And here's the serious thing I want you to get. All of these words are pretty much about you and your products. Where do I fit in? Why should I care?
