Reading Lee’s post concerning his boycott of marketing jargon got me thinking…Is the problem with the words themselves, or the way in which people use them?
While I agree with Lee that these particular words have lost whatever power they may or may not have ever had, I’m not sure that replacing them with new words fixes the problem. Replacing viral with memetic may be good, but how long before memetic loses its power and we’re on to the next word. Or worse yet, back to viral. Ultimately, I think we need to challenge ourselves think before we speak and promise not to use these phrases as a crutch. Each word has a place and a time. Finding that place and time is key.
With that said, I have a real issue with the word engagement. It’s not nearly strong enough as a concept. I’m far more interested in empowerment. Engagement seems to fall short of action. It implies a state of involvement beyond simple awareness, but little more.
Empowerment, on the other hand, is all about action. Brands that empower the consumer assume the role of advocate. They lead the way for the consumer to take action. They enable and inspire the consumer to do something, whether that’s having a cleaner home , doing the right thing or going for a run.
If I could retire one word, it might be consumer. It’s so condescending.
Here’s a little excercise that may shed some light on the subject: Let’s suspend our disbelief for a moment, and consider a somewhat sci-fi scneario. Pretend there’s a wonderpill, that when taken, enables one to become instantly fluent in a language they could never speak. How quickly would the words or phrases become worn out and loose their power when spoken in Italian? (a language I think most people regard as beautiful). I’ll bet it happens pretty quickly. The boringness of jargon is the price the initiated pay in exchange for expediency in communication with their colleagues. It’s true in all fields. Just be glad you’re not a lawyer. Their jargon is literally codified. Eek.
Well put, monkeyboy.
Replacing the word viral with memetic?
Cool post about words, context, and meaning… what does it all mean?