Buzzword Overkill
I’m not sure what it is about certain overused words that get my panties in a bunch. Maybe I need bigger panties, who knows. Every so often I make note of overused buzzwords that need to stop buzzing like a mosquito on a mission.
On Twitter, on the news, in corporate America. EVERYONE is over using them and I’m just wondering: what’s with the buzzword overkill? (Just like I’ve written “buzzword” three times already…annoying, isn’t it?)
Trendy is great but here’s my analogy: buzzwords are just like listening to the most popular hit on the radio. It’s really great when you first hear it. Then it becomes so overplayed you just want to shut it off.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m hearing these words/phrases far too often:
Fail: Can’t we just say ‘screwed up‘ or ‘didn’t work‘? Oh, that’s two words. I forgot, we talk in 140 characters or less now.
My favorite? When I received an email from someone who wrote ‘Oh that was such a #fail.” She actually used the HASHTAG as if she were writing to me on Twitter. It’s OK to skip the hashtag. I don’t track trending words in emails.
Epic: “of unusually great size or extent” Wow, that’s really, really big. Funny, ‘epic’ is often seen hanging around with ‘fail’ for the completely annoying ‘epic fail’.
So, say my flipping luck changed and I was lucky enough to meet a great guy. I would hopefully call him “epic” but when it didn’t work out, he’d be an epic fail. Not sure how that would go over.
Transparent: The first time I heard this, I was at a Tweet-up (I am so cool, right?) and sat in as part of a panel talking about Twitter and business. Everyone was asked to say what is the most important thing to remember when tweeting. I was trying to think up a one or two word answer (that’s hard for me) and I heard someone say, “Transparent”. Excuse me? The only thing I relate transparent to is some cheesy Fredericks of Hollywood bra I bought buying years ago. Must have been for an epic date.
I hear transparent a lot now. Everyone wants to be transparent. Most days I work hard to be invisible.
Staycation: Is there anything wrong with saying ‘Hey, we’re staying home this summer. Sort of tapped out on the moolah“? I guess ‘staycation’ sounds more politically correct. I just say, “can’t afford it”.
Speak to that: “Let me speak to that” I have heard this phrase so many times that it puts visuals in my head. You don’t want to know the visuals. They’re not always PG. Let me speak to THAT? Huh?
I heard this most often when I used to be sleeping not paying attention sort of half-listening sitting in a meeting back when I had a huge dry cleaning bill real job. Someone would bring up a topic and the big bossman would say, “OK, let me speak to that.” Of course, I’d roll my eyes and think, “Let me address that issue” or “Let’s discuss that” would suffice you pompous ass.
-preneur: Everyone and their sister is a flipping -preneur now. Not just limited to the word “entrepreneur” we’ve now started to use -preneur as a suffix. My high school grammar teacher would have had a stroke.
Mompreneur, Dadpreneur, ePreneur, kidpreneur, astropreneur. Yes, I found these and more. Do you know what ‘preneur’ means in French? It means ‘taker‘ or ‘one who takes‘. Nice. Mom taker, Dad taker, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.
This stuff drives me nuts. Obviously I have wayyyyy too much time to think about such nonsense but, as my sage Mother once said, “It’s better than hanging on a street corner.” (then I’d be a hooker-preneur and probably making a heck of a lot more money.)
I’ll stop now.
Read more of my opinionated self: Providence Social Media Examiner
My first visit to your site. Wicked is still in use in New England (love that) – but elsewhere, draws a quizzical look.
As for #transparency, your comments conjured days of Saran Wrap greetings at the door for hubby, with epic brownies in the oven. Another world. Platforms. Pumps. Pre-tweet, prehistoric, practically pre-teen.
Hope to visit here often. #Thanks.
Jennifer…agreed. “I’m just sayin’ ” needs to make a fast exit. I can’t imagine what genius thought of that one.
Jill—you’re absolutely right!! PS…check out your site…awesome!
I agree…these words have been “done to death”. I am getting tired of seeing the # symbol in front of everything. I was looking through twitter today and all of the tweets were full of only @ and #…with only one or two words in between. I got lost, quite frankly. I’m really tired of the phrase “I’m just sayin”….I can’t stand it. Thanks for this post!
I think there was a time when the repeated use of one word in a person’s conversation or discourse was called a “crutch”.
Now many consider it “cool” to be constantly using a lot of buzzwords. Mm, I thought “cool” was a state we try to maintain in summertime.
.-= Jill´s last blog ..Conquer Those Negative Influences That Surround You =-.
I am new to this blogging bit but my girlfriend (http://www.reginasuniverse.com/blog1) sent me a link to your site… too cool… I like your insight! you could have gone on forever with these buzzwords…
.-= Jeff´s last blog ..Less than a day before the big test! =-.
Hey Jeff–I love Regina! She’s an awesome young lady!! Thanks for stopping by….and by the way, are you a computer-prenuer?
You kill me
I’m borrowing that reinterpretation of my name.
John….now I know why you named your blog “man digging hole” or a hole…or A hole? Wait…I need to clarify that. I think it’s “Man Digging a Hole”…..you are the new good, which is the old bad?
I’m confusing myself. Need to freshen up the blonde hair dye…..
Buzz word of the day: throw me under the bus…I’m tired of cleaning the house
Oh, and for the guy to have been an epic fail it would have had to been a reverse version of your own personal crying game. (he was actually a girl)
I like the buzz word “My bad”. Being married, I say it a lot. I do have an issue with the term bad though because it has moved into a grey area and I’m uncertain as to the nature of buzz etiquette as it relates to Bad. When I was young, bad was good. You liked something? It was bad! Then suddenly, bad meant bad again and good went bacterial. If you liked something it was sick. Well, I wasn’t going there (oh no, is that a buzz phrase too?). Then sick became illin’ and I just gave up.
So the next time I liked something? I said “Thats good”. What did my boss say to me? “What do you mean by that?”.
I give up.
That was a really a cool, mod blog today. Think we should bring back 60s talk, heck kids are wearing peace symbols again and buying LPs (ie. vinyl records) again.
So you’re not a grammarpreneur then?
Hehe!
Alex
I’m so out of the loop I’m still using words like “wicked” & “far out”. Thanks for clueing me in on these buzzwords now I won’t set myself up for an epic fail.
I’ll be a wordpreneur in no time.
.-= Suzanne´s last blog ..My Interview with Alison Arngrim =-.