As technology moves forward, the English language sometimes takes a step backward. You can thank public relations professionals, CEOs and technology journalists for that. Whether grammatically incorrect or simply annoying, here's our list of 23 overused tech buzzwords that are painful to hear.
These buzzwords are overused and abused
But don't feel too bad if you're guilty of using some of this lingo: For every one of these terms, we can identify a member of our staff who use it regularly (the rest of us just secretly scoff). And, of course, you'd never read any of these phrases in the PC Advisor reviews section, would you?
1. 'Dot-com' - as in 'the dot-com sector had a strong fiscal quarter' - is a victim of progress: It's no longer especially relevant to distinguish web businesses from 'bricks-and-mortar' (another outdated term) companies. In fact, if your company isn't on the web by now, you're doomed.
2. 'Tweener' originally referred to a US basketball player who was too tall and slow to be a true guard. But referring to gadgets that straddle two or more categories or usage patterns - such as tablets, which can be viewed as a midpoint between phones and laptops - as 'tweeners' is just obnoxious. Knock it off.
3. 'Visionary' has some validity as applied to, say, Joan of Arc, but the term has been abused for decades as a way of offering fawning praise to tech entrepreneurs of all stripes, regardless of how derivative their products are. Double points if a CEO describes himself as a visionary.
4. 'Convergence', which once described an important concept in technology, now says practically nothing, given that every gadget you own represents a convergence of at least 10 other things.
5. iPhone (or anything else) 'killer' is probably the most overused metaphor of all time in tech headlines. We disavow any knowledge of our ever having used this bit of hyperbole ourselves.
6. 'Game-changing' is the kind of trite, nonsensical piffle you get when sports metaphors and nerd metaphors converge in the hands of a journalistic tweener. This one needs to be buried.
7. Does the word 'solution' have any discrete meaning anymore? Does it ever involve actually solving something? Spare us.
8. 'Bandwidth' is not a mental function unless you're a RoboCop or a Terminator - nor is it a monetary one. What you really mean is 'attention' or 'time' or 'additional resources'.
9. In a group setting, the phrase 'let's take this offline' is acceptable only if the meeting is in fact online. Which it usually isn't. Similarly, 'You wanna take this outside?' doesn't work as an escalation of an alfresco disagreement.
10. We can accept 'googling', 'photoshopping', and even 'friending' as verbs, but good sense must take a stand somewhere. Facebook is a noun. You can Google it.
11. 'Social graph' is a marketing term that means... well, we have no idea what it means, and we suspect those who use it don't either.
12. When IT administrators map out their networks, they typically draw a little cloud to signify the internet. But calling the internet 'the Cloud' is taking things a little too literally. (We never liked 'Saas' much, either.) And the spin-off term 'cloudsourcing' must bear the bulk of the blame for the truly execrable 'crowdsourcing' that followed in its wake.
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- These buzzwords are overused and abused
- Form factor and bells and whistles
Comments
Slasher999 said: Next Generation is very future tense To describe something you can hold and use now as the next generation of gadget XYZ is like trying to put this item into a future tense It should be referred to as the new generation or the new version of gadget XYZ
jdjenkins said: Im all for keeping language straightforward and clear but theres no holding back its evolution
Passmadd said: You forgot the tech support nightmare phraseComputer illiterate
Darin Newberry said: A great read Thanks for joining in the protest against these bloated over-worn phrases They might work to inflate page count but they alternately confuse and put off people reading or hearing them usedConnect with me at linkedincomindarinnewberry
raym said: If an architectural tecnician or similar advertises himself as an architect or offers architect services he is open to charges by the Architects Registration Board - the same should apply where IT people call themseves Architects or the term is used in job titles
raym said: Leave the term architect where it belongs - with those who design buiildings
geeby said: twitter and blog are two that really get on my nerveswe appear to be breeding a generation of technology geniuses who are intelectually beareft
Stunned of Dorking said: Quite right True professionals should only employ words and phrases hallowed by time and preferably drawn from the book of common prayerWhat an outbreak of Fogeyism What have you guys been toking
RichMc said: Totaly off the planet where you die of radiation bombardment no oxygen and violent decomprsion very funny
David Price (PCA) said: You know what Opsimath I believe we do Thanks for the spot
Opsimath said: Under 7 do you mean discrete rather than discreet