The Power of Words and Sh*t

After spending a week reading my marketing book, I have had my fill of the jargon that's being used. I know every industry has it, but online marketing terminology seems a little showy to me. I'm willing to admit that maybe it's just my perception--I mean, I work in an industry that commonly refers to an entire excavator as a shovel. The language in the construction industry tends to get more simplified over time, easier for everyone to understand, rather than disguising itself behind words that seem to obscure the meaning rather than enhance it.

Ironically, the one I'm most tired of, due to its intentional ambiguity and overusage, is transparent. This word is being thrown around in all of the business world, as well as politics, which immediately raises a red flag in my mind. Okay, so my understanding is that it is being used in place of the word honest, which we all know cannot be used directly. It seems that the minute you assert that you are an honest person or business, the immediate question is, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Being honest is supposed to be expected. It's like this guy on the bus who was trying to pick up on me by literally bragging that he "doesn't hit women".

I think the other thing the word transparent is trying to convey is that its business practices are visible to all. That makes sense, especially in light of the recent fiasco in the banking and mortage industries. But still... I feel sure that I have heard or read the word transparent more times in the last month than any other time in my life. Enough already.

In the same vein, (regarding word choices, anyway), it's also interesting to note the differences between the preferred terms of corporations and the words used by consumers. One such example, from my book Online Marketing Heroes is that Southwest Airlines advertised their discounted fares as red hot airfares!. But nobody types that into a search engine, so they weren't getting as much traffic as they expected. Consumers liked to use the term cheap airfare or cheap airline, but the executives at Southwest Airlines were reluctant to use that term. The obvious connotation with the word cheap is a sense of worthlessness and low quality. But it was brought to the airline's attention that, if Southwest did not use the word cheap, it will certainly be used by some other airline who will get the customer's business.

So I guess the point of my ramblings today has to do with the power of words and how they affect people. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare for a date with my new boyfriend who never hits me.