media and entertainment€¦ · bullshit alert! the trouble with m&e buzzwords avoiding the...

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B U L L S H I T A L E R T ! T H E T R O U B L E W I T H M & E B U Z Z W O R D S

Av o i d i n g t h e b u z z w o r d b a n d w a g o nA n e B o o k f r o m R e d L o r r y Ye l l o w L o r r y

M E D I A A N D E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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Language, and maybe imagery if we’re lucky, is all we have to make our point.

And in today’s environment of breakneck speed, short attention spans and

limited character counts, you have mere seconds to make that point and grab

attention.

Imparting the right message in the right way has never been more important.

But guess what? A lot of us aren’t getting it right. Whether PR people,

manufacturers or journalists, we’re sliding down a slippery slope of using

too many buzzwords. We seem caught in a me-too trap of lazily copying our

competitors and creating communications that are boring at best or completely

ineffectual (and downright nonsensical) at worst.

In an effort to understand and combat this pervasive problem, we asked various

members of the M&E community for the words and phrases they find most

overused and annoying. There were enough to fill pages. But here are some

of the most used-to-the-point-of-meaninglessness and downright dangerous

terms that threaten to hijack the most well-intended communications.

While every industry has its own words and phrases that get used so much

they lose their meaning, M&E has to be one of the worst offenders. In this age

of “convergence” (aha! Our first example – what the heck does this mean?), it

stands to reason that some of the words used in the M&E space might also

make their way onto IT lists. Our first word fits that description.

We call bull. The trouble with buzzwords.

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1. Cloud

Remember when this meant the puffy white shape in the sky? Cloud computing is a real term

defined by various authoritative sources but cloud on its own can be nebulous and is bandied

about far too often. And to make matters worse, cloud is now being combined with other

words to make altogether new, even more ambiguous phrases.

Cloud native is an emerging phrase and that makes Devoncroft Partners analyst Josh

Stinehour skeptical at best. “The feedback we receive from customers suggests the

marketing of cloud native is far ahead of the technology reality of many vendor

solutions.” Perhaps the moral of this story is: say what you mean and mean what you say – no

exceptions.

Cloud is now being combined with other

words to make altogether new, even more

ambiguous phrases.

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This one is a little surprising. Solution can be synonymous with product, right?

Well, not to our respondents. TV Technology’s Neal Romanek has some strong

feelings about this seemingly benign word. (Stop reading if you’re easily

offended.) “We’ve got to come up with something better than this blanket,

“I-have-no-idea-what-to-call-this-fucking-thing” catch-all,” he fumes.

And here’s where the convergence (ok, blurring the lines between various

technology areas) comes in. “I know we are moving into a period where the line

between services and products is increasingly fuzzy, but when I read ‘solution’

– or when I write it – I think: ‘We really haven’t put the proper thinking time

into deciding what this thing is, have we?’ Additionally, solution sounds like

groveling - like you want to be everything to everyone. Make a decision, stand up

for yourself; don’t let the consumer push you around.” Enough said. I for one will

never look at the word the same way again.

2. Solution/s

We’ve got to come up with something better

than this blanket catch-all.

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g r o v e l i n g - L IKE YOU WANT TO BE

EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE ,STAND UP FOR YOURSELF;

Solution

DON’T LET THE CONSUMER PUSH YOU AROUND

S O U N D S L I K E

N E A L R O M A N E KE D I TO R

T V T EC H N O L O G Y



What the heck does this mean? Part of the problem is that it’s completely

subjective. One person’s future proof is not another’s. EVS’ James Stellpflug

shakes his head as he says it, as if it defies explanation. Aspera’s Francois

Quereuil isn’t a fan either. “It’s such a definitive term – like you’re never going to

have to do anything ever again. Nothing is ever completely future proof.”

Future proof vaguely conjures standing the test of time but beyond that

is anyone’s guess. It simply doesn’t mean anything precisely because it means

something different to everyone. And punctuation stymies too. One word, two

words, hyphen? Try Googling that one.

3. Future proof

Part of the problem is that it’s completely

subjective. One person’s future proof is not

another’s.

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J A M E S S T E L L P F L U GV I C E P R ES I D E N T, P R O D U C T M A R K E T I N G

E V S B R O A D C A S T EQ U I P M E N T

I F

T H E F U T U R ED E F I N I N GI S A LW AY S

H O W C A N Y O U B E

F U T U R E P R O O F

T H E U N K N O W N



Virtualization is certainly one of the ‘it’ words of the moment. It’s cropping up in

nearly every industry blog, website and press release. It stands to reason, as it’s

an extension—or perhaps more aptly, an amalgamation—of IP and cloud.

Another cog in the wheel of the same bandwagon. And while it is an actual

term, it’s been used so frequently and carelessly that it’s losing its meaning and

becoming simply a marketing term.

Many insiders, like Andrew Osmond, Aperi’s vp of business development, don’t

have a problem with the term itself. He points out its specific meaning, one that’s

at the heart of their business, but acknowledges its creep into so many places

and the fine line of using it correctly. “Overused is a superset that includes

misused,” he points out. Well said.

3. Virtualization

It’s been used so frequently and carelessly

that it’s losing its meaning.

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B U L L S H I T A L E R T ! T H E T R O U B L E W I T H M & E B U Z Z W O R D SBUT WAIT!THERE’S MORE

- WHICH MEANS I DON’T GET OUT OFTEN ENOUGH, SO

I AM REALLY

A N Y T H I N GEXCITES ME

�cited G RO U N D B R E A K IN GSHOULD BE RESERVED

FOR STORIES ABOUT

D AV I D A U S T E R B E R R YE D I TO R

T H E B R O A D C A S T B R I D G E9 rlyl.com



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B U T W A I T !T H E R E ’ S M O R E

L e a d i n gB e s t - i n - b r ee DONLY I F YOU ARE THAT

D O G

R I C H A R D B R A N D O NC M O

E D G E WA R E



RESEARCH A N D TESTDON’Trun

KEEP ITSIMPLE

JUST SAY NO!1.

2 .

3 .

TRY , ASK AND REF INERESE

SPEAK PLAINLY AND CLEARLY TO AVOID

TURNING OFF CLIENTSAND PROSPECTS

STAND APART WITH MESSAGING THAT CUTS

THROUGH THE NOISEcrowdWITH THE

BE CONSISTENT5 .

OFFER PROOF 4 .CUSTOMER STORIES , AWARDS AND

INDEPENDENT REPORTS TELLYOUR STORY BET TER THAN YOU CAN

WORKED HARD TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE VOICE AND MESSAGES?USE THEM – EVERYWHERE

While many of these buzzwords may infiltrate your

communications and endanger its effectiveness, it’s

not too late to change. We all slip from time to time. It

takes practise, and some common sense, to just say

no to meaningless jargon.

Here are our top five tips for avoiding the

buzzword bandwagon.

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Instead of adding to the noise, why not cut through it? Tell us your most hated

buzzwords by tweeting @RedLorryComms with the hashtag #BullshitAlert.

Even better, you can have a refreshing, jargon-free chat with the lorries about

how to improve your communications. We promise no optimizing, synergizing

or immersing – just straight talking about how to make your business better.

Period.

Get in touch at [email protected]

Win £100 worth of bullshit-free amazon vouchers:

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@RedLorryComms

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media and entertainment€¦ · bullshit alert! the trouble with m&e buzzwords avoiding the...

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