Jettison the social media jargon?

If you’re in the industry, you’d be lying if you didn’t shudder when a choice nugget of social media consultancy newspeak pops out of your mouth, or a colleague’s. It’s like an involuntary spasm, and you feel like you need a shower after it’s come out. Is social media jargon now endemic in the industry? Is it a way to explain a new form of media or a way to cloak the industry in mystery and maybe add a certain cache to a subject that might be otherwise obvious? We’ll be conducting a series of mini polls over the coming weeks to try and get to the bottom of it and gauge industry feeling.

But, in the meantime, you may be interested to see the results of a Twtpoll immediate future conducted the other day – apparently we think social media rock star or guru is more offensive than both Tweriod and Digerati put together! I must say I was a little shocked by that. Could this be because we don’t like to think of social media experts as occupying a special place in society?

Does there need to be an amnesty on these words – should we be allowed to use them without embarrassment? This brought to mind the most recent episode of Stephen Fry’s wonderful ‘Fry’s Planet Word’ which had a very powerful section on George Orwell’s 1984 and how the shortening of words and acronyms reduced their power and reduced the need to think.

Whatever your thoughts – please feel free to add your own most hated social media newspeak into the comments.

p.s As I write this someone has just sent me an email with the term ‘screenagers’ in it, in reference to Generation Y, millennials, digital natives or the Facebook generation. I take back what I said about an amnesty. Bring on the torches and pitchforks, we march!

Latest Posts

You may have planning hats on for early 2024 – but before you put that plan in action to wind away the weeks before Christmas, read these 5 tips for your next B2B social campaign! Consider them as B2B social solutions. You may have caught our latest…
Read More
Staying updated on the ever-evolving social media world can be challenging. Here are the latest highlights: X announces the return of post deadlines X introduces the reinstatement of post headlines within in-stream link previews. In October, X made the decision to remove post headlines and preview text, altering how publications…
Read More
In Social Media, organic efforts can only take you so far. While they are vital, the secret sauce to elevate your brand's social presence lies in embracing the dynamic duo of organic and paid social ads. Why? Because the two work better together!
Read More