Jan. 24, 2002:


      
Twelve thousand sizzlin'
      bytes of brand-new "repurposed" "content"


      
 Dropping the solvent in your solution...


      

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Journalists--if you're sick of hearing and reading the following fatuous phrases in p.r. pitches and press releases, if  you've realized that every brush with vapid verbiage robs your life of  a little bit of meaning, drop us an e-mail  with your nominations for the worst buzzwords and phrases in circulation.

P.R. professionals--if it galls you to write releases containing such stuff, or if you say things like "our best-of-breed turnkey solutions are robust and highly scalable" only through clenched teeth, if you think there's a place in p.r. work for clear, descriptive, specific language, e-mail your nominations as well.

**With a few submissions, we'll be able to identify and rank the most atrocious words and phrases as well as reproduce some examples of plain terrible usage and all-around foolishness.

Together, with dedication, pointed scorn and clear thinking, we can stem the epidemic of worthless words in writing about technology and business.

In English,

 eEZD

 tHe ReD wOrM

El Robusto  

 Fight Club 

"You don't really want to use that buzzword, do you?"

D. Roth

"Talk to the hand!"

J. McHugh

"Don't make me get robust on you." 

S. Woolley

"Got English?"

C. Waxler

  

Some tired, empty buzzwords and phrases we could do without:*

  • solution(s)
  • robust
  • turnkey
  • interactive
  • best of breed
  • mission-critical
  • scalable
  • next-generation
  • Web-enabled
  • B2B, B2C
  • leading
  • value-added
  • leverage (vt)
  • e-tailing
  • seamless
  • end-to-end
  • "the ___ space"
  • offline
  • incent (vt)
  • end user
  • architecting
  • deliverables

Help us kill these buzz larvae before they get dangerous:

Quaint, nifty, or just plain laughable:

 

 

PR Technique 101 

...wherein we hang the foul hides of the worst of a bad lot.

Got English?

Grammar Korner

Sister Waxler awards the first of many grammar duncecaps.


Submissions, comments or suggestions: 
teeth@buzzkiller.net

To those issuing the torrent of submissions: thanks. Our staffers are poring over them now and crafting thoughtful responses.

For up-to-date info on almost-banned words, as well as to get advance invitations to Buzz Saw conferences (excluding June's What's Buzzing in Fresco? conference, which is already sold out), please sign up below. Your name and address will be kept under the strictest confidence.

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