On Words and Business

The Nieman Journalism Lab.

Interesting stuff.

Hmm, I wonder how these things are decided.

For October 1…

Dictionary.com: adjuvant

Merriam-Westster: pukka

Wordsmith.org: expediency

New York Times: rectilinear

UrbanDictionary.com: restless lip syndrome

OED: refresher

Like many folks last week, I spent quite a bit of time watching and reading news about Ted Kennedy. I even had the honor of standing on a Boston sidewalk and watching his motorcade pass by. It was an unexpectedly moving experience.

On Saturday, I watched the funeral proceedings on t.v. Prior to going to the church, there was a final service at the JFK Library. It was televised. Throughout, the newscasters kept reminding viewers that we were watching a private service being held at the library.

This got me thinking…what on earth do we mean by privacy anymore?

I don’t classify as private an event with television cameras in the room, set up specifically to broadcast that event, and then aired on television.  Perhaps they meant that the event was invitation only, i.e., not open to the public. However the funeral was also invitation only and closed to the public, but not once did a newscaster suggest that the event was private. So why that categorization, for that event?

Just wondering if anyone knows where the line is any more.

Looking for the greatest thing since sliced bread, the world’s largest something-or-other, or the performance of a lifetime? You can find these and more pretty much anywhere you look these days.

But if everything is the largest, first, most amazing, or the experience of a lifetime, doesn’t that neutralize the power of all these things? And if so many things are the best, fastest, most significant, or the event of our age, how do we know when we come across something truly unique or experience something truly impressive?

Even if we did know it when we found it, what words could we use to describe such a thing? So many superlatives are already in use to describe things that are not truly excellent, the highest quality, or geniunely momentous. That is the tragedy of hyperbole.* It can discount the power of the very words it aims to aggrandize.

*Thanks to professor Greenberg from the Teaching Company for this phrase. It’s my new fave.

It’s not that I necessarily hate texting or smartphones or Twitter (although I do prefer my words spelled out fully and I don’t text or tweet or own a smartphone). It’s that I believe the proliferation of communication channels is a detriment to productivity, focus, and just living life. And these tools are just the current addictions.

Thanks to Elaine at MarketingProfs for articulating it so well: Are we too wrapped up in the next big thing?

Two words that individuals, companies, organizations, or countries should never use to define themselves: humble and historic.

What are some others?