Let’s Start KISSing
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m an advocate of KISSing. Keep It Simple, Stupid. Always have been and always will be. Acronyms and in-joke terms will have an eternal place on the tongue of every self-respecting tech nut. Look at the word Java, for crying out loud. Legend has it that Java stands for ‘Just Another Valueless Acronym’.
Language is such a malleable tool.Everyday we use it, we twist and turn it in meetings, discussions and when we complain in shops. We use it to our advantage. To further our agenda. The world of technology commentary and discourse is no different.
While many of the terms are used to describe well-known situations in short busts of effort, I find that more and more of the terms creeping in usage are simply cynical stakes in the ground. They are invented by mavens to be as a way to notch up tracking trends or movements happening just below the surface of connected communities and pull some eyeball time from readers.
Some time ago, I played with the idea of makey-upy words on Twitter. Frustrated with some of the messages I was reading, I coined the term ‘Twitterheoa’. Now, I’m sure that I didn’t just invent this word. It’s probably been sitting in the ether for a very, very long time. The important thing to note, is that I noticed some of my followers picked up on ‘Twitterheoa’ and used it. I suppose the broadcast nature of Twitter helped seed ‘Twitterheoa’ in folks’ minds, if it’s not rude to say!
I had hoped that someone would pull me up on the term and say it was nonsense, but I didn’t get any complaints. The word itself was utter Twitterhoea.
Many of these labels are also meant to separate techies from non-techies through a literary digital divide. For example, even using the word ’subscribe’ when describing that one reads another’s blog in an RSS reader is misleading. People don’t subscribe. RSS readers subscribe. We just read.
Let’s not David-McWilliams technology to death with silly labels like Lazysphere, Jaikustan and Twitterati. Knowing the danger signs when you are straying into Label Hell, is knowing when not to bull.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Eh, ok, the usage of Lazysphere is just plain lazy. I grant you that. but knocking the usage of ’subscribe’ for… er, subscribing to RSS feeds is even more nonsensical. There’s a big difference between subscribing to a feed and reading a feed surely!?! Let’s not replace twitterheoa with blogstipation!
January 11th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
@James: Well, I was speaking in strict terms. I don’t subscribe to an RSS feed, my reader does. I read the contents of the feed. What I’m *really* getting at, is that many commentators use foggy language when describing what they think or do - this introduces a disconnect with those not in the tech-know. These commentators have their reasons - in love with their own language, bolstering their tech know-how superiority, laziness…whatever.
As people working in a term-ridden industry, I think we need to bring more clarity on actually describing what we do and not term pron on how we do it. When introducing my mother to Twitter, I didn’t talk to her about RSS feeds, subbing, unsubbing, timeline, tweets, .. etc. I introduced her to the core offering, namely - ‘this is a person’s profile, click here to follow their messages and here’s how you send a message to them’.. I’m not saying that we need to through all techie terms out the window, it’s just that we need to be more utilitarian with our usage of said terms.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I agree with James re use of the word subscribe. I think its a bad example for the point you’re trying to get across.
“For example, even using the word ?subscribe? when describing that one reads another?s blog in an RSS reader is misleading. People don?t subscribe.”
The term “reading” describes the act of reading a blog in an RSS reader.
Subscribing refers to the action of asking to receive future updates. This is a usage that should be as familiar to no-techies people as techies. E.g. I subscribe to National Geographic.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
@Aidan: Go back and read what I wrote. I didn’t say that the word ’subscribe’ was a bad description for getting future updates. What I said was that the word ’subscribe’ was a bad word to use when describing someone reading a blog in a RSS reader. The important part of the action from a user perspective is that they are reading a blog. That’s the user benefit. The point is, that technical people are in love with the process and sometimes forget the net user experience.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Hi Alexia. The subject of language as a force to build either bridges or walls between people is a fascinating one. Indeed, some of your points are as true in my professional life, as my evening hobby of music criticism. Experts will only remain experts for as long as they (appear to) know what the person paying for their service does not. Obfuscating meaning is a classic way of maintaining this status quo, hence the need to ask good questions of these people.
Indeed, this point provides me with a nice segue, as I was just wondering if you were trying to make an ironic point with the following passage, as I haven’t a notion what you mean?!!
They are invented by mavens to be as a way to notch up tracking trends or movements happening just below the surface of connected communities and pull some eyeball time from readers.
At the same time, I happen to think that ?Twitterheoa? is a good word. Even as a non-user of the service, I immediately guessed the word’s meaning and saw its humour. On the other hand, I share your distaste for notice-me merchants who feel the need to brand everything with a label. It was novel in the 1990s, but its now grown tiresome, tiresome, tiresome.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
@JimDubh: Yeah, you spotted the subtle irony there…
In lay man’s terms, they (the so-called experts) use words as a way to tag new trends they see coming along, in the hopes it’ll pay dividends by getting lots of gigs to be paid hacks or talking heads..
It’s in every industry, alright… Every profession has its jargon load to carry. Let’s hope KISSing takes off.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Exactly, every industry and walk of life (eg. sports!) has it’s jargon so why should we be any more navel gazing about it in the techie area? AFAICS in fact we techies worry inordinately about our jargon, often in a condescending “don’t confuse the ordinary people” kind of way.
Do you understand cricket? I don’t. In fact I don’t have a friggin clue what’s going on when I watch it. But do you think for a minute it would make sense to ask the commentators to refrain from using it? Could they actually describe the game without using it? Or at least not without making every sentence twice as long as it needs to be. Your word ‘twitterhoea’ is a perfect example. As Jim says, there’s no need for a dictionary to figure out what it means. One humorous word that describe what a long non-technical sentence would otherwise be required to describe. Sometimes a neologism is a gift.
Anyway the techie area by it’s nature is one of innovation and creativity and new words/phrases are sometimes required to describe things which may seem little different to what went before. Like ‘blogging’ for instance. Surely that’s just ‘writing’ is it not? But of course most bloggers [sic] accept that it’s a particular kind of writing. And ‘microblogging’ is a newer one which I’ve seen more and more of. Should we dismiss it? Or accept that it’s required to describe a particular kind of blogging?
January 11th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
@James: I’d like to differ with you on “AFAICS in fact we techies worry inordinately about our jargon, often in a condescending ?don?t confuse the ordinary people? kind of way.”. I don’t think we worry about it enough. I’m not consigning the use of all jargon the garbage heap. All I am saying is that we need to listen to be more clear on the use of technology and stop hanging our how-to-dos on convienent term hooks.
For example, take your typical Joe Bloggs going to a computer shop to buy a system. I’ve seen it time and time again, where ordinary people get lost in fog of jargon and are oversold items that are too. You may say this is an ethical problem with the sales clerk. And it is. However, what you are missing is that jargon was the weapon of choice. Swamp Mr Bloggs in a sea of jargon, he’ll nod his head and zip-zip, you’ve got a tidy commission.
I don’t profess to know the game of cricket. Good commentators will drop tidbits as they go. They are aware that people watching may not be experts. And you are trying to obfusciate the issue here, James. I’m not saying that everything must be defined in simple terms, what I am saying is that we as a responsible tech community need to be award of how powerful language is. What we take for granted by dropping nice neat, little terms can be unwieldy to the average passerby. Just like you demonstrated with that cricket example, actually.
I did not bring the word ‘blogging’ into the discussion, James. You just have. Yes, blogging is writing. But compare the word blogging to Twitterati. Which one is more difficult for a passerby to understand, would you think?
January 11th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
“”Many of these labels are also meant to separate techies from non-techies through a literary digital divide. For example, even using the word ?subscribe? when describing that one reads another?s blog in an RSS reader is misleading. People don?t subscribe. RSS readers subscribe. We just read.”"
The word ’subscribe’ when used in the context of blogs is not meant to separate techies from non-techies - quite the opposite in fact. It is meant to make the concept of blogs more easily understandable by non-techies - many of whom will be familiar with the concept of ’subscribing’ to magazines.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
You’ve lost me on the “subscribe” thing - Surely people ’subscribe’ to a blog the same way they subscribe to a magazine - i.e. they ask to recieve new stuff when it is published.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
@walter I have no issue with the actual description of the act of subscribing to an RSS feed.. Does subscribing equal reading? No. Very rarely do you hear a techie speak of ‘reading a blog’ even when the do it religiously. They very often use the word ’subscribe’. That’s my point. Foggy language.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
@Stewart: Yes, they do. But subscription does not equate to reading. My point is that techies somtimes use ’subscribe’ incorrectly to mean getting new posts and reading them. Foggy language and makey-upy language does more harm than help to ordinary people.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Here’s an acronym that I like:
DMWIAC
Pronounced - DIM-WY-AK
It stands for “David McWilliams is a Cunt”
January 12th, 2008 at 8:58 am
LOL @ f?star……
January 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I don’t know? I kinda like makey-upy words. So did Shakespeare and James Joyce I believe. I don’t think you can compare James writing with clumbsy tech shop assistants. Its all a bit condescending to my eyes. I don’t think your mother is James’ target audience either. To write in a manner that suits everbody is literally impossible. If the language is too simple and pedestrian, specialists won’t find your writing useful and visa versa. I don’t think anybody has the right to police other people words.
January 12th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I remember when KISSing was something that occurred behind the bicycle shed at school. I must be be getting old!
January 13th, 2008 at 12:37 am
@Paul: With respect, there’s a difference between Roald Dahl and every talking head to be trying to throw a stake in the ground and say “First”. Re: target audience.. Why not my mother? They’re just words for god-sake.
Are we going to segregate people because we don’t deem them fit to squeeze into convienent audiences? I’m not saying write for every audience, rather, make your writing as inclusive as possible. I want my mother to read about technology because it helps her communicate better, just like I want her to read Joyce so she can appreciate the extraordinary in everyday life. Do not wish the same for yours?
And I’m not policing anyone’s words in particular. Did I quote anyone in this piece? Did I call them out and accuse them personally? No. All I did was express an opinion that technology people need to be aware that badly-constructed jargon is jarring for people who are not geeky.
@Scott: You know all about KISSing. I’ve heard all the gossip. I actually wrote this post with a mutual friend in mind. You know who he is. Low hanging fruit and all. And not to mention what’s in his pockets, either.