WORDS THAT STICK

Change is our middle name.

Yet, because we began our careers as writers and journalists, words are near and dear to us.  So, from time to time, we wear our linguistic hats and probe into the nature of language.  Which, sorta, kinda, is part of change.

Lately, fellow wordsmiths (or smithies, we suppose) have wrestled with the notion of permanence, that is, which of the new lingos heard and invented will last more than Andy Warhol’s 15 seconds.  Twerking, selfie, catfish, lean in:  All have precedents and other meanings attached.  Twerking, it’s said, was a Nawlins’ figure of speech two decades ago; selfie belongs to our compatriots Down Under (and even earlier, if you believe the Princess Anastasia myth).  Mash-ups and phrases, like cronut and Boston strong, seem to have more legs than others.

What makes for word permanence?  More professorial minds than ours cite five factors, from frequency and diversity to unobtrusiveness.   Others say it takes 40 years for slang to become embedded into our dictionaries.   To avoid theorizing, the venerable American Dialect Society (yes, Virginia, there is one) votes on its Word of the Year every January; believe it or not, 2013 was the year of “because” … as in “because nachos.  Because politics.  Because science.” 

No comment.

Instead, we see two factors that count for language stick-to-it-tiveness.  One, a word that’s inextricably linked to a physical object or unforgettable event.  Think “drone” and “9/11.”  And two, an appendix that can transform any plain-Jane ordinary adjective or noun into something new and different.  After all, consider what adding “nado” and “gate” does to shark and water … among others.

Why the concern with lastingness?   Because change.  It’s what we do.

MALCONTENT ABOUT CONTENT

Pardon us while we giggle.  Discreetly.  With our hands placed over our mouths.

              About a year or so ago, the advertising and marketing world discovered the power of content, or, as an AdAge journalist defines it:  “… straightforward, practical, even non-promotional information that plays well on social networks.”  It’s trendy, newly fledged experts explain, because it’s everything that advertising usually isn’t, driven by quality and accountability.

              Examples of content include white papers, e-books, podcasts, Webinars, bylined articles, documentaries, photographs, among others.  Examples of content’s pull impact:  Blogs that increased the number of customer contacts by 600 percent.  Online guides which indirectly resulted in $2 million in sales.  There’s even a Content Marketing Institute (shades of PR, anyone?) measuring who’s playing in this space and interpreting what it all means.

              Today, journalists are in high demand as content strategists, since they understand how to infuse a goodly amount of information and stories into all different channels.   So are former magazine editors and contributors.  Public relations and ad colleagues are now squaring off about ownership – and, more important, revenues in this era of Big Content. 

              You can almost anticipate our next series of questions:  What happened to the corporate communicators, inside and out, who have, for many years, recommended the publication of thought papers, infographics, documentaries that entertain and inform?  Or top-flight designers, so accustomed to counseling clients about toning down the obvious “corporate sell job” in words and pictures?   Name any individual who works in the business of change and leadership; chances are they, too, advise that honesty is truly the best policy, and that content, not fluff, reigns.

              To us, all this content marketing is hype about non-hype.  Content, by itself, is a very welcome direction towards the real, the authentic, and the candid.  We applaud that wholeheartedly.  [And you’re right, our discontent is showing.]