The Tendo View

Insights and analysis for your strategic communications

Jargon archive

  • Jargon watch: Year-end edition

    11/29/11 • (2)

    As 2011 winds down and we prepare to ring in the new, a year-end installment of Jargon Watch is in order. During the past year, we’ve heard a number of words and phrases from clients and colleagues that have caught our ear—either because they resonated like a chorus of angels, or grated like nails on… Continue reading

  • Jargon watch: Social media edition

    8/30/11 • (0)

    Whether you love it or hate it, the latest business jargon speaks to business trends. We’ve compiled recent social media jargon to show the influence it has on both business and our culture, plus we’ve shared our own perspective on these terms.

    1. Social scoring (noun)

    Definition: Determining one’s level of influence based on evaluating… Continue reading

  • Jargon we love, jargon we hate

    6/14/11 • (0)

    As 2011 approaches the halfway mark, we thought it would be a good time for Jargon Watch, Tendo’s periodic column featuring words and phrases we’re hearing from clients, colleagues and friends.

    The following list includes a few early favorites, along with some words we could do without.

    1| Kicking dead whales down the beach

    Continue reading

  • Tech jargon: 6 words to make you say “aargh!”

    9/29/10 • (0)

    If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a technology writer, it’s never to assume knowledge with readers. That’s not to say readers are dumb; it means that you should avoid using technical jargon, even if your audience is technical. Always explain technical terms that are new or have yet to make it into the popular… Continue reading

  • Our 5 favorite jargon words for 2010

    2/01/10 • (1)

    We’re pretty optimistic about the opportunity 2010 brings for new jargon words. It’s early days yet, but we’re seeing—and creating—some good ones. The following list includes our early favorites. Continue reading

  • Top 5 jargon for slackers

    9/25/09 • (0)

    With the U.S. unemployment rate at a 26-year high of 9.7 percent, an estimated 14.7 million people are currently out of work. Those are unhappy statistics. Let’s hark back to a simpler time, before the economy was lamented as much as the weather, when slackers could hide out in forgotten cubicles and devise ever more ways of dodging work, ducking responsibility, and wasting company time. The following is our jargon tribute to a dying breed: the slackers. Continue reading

  • Jargon Watch: “The ocean that touches many shores”

    8/10/09 • (0)

    “The ocean that touches many shores”

    Definition: Used as a metaphor for a concept, solution—or even a person—that affects multiple things. “Our CRM solution has many applications for your business; it’s the ocean that touches many shores.” Continue reading

  • 26 killer jargon words for writing sassier copy

    5/13/09 • (5)

    Jargon is an inescapable part of business culture. And while some words and phrases make us cringe and plug our ears from the buzzword-overload–as we’ve previously noted– there are nevertheless times when the right bit of jargon is the perfect cure for a business’ communicative efforts.

    There’s no hard-and-fast rule for qualifying a piece… Continue reading

  • 26 jargon words to avoid (like the plague)

    5/12/09 • (3)

    Buzzwords.  Corporate cliches.  Jargon.  It’s difficult to resist peppering these little turns-of-the-tongue into your documents, speeches, and everyday life.  And that’s fine.  Everyone enjoys a little spice on the main course.  But not all spice is created equally, nor should you add a liberal dash of jargon into everything you do.  You can ruin the… Continue reading