Saturday, April 21, 2007

WHY TO INVENT A NEW EXPRESSION?


What do you think of the term PR relations? Isn't it a tautology (= redundancy, useless repetition)? PR means public relations, so why to repeat relations twice? Nevertheless, this term became common: 10,600 search results for PR relations in Google.
You see, the formal logic is not enough here. The real life is stronger than formal logic. If the real language practice feels it needs some expression, it will invent it.
Today there are plenty examples of buzzwords (= a neologism commonly used, like Web 2.0, podcast etc.). Buzzwords often have unclear meanings. They are typically intended to impress one's audience with the pretense of knowledge. They are often universal. They make sentences difficult to dispute, on account of their cloudy meaning.

So you too don't be afraid of inventing new expressions when you need them.

Friday, April 13, 2007

HOW TO PROMOTE A NEW POINT OF VIEW, A FRESH PROBLEM CONTEXT?


The Hebrew word Hasbara (it literally means "explanation") entered the common language.
E.g. Bled Manifesto on a European Communication Policy in 2006 uses this word like this: "In Israel the use of Hasbara fuelled a movement toward a new nation state and a new national identity".
If you go to Google search, you will find about 188,000 results for "hasbara".

The PR move to promote a new point of view, a novel context of the problem, an original attitude towards something is inventing a new term / buzzword of your own.

Monday, April 9, 2007

HOW TO IMMORTALIZE YOUR PERSONAL NAME?


What is the Google's term "PageRank"? What does it stand for? Does it stand for the word "page" (= a page of an Internet site)? Or for the name of the Google's cofounder Larry Page?
At the end of the day, it makes no difference. You invent a new word pointing both to your personal name and to the technical/scientific/political term.
Another great example is the memorable PR move of Russian tsar Peter the Great. He founded the city of Saint Petersburg in 1703. What's the official explanation? That it was named after Saint Peter the Apostle. Then why not to name it after Saint Paul? Because Peter himself named it.
A fresh Internet example is Craigslist (a centralized network of online classified advertisements) founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark.

When you invent a new term / buzzword, try to think about your own personal name.