Words Matter
I can get a bit picky over wording at times. The difference between the "correct" words and the "right" words can be huge. Yes, you can choose to express a concept or idea correctly in a number of ways but the "right" wording can not only convey the concept but it can also get your audience to buy into that concept, get them excited by it, get emotionally attahced to it, open their eyes and paint a bright and vivid vision of the possibilities that your concept entails.
A pet peeve of mine is the use of the phrase "best practices". Best practices implies that this way is the absolute best way possible to do something and that no matter what you try your not going to do it any better. "Best" conveys the idea that the limit has been, boundaries have been pushed and perfection has been attained.
The problem is, Best Practices is also a termed over-used by marketers to shout to the world their own self perceived greatness in a particular field and the implicit definition of Best Practices causes people to stop thinking about what they do (and why they do it). "Oh, if this is the best" they say, "then why would I think about whether it's really suitable for me or not. I'll just do what these guys tell me to and let them do my thinking for me". And when things go off the rails for them, they scratch their heads and look for someone to blame because obviously the practices are the best, so how could they be wrong?
As a note on this, if you ever come across a company trying to peddle or brand a methodology that purports to be "best practices" run a million miles away from it, especially if that methodology is also meant to be an agile one. There is no such thing as a "best practice". There are current practices, leading practices, emerging practices and recommended practices but there are no "best practices".
Words are even more critical when building brands. There's some great marketing texts on branding and conveying meaning, emotion and purpose in the one or two words your brand uses. Sony got it right with the PlayStation, Die Hard is great for a movie name, Apple have made the "i" prefix their own and SecondLife all but speaks for itself. Microsoft on the other hand appears to need some help. Have a look at this post on Microsoft's product naming practices and you'll see what I mean.
So the next time you want to express and idea or give a name to a new product you've created, don't just slap down the first words that pop into your head. Think about what they mean, what they imply and how your intended audience may view them. Good luck!!
A pet peeve of mine is the use of the phrase "best practices". Best practices implies that this way is the absolute best way possible to do something and that no matter what you try your not going to do it any better. "Best" conveys the idea that the limit has been, boundaries have been pushed and perfection has been attained.
The problem is, Best Practices is also a termed over-used by marketers to shout to the world their own self perceived greatness in a particular field and the implicit definition of Best Practices causes people to stop thinking about what they do (and why they do it). "Oh, if this is the best" they say, "then why would I think about whether it's really suitable for me or not. I'll just do what these guys tell me to and let them do my thinking for me". And when things go off the rails for them, they scratch their heads and look for someone to blame because obviously the practices are the best, so how could they be wrong?
As a note on this, if you ever come across a company trying to peddle or brand a methodology that purports to be "best practices" run a million miles away from it, especially if that methodology is also meant to be an agile one. There is no such thing as a "best practice". There are current practices, leading practices, emerging practices and recommended practices but there are no "best practices".
Words are even more critical when building brands. There's some great marketing texts on branding and conveying meaning, emotion and purpose in the one or two words your brand uses. Sony got it right with the PlayStation, Die Hard is great for a movie name, Apple have made the "i" prefix their own and SecondLife all but speaks for itself. Microsoft on the other hand appears to need some help. Have a look at this post on Microsoft's product naming practices and you'll see what I mean.
So the next time you want to express and idea or give a name to a new product you've created, don't just slap down the first words that pop into your head. Think about what they mean, what they imply and how your intended audience may view them. Good luck!!