The Hartsock Agency » Jargon

Facebook Shenanigans

Nettie Hartsock — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:13:35 +0000

One of the things I do when 2.0 training corporate Bored-room folks, is explain that Facebook is your playground, LinkedIn is your boardroom. So let your freak flag fly on Facebook. Truly, madly, deeply! Join the Facebook crowd and hang out with your friends there.

We all like working with people we like, right? So think of Facebook as a way to connect and really find cool people you might like to work 9 to 5 with.

If you’re unsure how to get started on Facebook or what shenanigans you can employ there, then this Fast Company slideshow can kick start your effort.

And here are some other things you can do on Facebook that are fun:

my garden
my aquarium
top friends
photos
pokepro
free gifts
graffiti
compare people
moods
magnetic words
favorite peeps
fancy paint
my travels
grow a gift
famous quotes
friend wheel
candy store
magic 8 ball
blunt opinions
more about me

I liked the movie test recently on Facebook and found out I’m very compatible with a music publicist who I think is fantastic named Krista Mettler. She is so brilliant!

Also, do a little wall painting on your friend’s walls, but please don’t blast your book, music or product slogan on the Wall!

Now go face-forward and meet your peeps on Facebook.

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Dear Candi Crowley of CNN

Nettie Hartsock — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:11:45 +0000

Dear Candi,

Please stop using the term “money shot” in your live reporting.

Just because jargon exists does not mean we have to incorporate all of it into our reporting to make it sound more exciting.

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Copywriting and Talking

Nettie Hartsock — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:00:00 +0000

Here’s a list of the 100 most often mispronounced words. I love this list! Here are a few of the sample words from the list and I encourage you to hit the full link as well.

perogative	prerogative	Even in dialects where [r] does not always trade places with the preceding vowel (as the Texan pronunciations “differnce,” “vetern,” etc.), the [r] in this prefix often gets switched.
perscription	prescription	Same as above. It is possible that we simply confuse “pre-” and “per-” since both are legitimate prefixes.
persnickety	pernickety	You may think us too pernickety to even mention this one. It is a Scottish nonce word to which U.S. speakers have added a spurious [s].
preemptory	peremptory	The old pre-/per- problem. Do not confuse this word with “preemptive;” the prefix here is per-.
prespire	perspire	“Per-” has become such a regular mispronunciation of “pre-,” many people now correct themselves where they don’t need to.
plute	pollute	This one, like “plice” [police], spose [suppose], and others, commonly result from rapid speech syncope, the loss of unaccented vowels. Just be sure you pronounce the vowel when you are speaking slowly. Read here for more on the problem.
(probly, prolly)	probably	Haplology is the dropping of one of two identical syllables such as the [ob] and [ab] in this word, usually the result of fast speech. Slow down and pronounce the whole word for maximum clarity and to reduce your chances of misspelling the word.
pronounciation	pronunciation	Just as “misspelling” is among the most commonly misspelled words, “pronunciation” is among the most commonly mispronounced words. Fitting, no?

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I Call Bullshit

Nettie Hartsock — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 13:00:00 +0000

Where I live, in the Texas Hill Country, we’re often tired, hot, bedraggled and trying to make certain our prickly pear wine doesn’t turn into vinegar, all the while avoiding any angry rattlesnakes on our front porch.

And one thing we absolutely hate is jargon. Ok, some folks out here like jargon, but they’re usually the folks too afraid to sip prickly pear wine so can you really trust em?

So today I’m calling bullshit on jargon. Let’s just use good ol’ plain English. Not rap, not slang, not witticisms and for gosh sakes not "we’re the leaders" or "what we bring to the table" or "think outside the box."

Let’s say what we do and do what we say. And to take it a step further, let’s generate content that engages readers easily and puts them at ease in the full knowledge that we won’t be preaching to them or making everything so god-awful technical that they don’t understand one word we’ve written in a seven page white paper.

And since I’ve called bullshit on tech jargon, I also urge all of you to check out this site – www.buzzwhack.com which boasts The Buzzword Compliant Dictionary and make certain you’re not filling your newsletter, case studies, white papers, sales brochures or anything else with jargon and meaningless buzzwords.

And while you’re at it – the dictionary might make the perfect gift for all those non-sipping, tech-laden, prickly pear wine haters!

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