Don’t abuse over-used Buzzwords.
Buzzword : A buzzword (also fashion word) is a term of art, salesmanship, politics, or technical jargon, often in an inaccurate manner, or for purposes other than the conveying of information. (source: Wikepedia)
Buzzwords differ from jargon in that jargon is precisely defined terminology used for ease of communication between specialists in a given field, whereas a buzzword (which often develops from the appropriation of technical jargon) is often used in a more general way, inaccurately or inappropriately. A person who chooses to use buzzwords may have one or more of the following objectives:
- Intentional vagueness. In management or politics, opaque words of unclear meaning may be used: their positive connotations prevents questioning of intent. The most notable essay on this theme is George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”
- A desire to impress a judge, an examiner, an audience, or a readership, or to win an argument, through name-dropping of esoteric and poorly understood terms in an attempt to inflate trivial ideas to something of importance.
Therefore a phrase is not in itself a buzzword: it becomes one in the context of inappropriate usage or usage with an ulterior motive.
So, now that we know what a Buzzword is, here’s some examples of one’s that are over-used in Marketing, Web & Print. Don’t be an abuser.
(Author of table information : Adam Sherk, Source : adamsherk.com)
| Buzzword / Marketing Speak / Overused Term |
Mentions in Press Releases | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | leader | 161,000 |
| 2 | leading | 44,900 |
| 3 | best | 43,000 |
| 4 | top | 32,500 |
| 5 | unique | 30,400 |
| 6 | great | 28,600 |
| 7 | solution | 22,600 |
| 8 | largest | 21,900 |
| 9 | innovative | 21,800 |
| 10 | innovator | 21,400 |
| 11 | award winning | 11,800 |
| 12 | exclusive | 11,000 |
| 13 | premier | 10,700 |
| 14 | extensive | 10,500 |
| 15 | leading provider | 10,100 |
| 16 | innovation | 9,570 |
| 17 | real-time | 8,030 |
| 18 | fastest | 7,420 |
| 19 | easy to use | 6,850 |
| 20 | dynamic | 6,460 |
| 21 | state of the art | 6,400 |
| 22 | smart | 6,020 |
| 23 | flexible | 5,660 |
| 24 | cutting edge | 5,520 |
| 25 | biggest | 5,460 |
| 26 | world class | 5,340 |
| 27 | amazing | 5,320 |
| 28 | next generation | 4,860 |
| 29 | revolutionary | 4,830 |
| 30 | sustainable | 4,720 |
| 31 | best practices | 4,680 |
| 32 | leverage | 4,600 |
| 33 | thrilled | 4,530 |
| 34 | robust | 4,380 |
| 35 | delighted | 3,560 |
| 36 | cloud | 3,260 |
| 37 | user friendly | 3,190 |
| 38 | extraordinary | 3,090 |
| 39 | breakthrough | 3,010 |
| 40 | savvy | 2,900 |
| 41 | ROI | 2,860 |
| 42 | legendary | 2,780 |
| 43 | transform | 2,700 |
| 44 | seamless | 2,540 |
| 45 | groundbreaking | 2,440 |
| 46 | empower | 2,390 |
| 47 | scalable | 2,170 |
| 48 | one of a kind | 2,160 |
| 49 | proactive | 1,810 |
| 50 | best in class | 1,650 |
| 51 | return on investment | 1,570 |
| 52 | market leading | 1,560 |
| 53 | turnkey | 1,450 |
~Georgia Gietzen,