I couldn’t resist sharing this one… It’s certainly not new to anyone who tweets or even for emailers for that matter. Apart from the very valid points it makes in reference to society, I love the basic reversal of words to re-engineer the point. It’s this sort of thing that makes me passionate about writing!
I received two emails from eBay today (technically, one came last night and one this morning), the first had the subject line of “10% off voucher inside to say thank you”. It made me think ‘thank you eBay, you too are appreciating your customers and giving back in a small way in hard times.’
To be honest I was a tad surprised, but figured there’d be some catch to it as this particular brand just doesn’t seem to represent honesty or community-focus to me at the moment. Which is strange given the nature of its whole structure, without its community, it basically wouldn’t exist! When I try to pin point why I feel like this about the brand, the outcome is that it’s a combination of some ‘dodgy retailers’ as well as confusing and inconvenient changes to payment and feedback processes.
So… back to the emails – the second one, would you believe, says this:
Subject: IMPORTANT: CORRECTION TO EMAIL REGARDING 10% OFF VOUCHER
Dear xxxx,
A short while ago, you received an email from eBay which incorrectly contained
the following words in the subject line: “10% off voucher inside to say thank
you”.The subject line of that email was wrong, and occurred as the result of a
technical error. Please note that there is no voucher or discount from
eBay.com.au associated with that email or otherwise applicable to you at this
time.eBay sincerely regrets any inconvenience and thanks you for your understanding.
Regards,
The eBay Team
Technically, the email is right because the first didn’t actually have a voucher or anything in the email – it was just in the subject line. So obviously overnight there was MAJOR panic in the particular halls/desks responsible for this email as the first was sent without proofing… then the second sent in a panic without any thought for the recipients. Even the wording makes me feel insignificant and like perhaps someone else might be ‘applicable’ but certainly not me. Plus the fact that they blame it on a technical error… come one now, I think this one might have been human error yeah??
As a writer, I understand that proofing is such a critical element to any piece of writing. In spite of this, I too am guilty of not doing it enough and appreciate there is always a chance of human error. However, this incident goes far greater than just a proofing issue and could have been rectified in a far more effective way. I think the brand custodians need to have a long hard think about how they are portraying themselves as slowly but surely they are eroding their trust and community and one day they’ll wonder where their listings went.
Well as ‘a work of art’ might be taking it a bit far, but i did have fun playing with the colours, fonts and layout… go to http://www.wordle.net/ to create your own beautiful word cloud – thank you @KateKendall for sharing.
This morning as my #1 kid added a new word to his repertoire (to my shame it came straight from Ben10 via Cartoon Network)… and the word was ‘like’… but not used in the traditional sense of the word, but in the more youthful sense where you just like add it into like the sentence that you are like using because like it sounds like really good. Whilst I was the word grated on my nerves as I heard him say it, I was instantly transported back to my father giving me a hard time about it when I was in my teens.
So it has prompted me to write this post… not just in the exploration of the word ‘like’, but generally about how words change over time. It’s what excites me about language; the way it evolves and how a generation can have such an impact on how words are used.
According to the Oxford Dictionary ‘like’ has a few meanings… which depending on your interpretation actually includes the way my son used it… although I am sure it wasn’t in there when I was a teenager and I am sure it doesn’t mean to add it more than once to a sentence. The origins of the word date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, with the 1500s seemingly being the first use of the word in its form as it is today. So it’s been around for a very long time… no wonder the meaning is flexible and Generation X started playing with its usage.
So how does language evolve in this way? The abundance of International television, mainly from the USA has had an enormous impact on the Australian vernacular. However, it seems the influence on the use of words or expressions can come from varying influences. For example, according to Angus Stevenson (www.askoxford.com) the expression ‘go pear shaped’ (meaning to go wrong) supposedly comes from RAF slang, first written in the early 1980s but most probably in use a few decades before that in reference to the shape of a fighter plane after it has crashed into the ground or a novice’s attempt at a perfect circle in the air.
Considering the way communications has vastly changed from the early 80s, the impact online communication will be having on language would be significant. Just the impact of the TXT message has change the way I write emails and communicate with friends, family and colleagues. I’ve been told I am the queen of the succinct TXT msg and I am secretly proud of that.
Another avenue in the online world has been the advent of social media, more specifically the requirement to get our point across in 140 characters; delivered instantly to many. So perhaps my son or one of his generational peers will be studying the impact all this has had on language in 20 or 30 years time.
Whilst many have been scared or pessimistic about the impact technology is having, handled in the right way I see enormous benefits not just to you in your immediate community but for the world, in bringing us closer to share and communicate. Whilst there are segments of the technology world that have valid opponents, I am hoping the greater good will prevail and the impact my grandchildren (gosh I hope I get some one day) will experience will only enhance their communication and the way they use words and language. Perhaps they will more easily be multilingual… or perhaps even a new language will evolve, and I am not talking techno speak, but with common use words in one language being used by those of other nationalities. Of course, we have plenty of that already in existence… some words are just better said in their original language: hors d’oeuvres, hasta la vista (if you’re a Terminator fan), à la carte or annus horribilis.
I look forward to watching how my native tongue evolves and as I sit in my rocking chair trying to understand my grandkids in 30 or so years I hope I take as much pleasure in learning and using it as I do now.
I have been swaying back and forth between Plurk and Twitter over the last three months… After a rather strong addiciton to Plurk initially, i broke free and had a break. It was needed as i had become emotionally invested, not through sharing personal information, but i had started to lead a virtual world in some ways and that kind of scared me.
So i went back to twitter, but not in an involved way, more as a voyeur. Then just this week i returned to the plurking world… to anyone who knows it, you’d know that my kaarma was 0.00… a terribly uninspiring return… but i started conversations again… and my old mates commented and i felt a part of the community again.
To me something about plurk seems to embrace someone like me far more than Twitter, which seems to generally be a very individual and less engaging flow… I am not saying either is a failure, but acknowledging that as they are structured differently they will engage people differently. For my way of interacting i feel i learn more and have more time to browse with Plurk… but some very important failings stop me from being completely positive about the experience. The fact that you can’t track conversations you’re in makes it very hard work.
Either way, both have been pretty good at enabling me to be short n sharp with my point. A friend commented the other day that i was the most succinct txter she knows. I am pretty sure she wouldn’t have any tweople or plurkers as friends… so i wonder if this has had an influence. I think this is a new topic to be explored next post…
Welcome to my new design… hopefully this is a little bit more embracing the feel of this blog… and more pleasant to visit. The graphic encompasses the social, communications and cyclical aspects of communication. Let me know what you think.
As i drove to swimming lessons this morning, I zoned out of the banter/screeching going on in the back seat and was productively planning the rest of my day. Then i had a slight light bulb moment of ‘hey – how did i plan that so clearly… normally it feels much harder’.
It’s a little hard to explain to non-parents (and this certainly is not an anti post in anyway shape or form) and even non-full time caring parents that mostly your brain is just a fuzzy mess of absolutely everything… but it’s not due to a lack of brain cells or capability, but because there is so much going on it’s like a one of those clever visualisations of what the connected SocialMedia world looks like… a bit of a jumble really.
I recently read a friend’s posts about her busy life, but from the different perspective of a Hong Kong mum. One thought that really struck home was the comment that she’s busy by choice, I assume she meant that unlike her Aussie friends who were just bloody busy due to lack of help, she had the hired help to enable her to do it all.
I am not sure that’s totally true that we are busy without choice; much of my busy-ness is ’self-inflicted’ because I want to do it all. However, i have had to set self imposed limitations on the amount of things i get involved in – basically and inbuilt barometer telling me to stop or it will affect my family.
Over the last year, i have had to conciously focus on not getting so worked up, stressed and busy because it was affecting my family. My husband, who’s job is rather stressful, was being affected by my stress, as were my kids… it’s been a physical reaction for my husband with his skin being the outlet of the stress. The kids behaviour was their outlet… So I assessed and changed. But a big thing i’ve noticed is that it’s affecting my ‘clarity’ so whilst my ‘cloud parenting’ is partially due to my busy-ness it’s also because i have become less ’stressed’ about it all… kind of ‘mushy mum brain’. Hmmm… perhaps there is a switch i can turn… on ‘Focussed Working Busy Mum’ to ‘Chilled out Happy Smiley Good Wife and Mum’… i’ll let you know if i find it!
These are my ponderings about how the communications in my sphere of influence are changing and how my sphere is growing exponentially as a result of my involvement in social media.
I have worked in the communications industry for 15 years in public relations, journalism and corporate writing. My blogging is not only a personal interest but an imperative to staying relevant in this growing world of social ineractivity.
I hope you enjoy and that my thoughts spark discussion amongst your networks… and i’d love to hear your thoughts whether you agree or disagree.
