Nearly all of us are swayed by the power of words. A powerfully written essay, blog post, or article can open our minds, convince us of uncertainties, and even engage us to action. Today, Matt at the 37 Signals blog has an excellent piece that helps dissect buzzwords and effective language:
People who really get it aren’t impressed by this sort of jargon. They smell BS. They can read between the lines and see what’s really there: fear. Fear of clarity. Fear there isn’t actually anything worthwhile to convey...
...Tech folks often use terms that imply we’re part of some secret club. It’s as if we’re saying, “We can speak in a code that those other people can’t understand.” It’s a way to build a wall that separates us from them. It’s a form of exclusion.
You don’t need to build walls or exclude people when you’re confident in your message though. When you’re confident in your message, you want everyone to understand.
Matt makes some excellent points, and leverages more than a few good quotes in the process.
In the SEO industry, we hover on both sides of the tech-jargon fence. As insiders to insiders, we're constantly referring to SERPs, sandboxing, splogs, and singular value decompositions (OK, rarely do we actually discuss SVDs). But, in the world of marketing, our profession requires that we bridge the gap between technical jargon (that can impress and speak to a tech and search-savvy audience) and communicative, plain language that speaks to our customers.
I believe that the search marketers who accomplish this best - speaking knowledgeably to insiders and plainly to potential customers - are the ones who achieve the best reputations and highest levels of demand. At the top of this list, I'd earmark Mike Grehan, who consistently impresses every audience he speaks to and then transitions to our coveted, insider-search-babble over cocktails in a matter of minutes :)
Ammon - I am taking over Michael M's place on SEOMoz as hostile community building bot. ;)
Let me explain further, Grehan is an elder SEO and his strengths are in social areas, as for today’s SEO there is no way he could keep up with it as you explained. I also appreciate his early contributions. Grehan and I sorted out our differences via email not long ago and he is good man, I refer people to his stuff all the time. I put him right up there with icons like Danny Sullivan and others...
So yes, G doesn't know a damn thing about today’s SEO simply because he doesn't need to. That's all I was sayin' there homie. :)
First off - use the nested comment format! That's what it's there for.
Secondly, I believe that Mike knows an awful lot about today's SEO. He was preaching ideas like social networking, community building and online relationship marketing two years before anyone had heard of MySpace or Del.icio.us. Mike certainly admits that he doesn't spend all day playing with Web 2.0, but I'd guess that he still has his finger on the pulse to a great degree.
OK, last thing - this post wasn't meant to be a referendum on Mike, it's really about communication style.
There's an old saying, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull...."
Using florid speech is just bad taste. But using 'tech-speak' isn't always just a baffle-them trick. Using contractions, acronyms and ‘jargon’ understood only by people with the same interests, background, or professional pursuits is called ‘TribalSpeak.’ (Boeing actually prints a list of ERBA’s – “Easily Recognized Boeing Acronyms. No kidding!),
TribalSpeak is common in tightly knit professional groups, such as SEO.
Common Tongue is the language we all share as members of a much larger group – Americans, English-speaking peoples, etc. The larger the group, the more restrictive the Common Tongue is likely to be. Only shared words with shared meanings can be used without running the risk of obfuscation (pun intended).
Thanks for reminding SEO-ers everywhere that their tribe speaks a language that otherwise capable people do not. And these highly intelligent people who, on other subjects, can run circles around SEO specialists are not so impressed when that specialist cannot explain the profession in a Common Tongue. It demonstrates a lack of command of the subject.
Yes, Grehan speaks well even if he doesn't know a damn thing about SEO. :)
Search engines are also impressed with correct word usage.
You know, Mike's been in this game a long time now. You wouldn't easily realise that from your 10 minutes in the business, Aaron, but it takes a lot to spend years at the top. We all say how fast this industry moves, how fast things change, and yet people like Danny and Mike transcend the generations, and have performed for years as much respected leaders and statesmen, despite also being hard-bitten pioneers.
I still put Mike's book at the top of the pile for those wanting a career in SEO. Why? Because it is the only one that looks at the technologies and methodologies of search itself, rather than just trying to list the 'tricks du jour' - as such, it doesn't date.
Mike knows a lot more than just SEO, he knows marketing in the broader sense. He knows where to focus attention to get the most effective results. As such, he doesn't bother to defend himself from the attacks and criticisms of people who couldn't touch him anyway.
You could learn a lot from him, if only you could earn his attention in a remotely positive manner, Mr Pratt.
Writing in plain language doesn't have to mean the copy is boring or simple minded. The best ideas can be expressed with little Jargon needed. Jargon is a safety barrier, people use to ensure people keep at a distance.
Rand,
Great article, thanks for pointing it out. This is a great lesson for anyone dealing with a highly technical product or service. Devising communication strategies that demystify and clearly explain the benefits, value and methodology of a product/service is a tremendously valuable skill.
Industry specific jargon creates an accessibility barrier that all too often creates a muddled, "black-magic" impression of that industry. While, in some cases, this could be considered favorable ("I don't get it, let's hire somebody who does") in most scenarios it's likely to create doubt about both the messenger and the message.
Nutshell: People fear what they don't understand; do everything you can to make them understand whatever it is you want them to embrace.