It seems to me that every year we have a new list of buzzwords and jargon that everyone feels they have to use in their communications.
Last year it was all about Gamification, Big data and customer centricity.
2016 will be no different, if you and your Bros want to be “down with the kids “ you better “word up” get with the lingo.
First up we have –
“Generation Z”
Hot on the heels of “Millennials” Generation Z kids were born from 2004 and will continue to do so until about 2020.
Generation Z is the market of tomorrow. They will be supporting us in our old age and be poorer than previous generations due to rising housing costs and their inevitable high tax situation.
Generation Z, won’t be buying a pension though, they’ll be too busy getting a joint mortgage with their parents so they can save enough to place a deposit on a home that will never be theirs.
“App Security”
Get used to this, it’s going to be big.
How many apps have you got on your phone? If you’re anything like me you’ll have way more than you use. How many of those did you study when it came to permissions? Not many I bet.
But you will. The millions of apps out there collect data about you and send them back to the developers, where this data goes and how it is used depends on the developer.
Just take a few seconds to think about how much of your life you have on your phone.
Some Apps are a soft spot for data breeches, a front door left wide open for THEM to come and get you.
Think about that next time your kids download J-Pop-makeup-pro on your iPhone.
“Holistic”
Everything. All in. The Big Kahuna Burger.
Still limping on since 2012.
In short a Holistic approach means considering the whole rather than focusing on the part.
Now this might work in some situations, but most successful companies are bigger than the sum of their parts.
Also it has medical overtones. Generally used by people who don’t really know what their business really does.
“Going forward”
Still in common parlance. Will this never die? Every time I hear it I cringe. Going forward infers that something needs to me left behind, usually 200 redundant staff many of whom have put in 20 years solid service.
So Going forward let’s leave Going forward well behind.
“Big Data”
Big Data is the incoherent jumble of facts and figures stored on servers across the world.
It’s amazing to think that of all the data that has ever been collected by the human race 90% of it has been collected in the last two years.
Data mining this asset is the market research of the future. Only now are the algorithms being used that can make sense of this asset.
Collect enough data, mine it efficiently and the world is at your feet.
What does this mean to you? Well EVERYTHING you now do online and everything you record with businesses leaves a trace, the photos you post on Facebook are loaded with data about when and where they were taken, what camera was used and even what the weather was like. These digital footprints can be pieced together to deduce where you live, who your friends are, what you like to do even your dogs name.
Right now a child in the America is playing with an iPhone, this child will one day be president of the USA, and THEY will know more about him the he does.
Data privacy laws are going to need a lot of updating soon.
“Blue-Sky Thinking”
The bastard child of “Thinking Out of the Box”. Surely it’s just thinking!
Just stop and think next time you use this one!
Do you have a love/hate relationship with jargon? What are your favourites and which ones can’t you stop using?
[sgmb id=”1″]
