tar and as appetizing as sawdust? Removing these common sins from the copywriting tool-

box can help further the cause of intelligibility:

Invented words: Making up words not only complicates language, but suggests one

of two things: either the writer was not intelligent enough to think of a perfectly

decent word, or the company regards its self-worth high enough to warrant its own

secret language. There are many rather funny examples, but just keep in mind that

verbing nouns only increases the complexification of wordspeak.

Acronyms: These poisonous little strings of letters are the darlings of technology

pundits everywhere, from software makers to commercial equipment manufac-

turers to government agencies. Very few are valid. Just for fun, try to guess what

these stand for: SERP, ECM, XSLT, OPML.

Superfluous modifiers: Modifiers are the subtle little attachments to nouns that

make the subject sound just a bit better. Like a good pair of shoes, they provide fla-

vor to the package—and, like a pair of hot-pink knee-high Nancy Sinatras, can

quickly become distasteful. We discussed best-of-breed in the preceding list; world-

class, unprecedented, and others also appear with uncomfortable frequency.

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CONTENT

Solution: Probably the poster child for corporate-speak abuse, this once great word

now appears on an incalculable number of company websites. Unfortunately, while

elegant, it has little meaning when orphaned, especially in a site’s navigation. The

word is still valid when meaning an actual answer to a problem, but not when used

as a replacement for more tangible words like products or services.

Utilize: The major problem with utilize is that it is simply overused. It may or may

not be a direct replacement for use; in different situations, its meaning can con-2

note something slightly different. For example, I can use this shovel to dig a hole

(its intended purpose), or I can utilize this shovel to smash this lock open (an unin-

tended use, no matter how practical). However, the problem lies in the fact that

copywriters use utilize even when its monosyllabic cousin would be clearer and

more to the point.

Enterprise: This word is just a flowery alternative to company. Who can seriously

tell me they don’t think of Star Trek when they read it? A prime casualty of the-

saurus abuse, try the more humane company, organization, or business instead.

Leverage: This is another alternative for use, but with major bonus pretension

points. While a real word with real meaning, it hardly ever relates to the marketing