One of the effects of the ubiquity of always-on media and
always-on communications and the always-on bullshit machine whose thumb we are
living under, is that the number of phrases, statements and even words we hear
seems to have been winnowed down to a dozen or so.
About 19 times a day I sit in a meeting
and hear about some marvel of new technology. I hear about it all in a language
I don't understand. I don't think anybody does. I ask for further explanations,
and like linguistic head cheese being diced up by a hyper-active Hibachi chef,
those same dozen words are served over and again.
Thomas Friedman, three-time Pulitzer
winner over at my sister publication, "The New York Times," talked
about our bland, meaningless ubiquity in his column yesterday, saying "I don’t recall a time
when more people were running for president and fewer of them offered anything
more than poll-tested generalities designed to rally their own bases. No one
surprises you with any daring. If we could tax their clichés, we’d balance the
budget."
I think that's the
state of our world, and unfortunately, our industry.
Just now, for instance,
I received this product of Big Data in my email box.
Tell
me about the magic of technology again. This time with a real-world example.
More.
Here's
a statement I just read from the newly appointed creative head of a global
agency network.
"____________has a global culture of collaboration and
I've experienced this first-hand, working on many of our major, global clients
over the past year or so," said Mr. _____. "I can't wait to dive into
the most highly charged, competitive, creative market around. I am really
looking forward to pushing and flexing our creative product, drawing upon our
already broad scope and scale."
What in god's name does that statement do, except give you a
chance to win at buzzword Bingo.
Couldn't he have said, "I'll work everywhere in our
network to produce great work that moves people and helps brands succeed. New
York is the center of the creative universe and I'll lead from here."
That's English, or something like that.
But apparently, it's a dying language.
Replaced by drivel.
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