Jargon. It’s a strange one. When asked, most people say they don’t like it but I have a theory that lots of them actually do. Every industry uses it, every workplace encodes conversations about its day-to-day business in terminology that is impenetrable to outsiders. Media and entertainment isn’t immune—as an example, before I started this job I had never heard the word ‘dailies’ used in a filmmaking context. I still have to have an occasional sly Google when I come across an unfamiliar phrase, rather than ask someone and out myself as a low-information newb.
In fact, asking can cause problems. Once, in a previous life, worn down by having to sit through an apparently interminable buzzword-laden marketing meeting, I asked one of the speakers if he could explain what he actually meant by the sentence he had just uttered. The words he used were English but they made no sense at all. I’ve got a reasonably good grasp of my mother tongue, but this guy might as well have been addressing the room in Serbo-Croat.
The air grew suddenly heavy. I’d have caused less of a shock if I’d whipped out a revolver and placed it in front of me on the desk. It was an Emperor’s New Clothes moment. I knew it, he knew it and so did everyone else. He was talking utter gibberish. Fortunately, his skin was thick. His smile froze, but never faltered. And then the moment was over; he recovered. However, despite addressing me with excruciating condescension, his attempt to translate his well-practised corporate soundbites into easily digestible language ultimately failed. He couldn’t do it. The Emperor was indeed naked, as one or two of his amused colleagues couldn’t help but notice.
And so, over time, I’ve learned to let it wash over me. Best to just smile and wave at those who exist on a higher plane of synergic intentionalities and workflow spinoffs. Like so many others who make their living working with words, I’ve developed a sharp sense for the nonsensical.
Lately, however, things have been—er—ramping up somewhat. As a refugee from the tech sector, when I switched to the media and entertainment business a couple of years ago I was genuinely surprised at the somewhat conservative nature of the industry in its reluctance to embrace the technology that was taking over everywhere else. Of course, there were myriad reasons for this, all of which were patiently explained to me whenever I remarked on the comparatively slow pace of change. Now though, at last, digitalisation in the sector is definitely on the march.
Press releases are increasingly promoting software and applications rather than physical hardware. More and more, I’m finding myself writing stories about new version releases whereas a couple of years ago it was cameras, monitors, microphones and such. And I’m afraid they seem to be taking on a faintly familiar tone.
Recently, I was faced with one of those documents that makes less sense the more times you read it. The words were all in English but try as I might, I couldn’t get them to coalesce into logical sentences. My first suspicion was that it was a foreign company using Google Translate. This is, after all, an international business. Mais non, c’était une entreprise britannique. Good manners, along with a smidgeon of commercial acumen and a very real need to remain in gainful employment preclude me from naming the guilty but it was definitely a British-based outfit. Then it clicked—of course—what had I spent the last year writing about?
I’m pretty sure it was written using AI. Someone in a hurry, acting on behalf of our unnamed entity, had run some brief details through Chatterbox GPO v4.3 or similar and asked it to create a press release. The solution (eurgh!) rapidly scanned the multitudinous oceans of kipple sloshing around the worldwide web and spewed out the words it deemed necessary. It was all there, just not in a particularly accessible format.
Naturally, this doesn’t matter so much in the tech industry. In fact, my experience leads me to suspect some might see an ability to endlessly spout incomprehensibly as a positive. But media and entertainment is all about clarity of communication. I’m a fan of the rapid technological evolution that is taking place, and I can be positively evangelical about harnessing its latent potential to drive transformative change and unlock workflow efficiencies across entire ecosystems (see what I did there?). By all means, let’s take the best the tech industry has to offer and put it to good use.
But for goodness’ sake, let’s at least try not to sound like them.
