Words that Work

So here's the recipe for choosing the right words. The internet and certainly the blogosphere has become very "top ten". Everyone is pumping out a list for every stupid thing you can imagine and trying to get them Dugg. But as that geek on Technorati says "55 million blogs, some of the have to be good". Came across this while poking around from Gerry McGovern. Interesting read...

Do people search using basic, simple, old words? But when they arrive at a Web site, are they moved to action by more emotive, sophisticated words?

The Web is the land of the word. Getting your words exactly right can mean the difference between success and failure....

Frank Luntz is a bit of a hero to US Republicans. Even opponents such as John Kerry recognize his talent, stating that Luntz "understands the power of words to move public opinion and communicate big ideas."

Luntz has 10 rules for great communication, which he details in his recent book, Words That Work. He summarizes his rules with 10 words: "simplicity, brevity, credibility, consistency, novelty, sound, aspiration, visualization, questioning, and context."

Your site is dealing with a highly impatient customer. You need to get your words exactly right, because otherwise lots of those impatient customers will hit that Back button.

The right choice of words is vital to effective communication.

"By almost two-to-one, Americans say we are spending too much on 'welfare' (42 percent) rather than too little (23 percent)," Luntz writes. "Yet an overwhelming 68 percent of Americans think we are spending too little on 'assistance to the poor,' versus a mere 7 percent who think we're spending too much."

Luntz lists a range of words that have gone out of fashion, as well as the words that have replaced them. They are:
WAS: Used car IS NOW: Pre-owned vehicle
WAS: Secretary IS NOW: Administrative assistant
WAS: Housewife IS NOW: Stay-at-home-mom
WAS: Stewardess IS NOW: Flight attendant
WAS: Waiter/Waitress IS NOW: Server
WAS: Caretaker IS NOW: Estate manager
WAS: Garbage removal IS NOW: Sanitation services
WAS: Gay marriage IS NOW: Same-sex marriage
WAS: Impotence IS NOW: E.D./Erectile dysfunction

However, according to Overture, in December 2006, 730,958 people searched for "used car," while only 949 searched for "pre-owned vehicle."

Nearly 73,000 people searched for "housewife" (122,000 searched for "desperate housewife"), while only 43 searched for "stay-at-home-mom."

Over 30,000 searched for "gay marriage" while 19,000 searched for " same-sex marriage."

While about 17,000 people search for "impotence," over 100,000 search for "erectile dysfunction," proving that some words are indeed falling into disuse, even from a search point of view.

I am not trying to question Frank Luntz's findings here. I'm sure he has done his research. What I am wondering is whether when we search, we revert back to older, more basic words. Words that might be cruder, shorter and simpler.

I will search for a cheap hotel but when I arrive at a Web site, I don't really want to see a big heading saying:

WELCOME TO OUR DIRT CHEAP HOTEL

I'd much prefer to see a heading such as:

A BOUTIQUE HOTEL FOR THE BUDGET-MINDED

Because, you know, I'm not cheap; I'm just budget-minded.

The words that people search with may not always be the words they would like to read when they arrive at a Web page. Search needs to be understood as a particular type of mental behavior. Once the customer arrives at a Web page, a whole new set of words may kick in. One set of words to bring customers to your Web site--another set to get them to complete a task.

Banned

I suppose for someone working in English but living in France I don't get all of the pleasure associated with new and annoying words but here is the official list of words to be banned from Lake Superior State Uni.   Fantastic stuff.

 
GITMO -- The US military's shorthand for a base in Cuba drives a wedge wider than a split infinitive. "When did the notorious Guantanamo Bay Naval Base change to 'Gitmo,' a word that conjures up an image of a fluffy and sweet character from a Japanese anime show?" -- Marcus W., St. Louis, Missouri.

COMBINED CELEBRITY NAMES -- Celebrity duos of yore -- BogCall (Bogart and Bacall), Lardy (Laurel and Hardy), and CheeChong (Cheech and Chong) -- just got lucky.
"It's bad enough that celebrities have to be the top news stories. Now we've given them obnoxious names such as 'Bragelina,' 'TomKat' and 'Bennifer.'" -- M. Foster, Port Huron, Michigan. "It's so annoying, idiotic and so lame and pathetic that it's 'lamethetic.'" -- Ed of Centreville, Virginia.

AWESOME -- Given a one-year moratorium in 1984, when the Unicorn Hunters banished it "during which it is to be rehabilitated until it means 'fear mingled with admiration or reverence; a feeling produced by something majestic." Many write to tell us there's no hope and it's time for "the full banishment."
"The kind of tennis shoes you wear, no matter how cute, don't fit the majestic design of the word." -- Leila Hill, Damascus, Maryland.
"That a mop, a deodorant or a dating service can be called 'awesome' demonstrates the limited vocabularies of the country's copywriters." -- Tom Brinkmoeller, Orlando, Florida.
"Overused and meaningless.' My mother was hit by a car.' Awesome. 'I just got my college degree.' Awesome." -- Robert Bron, Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand.

GONE/WENT MISSING -- "It makes 'missing' sound like a place you can visit, such as the Poconos. Is the person missing, or not? She went there but maybe she came back. 'Is missing' or 'was missing' would serve us better." -- Robin Dennis, Flower Mound, Texas.

PWN or PWNED -- Thr styff of lemgendz: Gamer defeats gamer, types in "I pwn you" rather than I OWN you.
"This word is just an overly used Internet typo. It has been overused to the point that people who play online games are using it in everyday speech." -- Tory Rowley, Corunna, Michigan.

NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS -- Heard in movie advertisements. Where can we see that, again? "How often do movies premiere in laundromats or other places besides theaters? I know that when I want to see a movie I think about going to a shoe store." -- Andrea May, Shreveport, Louisiana.

WE'RE PREGNANT -- Grounded for nine months. "Were men feeling left out of the whole morning sickness/huge belly/labor experience? You may both be expecting, but only one of you is pregnant." -- Sharla Hulsey, Sac City, Iowa.
"I'm sure any woman who has given birth will tell you that 'WE' did not deliver the baby." -- Marlena Linne, Greenfield, Indiana.

UNDOCUMENTED ALIEN -- "If they haven't followed the law to get here, they are by definition 'illegal.' It's like saying a drug dealer is an 'undocumented pharmacist.'" -- John Varga, Westfield, New Jersey.

ARMED ROBBERY/DRUG DEAL GONE BAD -- From the news reports. What degree of "bad" don't we understand? Larry Lillehammer of Bonney Lake, Washington, asks, "After it stopped going well and good?"

TRUTHINESS – "This word, popularized by The Colbert Report and exalted by the American Dialectic Society's Word of the Year in 2005 has been used up. What used to ring true is getting all the truth wrung out of it." -- Joe Grimm, Detroit, Michigan.

ASK YOUR DOCTOR -- The chewable vitamin morphine of marketing.
"Ask your doctor if 'fill in the blank' is right for you! Heck, just take one and see if it makes you 'fill in the blank' or get deathly ill." -- R.C. Amundson, Oakville, Washington.
"I don't think my doctor would appreciate my calling him after seeing a TV ad." -- Peter B. Liveright, Lutherville, Maryland.

CHIPOTLE – "Prior to 2005 . . . a roasted jalapeno. Now we have a 'chipotle' burrito with 'chipotle' marinated meat, 'chipotle' peppers, sprinkled with a 'chipotle' seasoning and smothered in a 'chipotle' sauce. Time to give this word a rest." – Rob Zeiger, Bristol, Pennsylvania.

i-ANYTHING -- 'e-Anything' made the list in 2000. Geoff Steinhart of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, says tech companies everywhere have picked this apple to the core. "Turn on…tune in…and drop out."
"Banish any word that starts with it. i am just tired of it. it's getting old. -- Brad Butler, Adrian, Michigan.

SEARCH -- Quasi-anachronism.
"Might as well banish it. The word has been replaced by 'google.'" -- Michael Raczko, Swanton, Ohio.

HEALTHY FOOD -- Point of view is everything.
Someone told Joy Wiltzius of Fort Collins, Colorado, that the tuna steak she had for lunch "sounded healthy." Her reply: "If my lunch were healthy, it would still be swimming somewhere. Grilled and nestled in salad greens, it's 'healthful.'"

BOASTS -- See classified advertisements for houses, says Morris Conklin of Lisboa, Portugal, as in "master bedroom boasts his-and-her fireplaces -- never 'bathroom apologizes for cracked linoleum,' or 'kitchen laments pathetic placement of electrical outlets.'"