New DS blog: Buzz, Not Buzzwords

August 17, 2009 by Dave Haynes

I have started posting to a new, separate blog focused on writing for this sector. Called Buzz, Not Buzzwords, it is intended to provide some observations and tips on what to do and not do when writing press releases and other material for this space.

Since I started my new company I have been paying more attention to the quality and the clarity of writing and realized it was actually worse than I thought … and I started out thinking it was pretty bad.

It’s not that the sector is infested with functional illiterates. There are a lot of scary-bright people in the space. But everyone is increadibly busy trying to make a go of their companies, and marketing is rarely afforded the attention it needs. The result is the written material tends to get done at the last moment, by whoever had time.

That limited attention then results in people not thinking about what they are putting out, which results in a blizzard of acronyms and nonsense words and phrases.

Buzz, Not Buzzwords is intended to point out the things we’re all doing but need to reconsider. The space needs buzz, but not all the meaningless buzzwords and phrases that make for a lot of hype but precious little substance.

I will continue writing this blog, as well, but some changes are in the works as I get focused on certain things. There’s no shortage of news sites, but opinions and resources are another matter entirely.