
53PRIOCEPT |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018
we have resisted this trend as much as
possible, but every year it takes more
time and effort than ever before to
communicate technology concepts
clearly without succumbing to the
temptation to use the latest batch of
meaningless buzzwords.
Despite working with information
technology and software all day
every day, and despite employing
consultants who are experts in various
digital technologies, even we struggle
to make sense of all the latest jargon
being used. Most technology jargon
is not clearly defined, so if you find
one expert who can explain what
a term means, the next expert you
speak with will invariably give you a
differentdefinition.
If the experts in the field of information
and digital technology can’t agree on,
clearly define or understand their own
terminology, then what chance does
the lay person – consumer, business
leader or government policymaker –
have of understanding all the various
terms and their nuances?
The worst offenders
Whether you are a consumer, a
business person or a technologist
yourself, do you know what “the
cloud” is? Don’t be ashamed if not
– neither do we. Priocept works with
“the cloud” every day and yet we
could not define what it was if you
asked us, nor could anyone else in our
industry. It’s simply marketing jargon
which has, unfortunately, found its
way into the day-to-day vocabulary of
consumers, business and government.
What about “cyberspace”? It sounds
like something out of a 1980s science-
fiction movie, but for all practical
purposes, “cyberspace” just means
“the internet”. Most people understand
what the internet is – virtually nobody
understands what cyberspace is. So, let
us call a spade a spade and start saying
“the internet”instead.
Then we have “cybersecurity”. Once
again, it sounds like something from
the movies or a CIA-themed series on
Netflix. When we say “cybersecurity”,
we simply mean “information
security”, or perhaps “internet
security” or even just “computer
security”. So why can’t we say this? We
have business and government leaders,
at the most senior levels, perpetuating
this jargon and needlessly difficult
vocabulary and therefore perpetuating
misunderstandings and confusion.
The list continues. We have extensive
regulations surrounding the use of
“cookies”, requiring businesses to
ask consumers to accept them, and
yet many consumers would have no
idea what a cookie was or what they
were accepting. We have “the internet
of things” or “IoT”, even though
everything that has ever been connected
to the internet is inherently a “thing”.
Even the word “digital” is heavily
misused and increasingly meaningless,
and now seems to be used, incorrectly,
to mean “anything that runs on a
computer, phone or theinternet”.
Devonshire Square,
London
The key to
jargon
elimination is
to ask
yourself: when
you are about
to use a given
term, do you
truly
understand
what it
means?
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