Saturday, February 07, 2009
Five terms not to use to describe yourself online
My friends and colleagues can tell you that I am somewhat allergic to the outlook and self-promoting nature of Los Angeles online culture. Scenesters and professionals alike are constantly involved in a one-upmanship of terms that sounds at times like a terminology land-grab. Maybe it’s the financial downturn, but I’ve noticed lately that people are declaring themselves all manner of hyperbole online, from the simply self-promoting to entirely absurd. The situation has turned south with LinkedIn. What was previously confined to back room conversations and bouts of braggadocio is now publicly available for perusal. With that in mind, here are five terms that you should eradicate from your resume:
Expert – expertise is demonstrated, not self-awarded. Even true experts don’t just stand up and declare themselves experts on a subject. They write books, speak, and pursue goals. More likely, if you call yourself an expert (or even doubly so, a “success expert”), you’re a shady pyramid scheme type.
Visionary – this is a word that literally means you are able to see the future. Ironically, people who use this word to describe themselves rarely find others, later, using it to actually describe them. Talk about a lack of vision.
Pioneer – makes me misty-eyed for the Oregon trail video game.
Entrepreneur – appropriate if you are involved in venture capital, angel funding, or other entrepreneurial investment. You are not an entrepreneur just because you have ideas. Double no-no for “Internet entrepreneur” just because you use the Internet.
Innovative – innovation isn’t so much a bad idea, as overdone. I predict that it’s that adjective of the moment that captures the current energy, but will age badly. At its core, innovative is frequently used synonymously with “new.” “New media,” whose Wikipedia entry is a baffling mash-up of references and concepts, has suffered greatly for being unable to remain contemporary. Also, similar to “expert,” innovation is more difficult to put into practice than it is to simply declare.
Bonus:
Guru – Namasté!
Expert – expertise is demonstrated, not self-awarded. Even true experts don’t just stand up and declare themselves experts on a subject. They write books, speak, and pursue goals. More likely, if you call yourself an expert (or even doubly so, a “success expert”), you’re a shady pyramid scheme type.
Visionary – this is a word that literally means you are able to see the future. Ironically, people who use this word to describe themselves rarely find others, later, using it to actually describe them. Talk about a lack of vision.
Pioneer – makes me misty-eyed for the Oregon trail video game.
Entrepreneur – appropriate if you are involved in venture capital, angel funding, or other entrepreneurial investment. You are not an entrepreneur just because you have ideas. Double no-no for “Internet entrepreneur” just because you use the Internet.
Innovative – innovation isn’t so much a bad idea, as overdone. I predict that it’s that adjective of the moment that captures the current energy, but will age badly. At its core, innovative is frequently used synonymously with “new.” “New media,” whose Wikipedia entry is a baffling mash-up of references and concepts, has suffered greatly for being unable to remain contemporary. Also, similar to “expert,” innovation is more difficult to put into practice than it is to simply declare.
Bonus:
Guru – Namasté!
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Love the late add of guru. So true! Lately even using the word expert (especially in relation to social media) is shaky ground. With so many people calling themselves 'experts' because they've used Twitter for 2 months there's starting to be a definite backlash.
Great post!
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Great post!
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