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Unsuck It (2010)

unsuck-it.com

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Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#21

Post by troyvit »

tyingq wrote: post #7
dylan604 wrote: post #4

Clicked on browse, and then read the first term for 'above the fold'. pure gold Unsucked: The mystical location on websites where advertisers want their ads to appear. Originally referred to physical newspapers, which folded in half and made money from advertising. Today, newspapers don’t have advertisers and just fold.

I know I'm venturing off-topic here, but I believe "above the fold" in the newspaper world referred to story prominence on the front page rather than advertising. I don't recall, even long ago, seeing ads on real newspapers that were both front-page and "above the fold" . I imagine "above the fold" wasn't related to advertising until the web existed.

When I studied journalism in the early '90s our professors drew a direct correlation between newspapers that showed ads "above the fold" and those that didn't. According to the profs if they practiced the former they were clearly not real journalistic enterprises. USA Today did it and they used it as a case that proved their point. How times change.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#22

Post by astrea »

tyingq wrote: post #9

I imagine our pointy-haired bosses would appreciate an "unsuck it" for tech jargon, with stuff like: orthagonal -> unrelated immutable -> unchangeable idempotent -> (is there a very short phrase that works here?)

Those aren't even jargon, they're just words a well-educated person would know.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#23

Post by reaperducer »

tyingq wrote: post #7
dylan604 wrote: post #4

Clicked on browse, and then read the first term for 'above the fold'. pure gold Unsucked: The mystical location on websites where advertisers want their ads to appear. Originally referred to physical newspapers, which folded in half and made money from advertising. Today, newspapers don’t have advertisers and just fold.

I know I'm venturing off-topic here, but I believe "above the fold" in the newspaper world referred to story prominence on the front page rather than advertising. I don't recall, even long ago, seeing ads on real newspapers that were both front-page and "above the fold" . I imagine "above the fold" wasn't related to advertising until the web existed.

This applied only to broadsheets (New York Times), and not to newspapers that used tabloid layout (Chicago Sun-Times).

The reason "above the fold" was valuable real estate was because whatever was there would be visible in newspaper vending machines, newspaper racks, and the stacks at kiosks.

Newspapers that printed on tabloid-sized paper didn't have that problem, since they were not folded horizontally.

Tabloid newspapers were generally read by the working class and were sized so that they could be read on trains, buses, and communal lunch tables. Broadsheets were read by the bosses who had private offices, individual desks, and space to spread out.

/ Previously worked for two newspaper companies.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#24

Post by reaperducer »

jefftk wrote: post #12
dylan604 wrote: post #4

Clicked on browse, and then read the first term for 'above the fold'. pure gold Unsucked: The mystical location on websites where advertisers want their ads to appear. Originally referred to physical newspapers, which folded in half and made money from advertising. Today, newspapers don’t have advertisers and just fold.

To be dull: "above the fold" means visible on the initial page view, without any scrolling.

Which made sense when everyone was browsing at 800x600. But these days who knows what the size of an initial page view is. Not just devices, but windows within those devices.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#25

Post by ficklepickle »

jasonv wrote: post #20
fbelzile wrote: post #2

This is awesome. It has my favorite one: "ping me" Man, I hated hearing this. Just use normal words, please.

I don't mind that one, but "rockstar" in job descriptions drives me batty. As do "send it" and "stan". So, it's across all cultural borders these days.

OK boomer.

I'm stanning so hard I'm just gonna send it, fam.

Just kidding. I'm old too. Get off my lawn, unless you are playing lawn darts.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#26

Post by jessriedel »

Doesn't the phrase "add color" go back at least to the century-old idea of a "color" commentator (who operates opposite the "play-by-play" commentator) of sports radio and later sports TV? I'd be pretty surprised if this wasn't used for things outside of sports before MBAs started using. And if the MBAs invented the turn of phrase, I'd say it's clever and evocative!

This seems very different than mere business euphemism like "realize negative gains".

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#27

Post by wiml »

fbelzile wrote: post #6
0xdeadbeefbabe wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, normal words like "reaching out" (said the way Neil Diamond says it, with some seriousness and a straight face). It turns professional life into melodrama.

Or just, email me when... or call me when... At least it gives me a hint about the best way to contact you about something.

"ping me" does have a useful connotation, though, like "touch base" or "give a heads-up" it suggests a pretty minimal communication, just to let someone know that something has or will occur. Making a distinction between a short notice that can be followed up on if needed, vs. a more detailed memo or report.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#28

Post by kps »

I am disappointed that ‘actionable’ doesn't present the original meaning — providing cause to take legal action — given how well it typically fits corpspeak in place of the intended one.

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#29

Post by ryandrake »

The one all the cool-kid execs are using these days is "lean in to" as a replacement for the boring "focus on". As in "We're going to be leaning in to Cloud and Chat Apps this quarter in order to grow our investment into execution and innovation..."

Re: Unsuck It (2010)

#30

Post by reaperducer »

astrea wrote: post #22
tyingq wrote: post #9

I imagine our pointy-haired bosses would appreciate an "unsuck it" for tech jargon, with stuff like: orthagonal -> unrelated immutable -> unchangeable idempotent -> (is there a very short phrase that works here?)

Those aren't even jargon, they're just words a well-educated person would know.

It's not about education or vocabulary. It's about using words to make yourself sound important, when you're not.

The problem is that people who don't have a good vocabulary abuse these words and change their meaning for self-serving purposes, and not to communicate.

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