Love and Other Meaningless Buzzwords

Quick. Take thirty seconds and write down as many songs as you can think of with the word “love” in the title. Ready…Go!

OK, now that you’ve done that, there’s a good chance that your list may include some of the following titles:

You Always Hurt the One You Love
Love Me Do, Love the One You’re With
Can’t Buy Me Love
Love is a Battlefield
Love Stinks
Stop! in the Name of Love
You Can’t Hurry Love
Love Will Keep Us Together
Love Rollercoaster
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
You Give Love a Bad Name
Addicted to Love
I’ll Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)
Love Me Tender

There are literally thousands upon thousands of songs with “love” in the title, and thousands more about the subject of love. And they are all different. Popular music and popular culture have turned love into something trite and perhaps meaningless. I mean, what exactly IS love? And do any of these songs even get it right?

Despite the way we’ve watered down the meaning of love, it doesn’t mean that love isn’t real. It doesn’t mean that love isn’t something we should talk about. In fact, it probably means that we need to:

a) be careful how we throw around the word love, and

b) work to reclaim the real meaning of the word.

The same is true of all of the buzzwords we throw around in the marketing and Social Media worlds. And I’m seeing quite a few blog posts and discussions on Twitter these days, saying we need to put these buzzwords to rest. I’m not sure I agree.

For instance, “engagement” is a buzzword. We all use it, and we use it in different ways, but because we use it so much, it seems to have lost it’s meaning. But the concept of engagement is still incredibly important and real.

Then there are words like “conversation” and “dialogue”. We talk about “trust,” “authenticity,” and “transparency”.

We see these words so often we don’t think about them. And at times we merely give it lip service without actually doing what we say. We THINK we are (engaging/being authentic/being transparent) and yet over time we can get lazy and fall into the trap of doing whatever is easiest.

Just because certain words become overused and trite buzzword, doesn’t mean we should stop using them. On the contrary, if those words are important, we need to continue to use them, and use them properly, both in what we say and what we do. Just because the word “love” has been stripped of much of its meaning, it doesn’t mean we should stop using it. I will continue to tell my family that I love them, and hopefully show them that it is more than just an empty word.

The reason words lose their real meaning is not just because we overuse them, but because we use them improperly and don’t back those words up with actions.

Let’s reclaim those buzzwords and help them regain their meaning. Shall we?

Gamification: In Defense of a Buzzword (joeystrawn.com)
Is “Social Business” Just a Buzzword? Oh, I Hope Not (doughaslam.com)

Tagged as: buzzwords, engagement

search engine optimization rankings 9 pts

I love this post. very nice

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KDillabough 1088 pts

I love this post. Oh yeah...was that a buzzword? :)

Say what you mean and mean what you say, that's what I say. (was that too many say's in one sentence, haha!)

When you do, even if others call it a buzzword, it has true meaning. And I couldn't agree with you more: always back your words up with action. Decide2do and Do! Cheers! Kaarina

lucaleonardini 6 pts

Hi Ken, I love your post! ;-p I do mean what I say. I totally agree with you: the real point is the meaning that we decide to give with our direct example in the real life. It seems an easy thing to do and it's not, but I think this is part of the beauty of learning to live every day.

KenMueller 1766 pts moderator

lucaleonardini Thanks! We just need to be more intentional about the words we choose and how we use them. If we're using them properly, then we can't be faulted for them being buzzwords.

KenMueller Completely agree with you. Just a word about the songs: while reading your list, I couldn't find one of my favorite love song (Robbie Williams - If it's hurting you) which doesn't use the word love in the title, but it's sooooo romantic (to me!)! ;-)))

lucaleonardini Don't know that one!

KenMueller Don't miss that one! Have a look to the lyrics with this link. I don't think he never mention the word love, but his song it's a great love song (for me!) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/If-It's-Hurting-You-lyrics-Robbie-Williams/BA576D80D277D26048256A31000879DE) ;-)

Marijean 78 pts

I get what you're saying and think that the same could be applied to "hate." That being said . . . it's not merely the word love that I have a problem being overused, but the fact that the phrase "I love you" isn't used often enough (especially when that's the case.) My friend @msprolesmartin will tell ya, darn it, if she loves ya. And I love that! So there.

Words, like fashion fads, go in cycles of overuse and then, rejection. Let's ditch some of the most overused and pay particular attention to choosing a new or different word in its place. Hopefully people will still understand what we're talking about.

My latest conversation: Communication Gaffes: How to Handle the Misses.

Marijeanmsprolesmartin The only thing I would say to choosing new or different words is that THEY then become buzzwords. There's no avoiding it. So we need to make sure that no matter what we use, we use the words properly.

Love ya!