Hutch Carpenter wrote a really good (and probably long overdue) case in favor of buzzwords like enterprise 2.0.

It always seems fashionable in the tech world to accuse buzzwords of being overhyped, poorly or improperly used, etc. Hutch says the real point is to know when to use them and when not to (which I’ve written about before):

There is a time and place for usage of buzzwords, and it’s possible the language has been abused. But that doesn’t mean you throw the baby out with the bath water. Smart people can discern when to use a buzzword for what they mean, and when to use something more specific (or generic, as the case may be). I have yet to be troubled by irresponsible use of these terms.

The irony is that just when the tech world begins to collectively shun a buzzword, that term is just entering the collective conscious of the rest of the world.

Imagine how confusing it is for someone outside the confines of the tech world to learn about something new – let’s say wikis, which happen to be considered an Enterprise 2.0 tool – then read all manner of comments, blog posts, and tweets knocking the term as nothing more than a stupid buzzword. Doesn’t that send the wrong message to someone who might be thinking about buying that Enterprise 2.0-related product or service?

Perhaps we should think of terms like Enterprise 2.0 not as buzzwords, but as shorthand. Here’s what Hutch says Enterprise 2.0 is shorthand for:

• Employees are better off when they can find more content that colleagues create, not less.
• Workers can offer much more value than being just the cog they were hired for
  People from different locations and units should be able to work together far more easily than they do.
• Companies’ culture needs to be open to empowering employees to drive and critique what’s happening internally.
• Adoption is an ongoing work-in-progress as employees shed old ways of thinking about sharing their contributions.

Excellent definitions – but nobody is going to google for these. They’re going to google the shorthand term, and the results they get should reinforce these points as much as possible.

So beware next time you jump on the “buzzwords are bad” bandwagon. You might just be doing yourself a disservice in the process.