Bursting with Internet Buzzwords

Here is the one thing I like about Kansas City's blogosphere and Internet community . . . This town has absolutely no patience for Internet buzzwords or hype.

For the most part big media in Kansas City hate blogs when they aren't swiping story ideas from places like Bottomline Communications or The Kansas City Post.

I can't say that I blame them given that most blogs in Kansas City are either way too personal, promotional tools for shitty bands or the product of special interest groups like "Let's Go KC" (ugh).

Still . . . Despite the fact that Kansas City's blog community is just as crappy as any other town in the nation, we rise above the pack in forsaking blogger hype (for the most part)!!!

To wit, I thought a recent post by Gawker entitled "The Fifteen Most Useless Internet Euphemisms" inspired by some recent hypocrisy at Boing Boing would be a great way to encourage local bloggers to keep on keeping it real . . .

Here are my faves which I have to admit that I'm guilty of using from time to time:

Influential: Unread. If a site isn't popular, it insists its small audience is made of "influentials" or "early adopters."

Long tail: Obscure. Because it's a book title, "long tail" has a cache that hides its actual meaning: things that get very little attention and only matter in aggregate.

User-generated: Quality-deprived. Or "can't afford an NBC deal." Except for a few impressive exceptions, user-generated content is a swamp not worth slogging through, which is why sites like YouTube set up a partner program for "better" producers.

Contextual advertising: Bottom-of-the-barrel ads. What's left over after "brand advertising" and served with "user-generated" content.

Yep, other than this blog and a few other sites belonging to KC media addicts I almost never see these terms used among Kansas City bloggers who are far more content to simply push an agenda, bicker with each other or produce middle-of-the-road content intended for the 9 other people they've met in the blogosphere who substitute for real friends.

By the way, none of this is as important as a photo gallery of Ann Hathaway's cleavage.