I know it may seem like an odd hobby, but–for me–finding lists on the Web or in trade/specialty publications of misused words and terms is something I love to see. So, here’s PR Daily‘s list of “10 Words That Might Not Mean What you Think They Do,” which includes the real meaning of “disinterested.” It’s actually not the uncaring, uninterested insult many people think it is. It merely means “neutral, unbiased.” Aside from the legal implications of disinterested parties, sometimes we all need someone who is disinterested to provide some objective input!

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10698.aspx

From PR Daily: Put that jargon to good use: play “Word Quest” in your next meeting! http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/9866.aspx

Of course, it’s generally best to AVOID using jargon when talking to people outside your specialty area, but this lets you have some fun with it when you’re not at risk of making your listener (or reader) feel uninformed!

Here’s a link to a helpful piece from Susan Friedman, CSP, @tradeshowcoach describing what’s key to know in assessing your competition even if it seems pretty comfortably yours now.

One of her recommendations includes the use of Alexa [found at www.alexa.com], which she describes as “An easy way to determine the biggest movers and shakers is to head over to Alexa and enter in your keywords. Alexa enables you to see an in-depth view of what your competitors are up to, based on the rating of popularity that they are enjoying through individual site visits. They also offer the ability to view analytic data about specific sites, including the countries from which sites’ main traffic sources come from and number of other sites linking in. It’s an extremely powerful tool that you don’t need to pay for!”

Read more by following the link: http://bit.ly/a1UU6M

http://on.fb.me/c7ZORW

Here’s a snip from her posting with its link to the Web source:

What are your thoughts on Facebook being in the major news about privacy breaches… again??!!! Some of the TOP third party app developers (like Zynga!) are in *breach* of Facebook’s terms, and Facebook didn’t know?? Very strange. Our Facebook IDs are being passed to giant ad networks, but Facebook say it’s no big deal really cuz anyone can find out our unique IDs anyway, regardless of privacy settings. Fair enough. But something is just not right.

Facebook Privacy Breach: Users’ Info Leaked To Advertising, Tracking Firms (REPORT)

www.huffingtonpost.com

‎(AP/HUFFINGTON POST) NEW YORK — The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 10 popular Facebook applications have been transmitting users’ personal identifying information to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies. The newspaper said Monday that the breach also includes users who set a…

It’s always interesting to get the day’s word (sometimes it’s a phrase) of the day from the extremely diverse Urban Dictionary. Today’s seems particularly apropos for a holiday as many of us may find ourselves working on a day that is supposed to be a day off from labors and appreciation of the labors of others. For those of us in the communications realm, I actually recommend you check out any words or phrases you may have any question about on the www.urbandictionary.com site as you may be surprised at some of the street/urban meanings for things you thought were pretty innocuous!

Here’s the definition for today:

<snip>

September 6: workweek creep

1) Constant connectivity via your smartphone and computer blurs the boundaries between your work life and your personal life.

2) Constant connectivity at work via e-mail & chat, results in so many interruptions that you cannot get blocks of time to do any thinking, resulting in you catching up on your work at home on nights and weekends.

<end snip>

Here’s an insightful post from the legendary Seth Godin on Fear of Shipping whether it’s launching a product or sending an e-mail. Here’s a snip; you can click through on the link to read the rest:

“Shipping is fraught with risk and danger. Every time you raise your hand, send an email, launch a product or make a suggestion, you’re exposing yourself to criticism. Not just criticism, but the negative consequences that come with wasting money, annoying someone in power or making a fool of yourself. It’s no wonder we’re afraid to ship.”

This honest assessment addresses a phenomenon that is almost paralyzing to many people both in business and in their personal lives. And I’m guessing it accounts for a lot of procrastination because once you actually follow through and act you ARE exposed. If you don’t “finish the job” and put it or your product out there you may avoid criticism or being vulnerable, but the odds are slim to none that you’ll accomplish your objectives OR even have a chance of staying on track for your business plan.

According to Facebook, “Starting today people will be able to connect with your Page by clicking “Like” rather than “Become a Fan.” We hope this action will feel much more lightweight, and that it will increase the number of connections made across the site.”

Please note that this may also impact the language in some of your marketing materials where you may have invited prospective followers to become “Fans.”

I just read a great piece from Rob Reinalda at Ragan.com on how language gets mangled with some tips for how to avoid making such errors: http://bit.ly/dk3wae Sometimes it’s just that people don’t hear the word right in the first place, and Reinalda advises that “Questioning meaning can help you avoid misusing ‘familiar’ terms.” One of his examples is the unword “supposably.”

A first cousin to this syndrome is the butchering of song lyrics, sometimes with funny or embarrassing results especially when sung exuberantly by a music lover who didn’t quite get the words the way they were intended. You can check some of those out at http://www.kissthisguy.com/, the Archive of Misheard Lyrics, which designates some as the funniest or most absurd of the week while showing what the lyrics really were. Even the the national anthem has gotten contorted into some intriguing or just-plain-funny takes on it. Reinalda’s piece touches on those mangled words and phrases–many of which we start to associate with certain individuals. Most of us DO have some language blind spots. And, with a little “need more coffee” digression here, I think many of us have typing blind spots, too. Do you ever find that there are some words that your fingers just want to type with transposed letters? I used to find that I’d type “teh” instead of “the”? What IS that about, anyway, and why do these seem to be so different for each person? We’re told that we can take solace from knowing that it happens to incredibly gifted writers and journalists frequently, too. At least technology is helping us out a bit on the typing front, as you can set up your custom dictionary in Word to autocorrect common mistakes you know you’re making, though–such as my “teh” typing foible!

Feel free to post your thoughts on other tin-ear language mistakes you’ve heard (and don’t hesitate to share if you have any fat-fingered typing mistakes that you keep having to deal with, too!). When you hear them, do you tend to just let them go or do you ever correct the speaker especially if it’s a professional colleague or friend who you may really wish to help? There are definitely some alligators in that water as it’s a sensitive subject even if you’re intending to be proactive.