So Much For Using Buzzwords

We know the most hated words created by the Internet. Nate Anderson lists the top 10. I see a commonality – they are all, or at least most of them, Web 2.0 jargon. I would have put Web 2.0 itself or Web 3.0 on the top.

Folksonomy is followed by blogosphere, blog, webinar and so on. They are of course used many times, but I dislike their use when they are used for hype more than conveying the meaning. Do I really understand what folksonomy is and why it is better, other than that it is being held high by many? Also, a lot of arguments are in their favor without discussing any of their negatives. This completely misleads the readers leading to frustration when they actually work with it.

I think jargon is useful, but in a closed group, when all the participants are on the same frequency. Otherwise, it is just another source of confusion. If not, one should make sure it is at least explained clearly in the layman’s language. And I find this is one of the reasons why a lot of concepts, like open source, find it difficult to reach the layman. Web 2.0 has been used a lot of times for marketing, by companies, products, consultants and media. Web 3.0 is already getting promoted. However, I truly wonder how many users are really aware of what all these versions do for them.