A discussion about business and marketing communications (or marcom).

Not long after I entered the world of blogging, I started to notice a strange word. I had never heard or seen it before but it caught my eye because it had so much personality.

It's one of those words that you know instantly what it means, even if you've never heard it before. It sounds like what it means.

Snarky.

It rolls off the tongue easily. But you need to sneer just a little to say it right.

Snarky.

Not a friendly word. But not necessarily a bad word either.

The Urban Dictionary has several interesting definitions. Here's one I like:

1. snarky

(adjective) describes a witty mannerism, personality, or behavior that is a combination of sarcasm and cynicism. Usually accepted as a complimentary term. Snark is sometimes mistaken for a snotty or arrogant attitude."Her snarky remarks had half the room on the floor laughing and the other half ready to walk out."

Here's what Dictionary.com has to say about it:

snark·y (snärk)
adj. Slang snark·i·er, snark·i·est

Irritable or short-tempered; irascible.

It's actually an old word, coming from Dutch and Low German. This surprised me since it sounded like a perfect word created by and for bloggers.

Like I said, I've seen it a lot in the blogosphere. I suspect it's become a trendy, hip word to use. Technorati tells me that 56,446 posts contain the word 'snarky' at this moment. A search on Google returns over 5 million hits.

It's definitely a popular word in the online community.

But I don't remember (ever) hearing this word used in conversation offline. People I know just don't go around saying 'snarky'.

Seeing the online popularity of this odd word makes me think of how we use language in our communications. It's easy to start using a trendy word or phrase without stopping to consider the value it gives us.

This is especially true when we use jargon or technical terms. I see this every day. I am constantly amazed at how many people will used industry specific words in conversations with customers who have no background with such words.

We also see this in marketing pieces, advertising, commercials, websites, you name it.

When we use words our readers don't understand, we push them away. They leave. And they're not impressed with our fancy vocabulary.

Whatever our goal is when we communicate, we do better when we communicate clearly. And using jargon or other uncommon or unusual words does not help us communicate more clearly.

So, even though 'snarky' is a cool word, save it for your friends. Your customers would rather you be clear, concise and to the point.

Besides, people who say 'snarky' too much are so, you know, snarky.

Technorati : communication, message, snarky, words
Ice Rocket : communication, message, snarky, words