About being interacting, engaging, and organic ...

I promised to write this blog to a clever woman, named Rebecca.

We met  few days ago, at a conference dealing with advertising and the two words everyone is using: "New Media."

Professor Al Lieberman attached two other words to "New Media": Fear Factor. The wiser and older man was joking how everyone has been trying to figure out where would this "New Media" take us. We all show excitement, said Lieberman, without admitting how scared we are from this new world and its effects on us. 

Rebecca and I shared a glass of wine outside the room, full of CEOs, COOs, SVPs of leading  companies, and talked about the vocabulary that were being used so often in presentations, round tables, or by business executives in Hollywood, Madison Avenue (N.Y.), Wall Street and others these days. 


When a "suit" throws in the following words in a speedy manner, using a confident body language: what does it really mean??

Here is my two cents:

"OUTSOURCING" - What it means practically, that this person is getting a lot of money from you for a specific job, done (for much less money) by a third party - usually another company.

"DELEGATING"  - The same (above), only that the third party is working for the same company.

"PROACTIVE"  - A term being used often by PR or Marketing executives, in an authoritative manner. They tell you how they were doing damage control ( in return for your payments) before any damage was done. WAIT A MINUTE ...WHAT???

"INTERACTIVE" - The mantra of many executives, claiming to know how to involve you and the audience better than others. How do they know?? They would insist they do. One of the key words they will use, repeatedly is "testing."

"TESTING" - Executives love to tell you about how many "testings" they will do for you, weather it will be with "focus groups" or using Internet campaigns ...A Budget for "testing" may include "outsourcing" or "delegating" or any other above listed.

"ENGAGING"  - It is the younger sibling of "interactive." Some executives will be happy to share with you that the younger generation (the dream of any advertiser) is less patient than others. In fact - they will add quietly, as if they are sharing with you a secret, that the younger generation has  zero patience and that you have to engage them very quickly: with one word.  ...If this executive's long presentation has succeeded to engage you (and your bank account) to his company, then ...WAIT A MINUTE! WHY DIDN'T HE USE ONE WORD AS HE PREACHES?? ...

"ORGANIC" - I have to admit that this new word got me (and Rebecca) a bit puzzled. It was used by one of the speakers in the room - a lovely woman - so often, that we lost our well meant "engagement". It usually followed  up the word "testing." Outside - we tried to guess, if it had anything to do with organic fruits or vegetables? Does it mean that the content is more pure? Or - like organic food products - more expensive?? 

"OUT OF THE BOX"  - A relatively old expression, which refers to thinking differently, originally. It may be a long term solution? A big vision? Recently - this term is used so frequently, that I sometimes try to remember what "the box" is ... And if we think out of "Out of the Box" - where does it take us??

* In my book "My Benazir" - I describe how Benazir Bhutto was so excited about her first ever blackberry. The highly educated leader told me happily that she could have a fast access to news, gossip ...She was so obsessed with it over lunch, that she forgot for a minute her perfect manners, and the important issues, she needed to discuss with us until ...Read more in "My Benazir"  (www.daphnebarak.com)