The Web 2.0 Buzzword Abuse Index
Since we're back on the horse now (as in, back in the saddle, not back on heroin), Media Orchard realized we had a bit of catching up to do on all the marketing and PR blogs out there. And what better way to catch up with marketing blogs than to track their relative levels of Web 2.0 buzzword use and/or abuse.
So we decided to take a list of Web 2.0 buzzwords and enter them in the search engines of 40-or-so marketing bloggers to determine the number of instances each blog used one of the buzzwords. To level the playing field a bit between older and newer blogs, we counted only the period from January 2006 to the present.
We'll present the results of our research one buzzword at a time over a series of posts -- building up to a deafening crescendo with a comprehensive Web 2.0 Buzzword Abuse Index, incorporating all results to determine which marketing blogger uses or abuses buzzwords the most.
For our first report, we'll disclose the results for -- what else? -- the buzzword "Web 2.0."
We found that the selected blogs used this buzzword a median of 14 times during the period (about once per month), so we set that as "1" in the index and gave everyone else a score based on that average. The higher the score, the greater the use/abuse of the buzzword "Web 2.0."
The results:
Steve Rubel is the biggest user/abuser of "Web 2.0" by a wide margin -- using the term an average of three times per week, more than twice as often as the nearest challenger. In Steve's defense, he does post more frequently, and has more of a tech focus, than most other marketing bloggers.
The full rundown:
Micro Persuasion: 13.9
Marketing Profs Daily Fix: 5.7
Online Marketing Blog: 3.8
PR 2.0: 3.3
Seth's Blog: 2.6
a shel of my former self: 2.6
Marketing Pilgrim: 2.4
NevilleHobson.com: 2.4
Media Orchard: 2.4
Pronet Advertising: 2.1
Diva Marketing Blog: 1.8
BlogWrite for CEOs: 1.4
The Flack: 1.4
Adrants: 1.3
Communication Overtones: 1.3
POP! PR Jots: 1.2
Emergence Marketing: 1.2
What's Next Blog: 1.1
Duct Tape Marketing: 1.1
Open the Dialogue: 1.1
Strive Notes: 1.1
Church of the Customer: 1.0
jaffe juice: 1.0
PR Squared: 1.0
Chaos Scenario: 0.9
Copyblogger: 0.8
Beyond Madison Avenue: 0.7
Todd And - The Power to Connect: 0.7
Bad Language: 0.7
Blogging Me Blogging You: 0.6
Brand Autopsy: 0.6
MIT Advertising Lab: 0.5
Brand Sizzle: 0.5
Make the Logo Bigger: 0.4
Copywrite, Ink.: 0.4
The Copywriting Maven: 0.3
Marketing Begins at Home: 0.3
Into PR: 0.2
Presto Vivace Blog: 0.2
Brand Noise: 0.2
On Message from Wagner Communications: 0.2
adgoodness: 0.1
The Buzz Bin: 0.1
Common Sense PR: 0.1
Marketing Whore: 0.1
Occam's RazR: 0.1
If you're not on this list, we're sorry -- our fingers got sore. But please feel free to put your own blog's results in comments.
Overall, we were surprised how seldom many marketing bloggers use the term. Of course, a number of you may have gotten off easy because your search engines didn't return all the results they should have.
Running the same query on different blogs really makes you appreciate blogs with good search. We were particularly impressed by the ExpressionEngine-powered search used by Shel Holtz and a few others. We also noticed that some slackers who shall remain nameless don't even have a search engine on their blogs.
Next up: "Mashup".
Labels: buzzwords, marketing blogs, pr blogs, steve rubel, web 2.0
posted by Scott Baradell at
10:09 AM
12 Comments:
I resemble that remark. It was installed, but it screwed up my code and I'm still trying to fix it all. Typepad is not the best for this I'm afraid.
By
Kevin, at 4/22/2007
Hilarious! I usually only use Web 2.0 because that's how others describe themselves, but I honestly don't know if that is good or bad. ;)
By
Rich, at 4/22/2007
I think the last time I mentioned Web 2.0 was in a New Year's resolution not to say Web 2.0... seems like I'm actually keeping one of those things.
By
Brian Clark, at 4/22/2007
Hilarious is right. That's amazing! Glad to see I ranked so low.
I actually try not to use Web 2.0 because it's so cliched. No one knows what it means anymore.
By
Geoff_Livingston, at 4/22/2007
Sorry for my low ranking.. but I'm a web1.0 kind of guy.. I promise in the future to maximize stakeholder value by providing end to end integrated enterprise wide value by synergizing our mutual net nets.
By
david parmet, at 4/22/2007
Whew, I was worried. Thanks for caring enough to wonder if I use too many over-used buzz words. I make every effort to keep Copywriting Maven a jargon-free zone.
By
Roberta Rosenberg, The Copywriting Maven, at 4/22/2007
Rest assured, if I’m using any Web 2.0 terms, it’s only because I’m making fun of those who do for real.
;-p
By
Make the logo bigger, at 4/22/2007
Now the real research starts.
To be truly scientific, you also have to include Social Media Fixation Disorder, which can be uncovered by repeated references to phrases like "in this space", "get conversations happening", and "Twitter maximization". Okay, I made that last one up, but it's only a matter of time.
Welcome back, Scott, or should I say Orchardo?
By
Eric Eggertson, at 4/22/2007
Thanks for reminding me. I haven't used 'web 2.0' enough, and you inspired me.
By
Ike, at 4/23/2007
Wow, I'm not sure if I am happy or sad to be on the list...
+15 It's nice to be noticed.
-5 I don't like the term Web 2.0 and will post why.
-10 now my current in-process post about it will look like pandering, which for all my whoring I do not do.
Overall, I'm happy with being low on the list because I don't feel (as you'll soon see) that Web 2.0 is the real issue.
And hell, I'm in excellent company ;)
By
Marketing Whore, at 4/23/2007
Oh, you are so Web 2.0, we are WAY beyond that now, didn't you get the memo? We are on to Web 2.0.5.
Welcome back!
By
Kami Huyse, at 4/23/2007
Fixed it just for you. Search away.
By
Kevin, at 4/24/2007
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