There are many rather funny examples, but just keep in mind that
verbing nouns only increases the complexification of wordspeak.
Acronyms: These poisonous little strings of letters are the darlings of technology
pundits everywhere, from software makers to commercial equipment manufacturers
to government agencies. Very few are valid. Just for fun, try to guess what
these stand for: SERP, ECM, XSLT, OPML.
Superfluous modifiers: Modifiers are the subtle little attachments to nouns that
make the subject sound just a bit better. Like a good pair of shoes, they provide flavor
to the package??”and, like a pair of hot-pink knee-high Nancy Sinatras, can
quickly become distasteful. We discussed best-of-breed in the preceding list; worldclass,
unprecedented, and others also appear with uncomfortable frequency.
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Write for your audience, not your ego
Avoiding obfuscation is the first critical step in a more readable website. Thinking about
what your audience wants to read??”and how they want to read it??”is the second.
Many copywriters indulge themselves with big words and heavy-handed messaging. Avoid
this. Edit copy to a common denominator by assuming your reader knows nothing.
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