When censors forced Lenny Bruce to either not say certain words or face jail, he started using the phrase "blah-blah-blah" where those words would actually go. It made his night club acts even funnier and more devastating than they had been.
I'm sitting here, facing a deadline of tomorrow, for sending my PowerPoint presentation to IT@Cork, who earlier today received a cease and desist order not to use the words "Web 2. uh blah-blah-blah as the name of the conference. I am to deliver a speech on what Web2.blah-blah-blah s about and how Web 2.blah-blah-blah will change communities, companies and the world in general.
The ironic twist is that my very first slide will quote a bunch of influencers who each say the term is hype, inaccurate and deceptive. The second slide was going t cite one Tim O'Reilly as the source and author of the word, then say Tim is of Irish extraction and we all know what great storytellers the Irish are... . Another slide was going to mention "generosity" as one of the key characteristics of this Web bah-blah-blah world we are now entering into.
It's obvious, I need a rewrite. I'll probably miss my deadline. And this is probably the least damage the lawyers behind this selfish, banal, bone-headed act of this cease-and-desist letter. In the end, Reilly will be the loser, I believe. Personally, I've hated the term since it began and have been trying to find a better term. I like "social media." It was popularized by Chris Shipley and I'm pretty sure she would be flattered if everyone starts using it right now.
And if CMP lawyers don't like it, they can all kiss my blah-blah-blah.
