Let's stop thinking and start wanking

Enough of this. Can we all stop using the 'adjective' "wanky"? I'm all for the evolution of language and all that, and actioning things sounds like a great laugh, but there's a line between organically refining our communications, and pointless bandwagoning*. Language as I see it has a dual purpose - information, and social cohesion, these haven't changed since prehistory.

Information: "Oh no, a tiger! Look out!"

Social Cohesion: "Hey, do you remember that tiger? That was so rad, man."

Both are wholly legitimate. The species survives through awareness of the environment, and successful mating and group action. Therefore, I'd like to suggest that language 'evolves' when it a) becomes better able to describe the subject (external, internal, real or metaphysical - and one can see this is equally applicable in a creative sense), or b) better facilitates social cohesion by helping two people think in the same way, or feel some sort of empathy.

Wanky, to me, does neither of these. It has a couple of attractive qualities for the user:

- It says "I don't like this, but it's beyond my mental capacity and/or inclination to tell you why". What are you being paid to do, for fuck's sake?
- It does that whole low-level-swearing that people find edgy and cool nowadays. Good for you, Bill Hicks. You tell them.

My contention is that it's not only inefficient, but actively damaging to the discourse. Why care? First and foremost, because I'm a sentimental and pernickety young fool.

Secondly, it fucks up the way you think. George Orwell suggested that:

"...it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts"

Language is our door to understanding and empathy. Please, try not to treat it like a catflap.

...and if you must have 'foolish thoughts', make them original.



*see, I'm perfectly capable of verbifying a noun when I need to.

The Top 5's Top 5: An End-of-year Opinions Bonanza!

It's the end of the year. A time for reflection, perhaps.

No. Reflection is for the weak. The strong must rank and compare for sumpremacy. That's why programmes such as "The 90s Was Nice, Wasn't It?" were culled and replaced with "HUNDRED GREATEST ADVERTS SHOWDOWN SLAPFIGHT" where you stay up past your bedtime only to find out that yes it was that one with the surfers and Leftfield all along, what product was that again oh right Guinness I don't really like that.

In that spirit, and to ponder a bit about what we're doing here anyway, I asked my five favourite blog(gers) what their five favourite blog(gers) are. The 'why' was optional. In no particular order, let the subjectifest begin!

Ben writes a blog called If this is a blog then what's Christmas?. It has whimsical polls, and large chunks of very well thought-out opinion.
I don't really read five other blogs.
I read Scamp's because the subject matter interests me and he's a mate.
I read Dave Trott's for similar reasons.
But mainly I read The Superficial because the writing's excellent, the tone is rude and there are ladies in bikinis.
I'd love to write more but I have to go for a drink now.

Simon Veksner, author of Scamp, is dangerously close to being more famous than BBH itself and should probably watch out, 'cos they'll waste him if he does.
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/ I've always been fascinated by maps. If you like maps, you'll love this site.
http://curiouslypersistent.wordpress.com/ There are lots of people finding interesting stuff on the web and linking to it. But this guy Simon's is the best.
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ A website that has moved me to tears, on more than one occasion
http://ifthisisablogthenwhatschristmas.blogspot.com/ Ben is my friend and he's a wonderful writer
http://cstadvertising.com/blog/ I love a good argument, and Dave Trott's blog is a good place to have one

Neil Perkin is a thoroughly clever chap who maintains Only Dead Fish, a mixture of near-NY Times investigative journalism and amusing clips from XKCD.
-Seth Godin's blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/
Brilliant thinker, consistent quality of posts and truly challenging and inspiring
-Brand DNA http://branddna.blogspot.com/
By Stan Lee Johnson, an Ad Creative in Melbourne Australia. Charming, witty, fun, creative
-And Another Thing http://whatsheonaboutnow.blogspot.com/
By David Hepworth, founder of WORD Magazine (one of my favourite magazines). Always entertaining
-Confused of Calcutta http://confusedofcalcutta.com/
By JP Rangaswami. Another brilliant thinker and writer
-Talent Imitates, Genius Steals http://farisyakob.typepad.com/
By Faris Yakob. He has an amazing mind and his writing is always full of fresh ideas and great thinking on the world of digital and communications

Have you guys heard of Dave Trott? He writes in very short sentences on The CST Blog which hit you all at once like a machine-gun full of knowledge bullets.
I don’t actually read a lot of blogs.
Mainly due to my ignorance of which ones would be relevant to me.
There are 4 blogs I check in on regularly.
Because I’ve found they’re often stimulating.
These are (not in order)
Scamp,
If This Is a Blog Then What’s Christmas,
Rory Sutherland’s blog on Brand Republic.
Vinny Warren’s blog on Escapology.

Everyone loves Anca and her reply would merit an article if she let me reproduce it in full.
-the opportunity to learn - this is where Dave Trott's blog comes in handy.
-the opportunity to compare different professional views -- here we have Simon's blog and W+K's blog.
-the opportunity to understand a market I'm not very familiar with -- that's why I read Alan Wolk's blog, The Toad Stool
-the opportunity to analyse how personal life can influence professional development and the other way round -- that's where Russell Davies' blog fits best.
-
Phew! As you can see, I've inadvertantly asked a bit of a small-world so a few names recurr - not to say that these wonderful writers don't desereve such kudos. Let's review our results:

-"He's a mate" - 3 mentions. It's not what you know, eh?
-Only two people felt like mentioning blogs that weren't about their own industry. Did they read too much into my question, or do people only use blogs for 'work' stuff? Let's hope it's the former.
-It seems as though the division between 'insight' and 'entertainment' was fairly even... though certain people (nice one Dave) managed to sidestep this issue with the word 'stimulating'
-Having followed up on the links I don't recognise I'd have to say that most of them are spectacularly well-written. It only goes to show what's out there when you step to an extra degree of seperation. Moreover, it seems to show that far from handling the online glut of info by refining it, the blog culture (bulture) seems to multiply it. For good or ill...

Thanks to all the esteemed figures who took time to take part. We couldn't have done it without you. I'll be doing another one of these, with new criteria, in the new year. As they say, It Could Be You.

Why I Blog

With thanks to Mr. Northern for his introspective inspiration. The meh-ness of this list should in no way cloud the awesomeness of his.

Because it seems like fun

Because it looks like work

Because having something of one's own to nurture and grow is so fundamental to humanity, even if it's basically a kind of Tamagotchi for smartasses

Because it has made me view the world through inquisitive eyes. It helps me derive greater wonder from the stimuli of life

Because you can be really pretentious if you're tempted to

Because Jaffe Juice said I should.

Because potentially it can make you important

...and for now, because it makes me feel important

Because it's quite nice to feel connected to a wider thing

Because looking/feeling like a reporter has and will lead me into fun situations

Because there's something about being within e-touching distance of some of the greats, that makes me just slightly aroused

Because blogs have given me so much entertainment, that if I can find just one stupid flash game to share with everyone I'll feel like some sort of cosmic balance has been restored

Because its the only medium where people let you get away with communicating in list form