Choose your words wisely

Have you ever noticed how many different ways there are to say the same thing? This new field of emerging media is a perfect example. I’ve heard it called social media, new media, emerging media—and everyone is talking about the same thing.

So what’s the difference? Does it really matter what words are chosen? In the end, it comes down to semantics. Specific words are chosen to create an impression for others.

This was very apparent to me the other day as I stood at Ellwood’s Coffee (a very eco-friendly establishment), contemplating which trashcan to throw my trash into. A simple enough task, right? So why did I have to stop and think about it at Ellwood’s?

They had used semantics to force me to make a conscious decision. No longer was I numbly tossing my garbage into a big black trashcan with no thought. I was being forced to contemplate as I looked at three trashcans labeled compost, recycling, and landfill. On any other day my trash would have just been trash, but on this day I had an instant visual of my coffee cup and napkin sitting on a landfill. Semantics had worked to create a new impression on me.

So what do I want you to think when I describe this new media trend as emerging media? I want you to think of something that will still be on the rise even after everyone has learned how to be social online. I want you to think of emerging media after the “newness” of new media expires. I want you to think of emerging media as a constantly changing medium for communication in which you have opportunities every day to be surprised by the possibilities. 

Now that our communications have become as short as 140 characters, I hope you’ll give a little consideration to the effect of the words you choose. Choose wisely my friends. You are shaping the impressions of others.