Ten Old Buzzword Definitions Revisited

Do you own a camel or drive across post-apocalyptic wastelands? No, I didn’t think so.

If this is your car, then congratulations, you are a genuine Road Warrior

So just how useful today are all those tech buzzwords and clichés we used to spout — and what do they really mean in 2022?

Digital Nomad — Do you own a camel, live in a tent and drift from oasis to oasis? No? Then you are just a plonker with a laptop drifting from Starbucks to Starbucks in search of free WiFi.

Road Warrior — Do you drive a Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe V8 Interceptor across a post-Apocalyptic wasteland? Congratulations, you are a genuine road warrior. If you merely drive a Vauxhall Astra around the English Home Counties and spend your evenings in Premier Inn hotels fiddling with spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, then you are a sales rep.

Digital Native — A younger person whose tenuous grasp on the rules of written English is dependant entirely upon the efficacy of the spell and grammar checker apps running ontheir mobile phones and tablets.

Guru — especially in relation to tech, management or business strategy. Do you sit cross-legged in a cave in the Himalayas wearing only a loin cloth? If not then you are only a self-promoting, self-annointed expert. Remember: nobody is ever truly recognised as an authority in their own lifetime.

Socialmedia Maven — A person with plenty of followers online but no true friends in real life.

Socialmedia Influencer — A person with plenty of followers online but who omits to mention they only mention sponsored content and paid endorsements.

Gig Economy Worker — What used to be called freelance or self-employed people, like plumbers. The only difference is the self-employed drink mugs of builders tea whereas gig economy workers drink flat white coffees.

The New, New Thing — Something new that people want to buy because it will transform your life — but it won’t.

Disruptive Innovation — Something new that people want you buy to replace what you’ve previously been using — but it won’t.

Paradigm Shift — When people actually buy and start using all this new, disruptive stuff — but they won’t.

And if some of my comments may seem a little cruel…