Word Up
February 8th, 2011 by
I wear many hats here at Search Influence. I am a junior account associate, office event coordinator, Google Maps expert-in-training, interim public relations intern and most recently, word-of-the-day aficionado.
Word-of-the-day Aficionado? What does that have to do with internet marketing? Well, not much. You see, this type of program deals directly with what I like to call “personal marketing.” In this day and age, it is imperative for people to begin marketing themselves, especially in a professional atmosphere. No one will take you seriously with a second-grade vocabulary. Have you ever been on a date and become completely tongue-tied when trying to intellectually compliment the dream girl or boy sitting next to you? Or have you sat in on a meeting where the brown-nosing employee-of-the-month knows all the right things to say, while you look like a bumbling idiot? Or what about when you get on the phone with a VIP client who uses words that you have never heard of before?
It is my job to help ensure that NO Search Influence employee finds themselves in these situations. (You can all thank me whenever you feel the need.) The story behind the word-of-the-day implementation is a funny one. I was editing a press release for Will, when I came across the word “BOON.” I had never encountered this word before, so I told Will that the word he was looking for was “BOOM.” Will sent me a link to the definition, and BAM, word-of-the-day was born. Search Influence employees have been participating in this program for a few weeks now, and the sentences we come up with are enlightening, to say the least.
Paula Dupont: Your time as word-of-the-day go to girl has been a boon to Search Influence.
Caroline Lind: I deserve a guerdon for risking my life in order to get Paula an apple from the kitchen.
Chris Dollard: As the geese flew south over the meadow, they began to inosculate over the trees until they disappeared from view.
Joseph Henson: The tree tops of the forest were inosculated which the squirrels of the forest thoroughly enjoyed.
Caroline Lind: I have a gest regarding last Mardi Gras, but I believe it would be inappropriate to share at work.
Jason Hamilton: Since I haven’t watched TV in about a month, I have been almost completely nescient of the Egypt hostility until I read about them in the paper today.
Amanda Barth Graves: Rachel Zoe is persnickety when it comes to fashion,or her life in general.
Paula Keller: He or she who does not win the word of the day contest will be dyspeptic!
Olin Gallet: Caitiff people on the internet hide behind usernames to make fun of people without repercussion.
But what do these words mean?!?
*boon- a blessing or benefit
*guerdon- a reward
*inosculate- to join or unite
*gest- a story or tale
*nescient- lack of knowledge, ignorance
*persnickety- fussy about minor details, requiring keen attention to detail
*dyspeptic- having a bad temper, gloomy, irritable
*caitiff- a cowardly and despicable person
Now that these definitions are at hand, I will be expecting everyone who reads this to use these words in a sentence and e-mail them to me.
I am in the process of “tricking out” the word-of-the-day program to include some pretty amazing prizes. As of now, we have had one overall winner, Jason Hamilton, and we swiftly rewarded him with a gift of Ritz crackers.
Not only has this program enhanced our vocabulary, it has brought us closer together as a team. Words bring people together, and allow them to communicate. Not a day goes by that I am not hounding some team member of mine to contribute. I’ve been called a “word pusher,” and I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be.
Ready to give the word-of-the-day program a try at your business or office? Lucky for you I am willing to share my wealth of knowledge. I only respond to e-mails containing previous words of the day, like the ones outlined in this post. Yes, I’m “that girl.” Any questions?
