The Use of Foul Fowl Language to Capture Attention.
The use of foul fowl language to capture attention is unoriginal and more...
Marta Kagan Kaplan has a good presentation on Social Media, but I don't think it is necessary to use the "F" word. I think it is a crutch. The information in the presentation is valuable, the presentation is clear, and she really seems like she is trying to help people. So, why use the word?
To capture individual attention is the only reason I can think it is used in this specific case. And she has captured attention.
But, what if she used non violent communication instead. Non violent communication works on the principles of:
"Imagine connecting with the human spirit, in each person, in any situation.
Imagine interacting with others in a way that allows everyone's needs to be equally valued.
Imagine creating organizations and life-serving systems responsive to our needs and the needs of our environment."
According to Harvard Professor Dr. Pinker, the use of swears "elicited negative emotions" as Lincoln Kim writes in his blog post. What would the presentation be like if she simply did not use the word? I think the needs of the readers are still met. Go through the presentation and read it with and without the foul fowl word. Do you sense a difference in the way you interpret the information?
Finally, would you use foul fowl language in your marketing materials? I would love to hear why or why not.
Thanks.
Second of all, if you are to use a word to describe someone's work, you should use the correct spelling. Fowl means chicken.
Thirdly, I don't consider "F#!K" as FOUL, or violent.
Foul language is just a part of that. Some don't agree on what is foul and what is not, which is why I tend to use the word "base" instead. It doesn't include profanity, but rather the more mild expletives, like "that sucks!", "that blows!" and others of similar ilk.
Advertising is supposed to be about educating your customer about your product. I see no educative value in the use of such a limited vocabulary.
First, thanks for pointing out the spelling errors. I didn't catch them before I posted. Second, I state that Marta has done a good presentation with good information. I'm questioning the need to use the foul word to make a point of the value of social media. Your feeling that the word isn't foul or violent points to my reasoning for this blog post. Would you use foul language in your marketing materials?
Rebecca,
Great points throughout. As you state what one may feel is profanity another may not and this is why it gets complicated when used in business. I too think a big part of marketing should be educational.