Do most cell phone terms and conversations remind you of an 8th grade algebra or English class? Oh miserable compatriots! What fury reigns? What else but madness has seized your brains? Like the poor unsuspecting Trojans when the Greeks executed a surprise ‘Trojan Horse’ attack, I sometimes feel flabbergasted after reading just the first few paragraphs of an article in one of my respective industry publications trying to provide help for cell phones. phone customers no less.
Even after more than a dozen years in the wireless industry, it takes me a few minutes to read the article to get my brain going and start translating cell phone terms and acronyms and trying to connect thoughts, multiple generations of cell phones, wireless services , incompatible cellular provider networks…. sigh, take a deep breath…. emerging technologies, concepts and realities. Scary enough, most of these items seem to be aimed at the average cell phone consumer. I often wonder how complicated it must be for the end user of the cell phone to read these cell phone terms that are described with other terms and nonsense technological babble. How difficult it must be to figure out how it applies to them and what they are trying to achieve. It certainly gives new meaning to the term ‘creative interpretation’.
Too often, wireless and cellular industry professionals spend too much time in “work mode” and don’t learn how to “disconnect.” As a result, whenever we find ourselves in non-work related social and personal settings, we begin to transition into tech talk. Initially we use a few acronyms and refer to some wireless products by name, then the next thing you know we’re moving full speed ahead, talking about cell phone carriers, the latest wireless devices and spectrum deals. Our interpretation of describing a term or acronym is generally to say what it ‘spells’ or to describe the wireless product using other terms such as Motorola Q is the name for Blackberry, Palm, Pocket PC, Razr phone as a Bluetooth handheld. , a mini SD card drive, and a 1.3-megapixel camera sold on the Verizon network. Yeah, well, tell me something I don’t know that I can’t easily find on any cell phone review website, like how do I set up and use the damn thing?
This mindless wireless technological babble infiltrates our minds, our personalities, and ultimately our existence, and then the next thing you know, cell phone terms are set to our default language of mind. The big problem for us industry folks is that when we are speaking or educating others, we have to remember that the wireless and cellular industry has not been kind to the general public in providing industry-specific information in a sensitive format. Log on to all the major news and media publications and you’ll find the cell and wireless phone section tucked away somewhere under technology or maybe IT or maybe mobile computing. Surprisingly, not even vendors or vendors have worked to put wireless technology into its ‘own category’.
Essentially, we are still orphans in the public eye. I can understand going back to the digital pager days where we didn’t have much to do beyond a few major wireless providers and a pretty similar product, but over 8 years wireless has become its own beast and sadly we have little real history. documented. on the rise of the wireless industry, plus industry trend reports and articles written as subtle announcements. Therefore, the consumer does not know where to start when looking for a wireless network and how it works in general.
There are so many elements and niches about wireless technology niches that it’s hard to know where it started or where it’s headed. Consumers read or hear a new term on the cell phone and that’s where the adventure begins. Then there is the hype and talk about the convergence of developing and emerging future technologies that still need to be tested and approved before they are truly integrated into our current technologies. Yet these cell phone technologies are promoted and advertised as “the next best thing” leaving consumers confused and thinking they are ahead of the curve. So they go to their local retail store and find out that no one has a clue what the hell they’re talking about, which makes the whole situation even more confusing and frustrating than it already was.
In order for the wireless and cellular industry to evolve and improve its communication and the way it disseminates information to the general public, we must understand the following:
1. Keep in mind that there are generally two types of cell phone consumers: Technical and non-technical. We need to be able to provide the same information to both groups in their ‘respective language’. Think about the terms you use and how you can replace them with simpler words or phrases, ie operator (cell phone company)
2. Go beyond wireless: When writing about cellular and wireless, don’t use cell phone terms to describe other cell phone terms. Use words that people can connect with, even if you have to go outside of the wireless industry to make an analogy.
3. Help consumers make connections and see patterns: Think about how it was, how it is and how it is going. With so many generations of cell phones and wireless technologies and so many industry-specific idiosyncrasies, using what you think of as everyday cell phone terms is simply beyond overloading for the average person. Consumers simply need to have some reference as a starting point. If they can’t understand what it was like, then they can’t see how a specific wireless technology has improved or advanced or even its relevance.
4. Solve a problem first. Address a common consumer issue or misnomer. Try to write or draw pictures or come up with practical everyday analogies to address the problem without using cell phone terms and other nonsensical wireless technology babble.
5. If points 1-4 don’t work, think in terms of your audience and not yourself. Imagine yourself writing to someone who has never seen a cell phone before.