chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in Not Rocket Science

Re: Not Rocket Science

Kayseri Web Tasarım — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:35:01 -0000

thanks

Re: Not Rocket Science

Katarzyna Gola — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:17:40 -0000

Chris, I think your blog is very valuable. I am reading it very often to get more ideas and tips on better business communication. I agree, there is no rocket science in social media, simplicity is the key. But people forget sometimes how to be humans in business and somebody has to remind them how to do it right. Your blog is great guide.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Timberland shoes — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:09:09 -0000

I like what you said.

Re: Not Rocket Science

frank barry — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:53:04 -0000

This one makes me laugh!! =) It makes me think about all the "terms" you have to learn in the corporate world. If you don't learn the lingo it's hard to be "one of them" honestly. I think you mention that in Trust Agents.

It's a catch 22 of sorts isn't it? I get that (and agree with) using big'ol words makes no sense if there is no meaning or usefulness to them. If you can use simpler terminology and make it more useful to people a better result will likely come of it. But I also live in the world where you have to know the lingo, understand how to translate the lingo and do something with all of it in order to make survive (especially at first).

Am I off here?

http://twitter.com/franswaa

Re: Not Rocket Science

robworks — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:59:55 -0000

I too recently started my own blog with blogger. I have very little understanding of blogging but I also know what as you have so glaringly (to me at least) put it while it's not rocket science you do need a direction to go with the blog if you want to get something accomplished. Whether it be self serving or othes serving. I agree with your broad objectives in your article but I think I would like mine to eventually trend towards income along with an outlet for political, motivational, etc., places for me to vent. So do you have any ideas?

Re: Not Rocket Science

benstone — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:02:13 -0000

My friend and fellow rabble-rouser Joe Gerstandt (http://www.ourtimetoact.com/) uses the line "It's not rocket science, it's harder than that because it's about humans" when referencing his diversity work. I love the line so much I borrowed for my social networking work.

If you know an IT wizard who could code the crap out of any of the platforms we use but just doesn't get how to connect to the humans who use the platform, you understand this statement.

Re: Not Rocket Science

benstone — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:58:23 -0000

A good friend and great speaker, Joe Gerstandt (http://www.ourtimetoact.com/), uses the line "It's not rocket science, it's harder because it's about people" when referencing his diversity work. I like it and have adopted the line for my work in Social Networking.

For proof of this statement, look no further than you local tech wizard. Most Uber-geeks I know could create and tweak the code that runs the social media platforms, but can't understand how to engage other people on those same platforms.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Guest — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 04:49:33 -0000

Actually these people are right, as good writing is an art and not a science. Hopefully it will stay that way. Look what happened to marketing when it stopped being an art and became a science.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Daniel Sevitt — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:37:08 -0000

As a recent perpetrator of the "not rocket science" comment on an earlier post, I want to wholeheartedly endorse this post. When I say that what Chris Brogan does is not rocket science, I mean that your advice is accessible, clear and actionable. Not only do you utterly eschew obfuscation, but you also disregard esotericism.
Your writing is inclusive and welcoming rather not bloated with jargon and self-regard. Rocket science may be good for rocket scientists, but the rest of us are doing just fine here.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Danny Brown — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:27:09 -0000

You don't like Air Supply? Heathen!

Re: Not Rocket Science

mlkeone — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:52:08 -0000

If there was more humility in the world, people like you wouldn't have to call BS. When my friends think I'm a marketing "genius" for knowing basic things, I point out that they are whatever type of "genius" applies. I don't program, I don't cook, I don't wire houses, I don't spay or neuter cats...

Re: Not Rocket Science

robertbeverly — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:59:42 -0000

I agree. I come from the insurance industry, and some of the writers/bloggers can not seem to write for humans. Not all, just some. Many are very smart, very analytical, very technical people in their field. However, I rarely think of a person as an "expert" if they can't condense the ideas and the language down to "undergraduate in college" level. 8th grade level would be even better. Or 5th. Now, if they want to write a piece that uses "beyond post-doctorate" language that's fine, depending on the audience (an academic journal maybe?). But too often the high-level language just hides the fact that the writer doesn't fully understand what s/he is writing about.

Re: Not Rocket Science

dhutson — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:56:54 -0000

I agree that too many people complicate their communication unnecessarily (e.g., big words and jargon to impress/confuse others). I'm a firm believer that the most complex issues can be explained either in words or pictures that 99 percent of us can understand, and there's really no reason not to.

On the other hand, some people take this too far and use "it's not rocket science" as an excuse for lazy, sloppy writing filled with bad grammar, misused punctuation, misspellings, etc. I've seen too many self-proclaimed "gurus" assure people that "close enough" writing is good enough. For those of us who make effective communication our profession and mission, that's equally offensive.

Simple, clear, effective communication free of jargon and confusing language should be everyone's goal.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Patty Azzarello — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:50:14 -0000

Fight the Bull! A free downloadable tool to make sure your writing is straightforward and free of, well, "bull". You get a grade and it highlights the offending words. It also gives you very funny feedback. You can find it at www.fightthebull.com

Patty

Re: Not Rocket Science

Danny Brown — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:48:46 -0000

Santa Claus delivers happiness to three billion kids. If you try and tell me he's doing something else, I'll call you out on it and say you're full of shit.

Thanks for keeping it simple, fella.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Jim Sutter — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:06:09 -0000

Sometimes when you're pitching this stuff though, people think your trying to sell them rocket science... Or they don't have time for rocket science, Or they act like they already know all there is to know about rocket science.

I will say that I personally probably spend way too much time on much of this stuff as if it were rocket science. JamesRSutter - Cincinnati

Re: Not Rocket Science

PhilWrzesinski — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:39:20 -0000

I've always liked this quote from Ernest Hemingway...

“Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.”

Would anyone care to argue that Hemingway didn't get his points across clearly?

Re: Not Rocket Science

PhilWrzesinski — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:29:16 -0000

Scott, you make a couple of great points. I sell toys, some of which are so simple, customers say, "I could make that," to which I always reply, "Yes you could, but will you?"

As for the masters making it look easy, just think about sports. How many of you think if given twenty swings you could hit a 100 mph fastball? Michael Jordan, one of the greatest athletes of our generation who had incredible hand-eye coordination struggled with that skill.

I think the true masters not only make it "look" easy, they "make" it easy - easy for others to follow them and understand what they do.

Re: Not Rocket Science

lmyer — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:59:01 -0000

Have to agree with you Chris -- we should keep our language simple, clear and conversational. Why then is it so hard to convince clients they don't need the acronym soup and jargon phrases they cling to? Sigh...

Re: Not Rocket Science

Will Sloan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:41:51 -0000

Well put. Simple and concise.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Will Sloan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:41:07 -0000

LOL @ "eschew obfuscation"

What was more complicated/impressive BEFORE rocket science? "Hey, it's not wheel making..."

I read articles all the time in which the writer’s excessive use of their grandiose vocabulary comes off like too much salt on your eggs. This issue has a more common name: illiteracy. Granted, it’s a very educated form of illiteracy, but not being able to communicate, in writing, simply and clearly, is most certainly a definition of being illiterate.

The purpose of writing to an audience, as you pointed out, is to make sure that audience understands what you are trying to say. If they have to drag out a dictionary in order to decode your message than you have failed. There is no harm in having a large vocabulary, but showing it off as a writer is useless if your audience doesn’t share the same love of words as you do. I try to use the “write as you talk” method. It seems to work the best.

Again, I find myself nodding in complete agreement with you. Great post!

Re: Not Rocket Science

Jeremy Meyers — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:28:12 -0000

Words can bring us closer together or they can separate us. The separation stuff isn't working so well anymore, so let's hope we can lead by example and bring people together.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Jeremy Meyers — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:26:58 -0000

It's more like, we've been taught that business-speak is the opposite of human-speak, through 70 years of advertising taglines and customer service gobbledygook. All this authentic communication social media stuff isn't new, its old old old, but counter to what has been ingrained to 'make sense'

Re: Not Rocket Science

Jeremy Meyers — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:03:41 -0000

All those words are ways for those doing the describing to distance themself from the work involved.

It becomes the magical internet faeries doing their magical internets stuff, and nobody else is hip enough to understand whats going on.

Re: Not Rocket Science

Chris Brogan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:00:18 -0000

Well, thank you. I understand your point.

Jordan just throws a basketball.

I'm NOT comparing myself, but that makes sense.