Do professionals in the IT/ Web services world want everyone to feel like dinosaurs?

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slackerinabox

Lifer
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
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I'm a web manager for a non profit, not really by education but I sorta fell into this field yeard ago. I was at an Amazon Web Services conference yesterday and was taken aback by the spewing of terminology and buzzwords that flew completely over my head. I'll admit that I'm mostly a CMS/low level guy and some of my confusion's due to ignorance, but the barrage of head scratching terms was rather staggering, until I looked over their documentation and the trademarks posted everywhere around these "technologies"- tons and tons of proprietary branding for existing technology that perhaps their marketing department just made up.

I see a lot of this and, while I admit to being no expert, wonder if this confusion/ buzzword happy industry exists to make people not in the know (i.e. the MBAs/decision makers) feel that they need services that they already have, or simply create a sense of superiority for the developers so that they can talk over the head of everyone else. My boss, a very intelligent person but more mission than tech driven, walks around feeling ignorant and I kinda empathize - how much of the buzzwordery is necessary and how much is designed to confuse / alienate by design?
 
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rivan

rivan

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2003
9,677
3
81
It's because "NXWEB CLOUD ULTRADRIVE SERVICES" sounds different than "hosted vm". It's 100% marketing.
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,120
776
126
They just changed the dilithium crystals in our network to speed it up.
 
kranky

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,019
156
106
I have run into that on occasion. I have told the sponsors afterwards that I did not understand the presentation because of the overuse of non-standard terminology, so I won't be using their product or service since I do not clearly understand what it is. If it was a webinar, I pass along that message when I receive the inevitable follow-up call from a marketing person.

You have a good idea whether it is due to your own lack of knowledge or whether the speaker is just not able to communicate.

One time a few years ago I attended an hour-long session at an industry conference that was record-setting in its use of buzzwords and marketing double-speak. It was so bad that when they opened the floor to questions, a guy stood up and said, "Could you use plain English to explain whatever it is your product does? Because after listening to you for an hour, I still have no idea." There was a smattering of applause and the presenter was pretty unhappy. He used the standard "Please come see me at the end of the session so I can answer all your questions" reply.
 
ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
I think that they WANT to confuse the hell out of you, so you'll hire one of their "experts" as a $200 a hour consultant to help you implement their products.
 
Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
These companies are in the business to make money, so they are always looking for ways to confuse the populace in hopes of exploiting that confusion into a profit.
 
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unokitty

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2012
3,346
1
0
Flux Capacitors. Just don't let your Flux Capacitors run dry...

Seriously, most terms are marketing driven. And many of them are designed to keep consulting fees high ...

Clarity needed in IT?

Who'd of thunk it?

Uno
 
S

slackerinabox

Lifer
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
kranky said:
I have run into that on occasion. I have told the sponsors afterwards that I did not understand the presentation because of the overuse of non-standard terminology, so I won't be using their product or service since I do not clearly understand what it is. If it was a webinar, I pass along that message when I receive the inevitable follow-up call from a marketing person.

You have a good idea whether it is due to your own lack of knowledge or whether the speaker is just not able to communicate.

One time a few years ago I attended an hour-long session at an industry conference that was record-setting in its use of buzzwords and marketing double-speak. It was so bad that when they opened the floor to questions, a guy stood up and said, "Could you use plain English to explain whatever it is your product does? Because after listening to you for an hour, I still have no idea." There was a smattering of applause and the presenter was pretty unhappy. He used the standard "Please come see me at the end of the session so I can answer all your questions" reply.
Click to expand...

How do you personally stay ahead of it all? Or how do you respond to higher ups who think they need something that they do not, without coming off as either fearing "innovation" or cynical ("oh, that thing you think we need is bullshit!")? I find it particularly frustrating that I don't have a hard on for this field (I don't do much after hours homework to brush up on terms, though I should) and partially don't care if my higher ups fall for something - is it ethical to just play ball and let them start expensive and unnecessary initiatives?

This goes back to my job 2 jobs ago - my then boss was pushing the company to use a proprietary, needlessly expensive managed CMS that she was blown away with based on a conference.. She came to me for advice and I pushed Drupal and made a good case, and was passionate about it - made impressive slide shows and cost analysis and really made my point. Drupal saved the company quite a bit but I think "winning" that argument helped me lose that job a few months later, while my take whatever it is providers shoves your way and repeat the b.s. counterpart still has a job with that org.
 
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alent1234

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2002
3,915
0
0
been the case for years

MS did it in the late 90's early 21st century with active directory. it was just ldap with a custom schema they made up

after that web services were supposed to be the future. everything was web services

then cloud came along and new buzzword
 
Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
They do that because IT engineers are really out of touch with what people want, need, or understand.

One of the reasons I hold the position I do at my job is I am able to translate engineer-speak into lay speak so everyone gets it.
 
Lithium381

Lithium381

Lifer
May 12, 2001
12,452
2
0
Fritzo said:
They do that because IT engineers are really out of touch with what people want, need, or understand.

One of the reasons I hold the position I do at my job is I am able to translate engineer-speak into lay speak so everyone gets it.
Click to expand...

it's why I'll never be good at sales. I get put in pre-sales meetings as an enginner, and try and sell the customer what they need. the sales guys go and convince them to spend another 15% on extras that REALLY don't help them . . . .
 
R

RavenSEAL

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2010
8,661
3
0
Anyone seen my Hydron-Diceptor Network Optimization Defrabicrator Uberlizer? I think I left it here the other night...
 
E

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,568
3,760
126
Fritzo said:
They do that because IT engineers are really out of touch with what people want, need, or understand.

One of the reasons I hold the position I do at my job is I am able to translate engineer-speak into lay speak so everyone gets it.
Click to expand...

So...what you are saying is that you take the specifications from the customers and bring it to the software engineers?
 
Gunslinger08

Gunslinger08

Lifer
Nov 18, 2001
13,234
2
81
The problem is that people who are entrenched in something will sometimes forget that outsiders don't have the same knowledge of their offerings. This sprouts up in a lot of fields, not just IT.

For a related example, this is why products need to be tested by someone how isn't involved in the day to day operations of a project. An engineer, developer, architect, or even project manager knows exactly how something works and knows how to avoid breaking something. General users will not. You need someone as close to a general user as possible testing your stuff.
 
kranky

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,019
156
106
freedomsbeat212 said:
How do you personally stay ahead of it all? Or how do you respond to higher ups who think they need something that they do not, without coming off as either fearing "innovation" or cynical ("oh, that thing you think we need is bullshit!")? I find it particularly frustrating that I don't have a hard on for this field (I don't do much after hours homework to brush up on terms, though I should) and partially don't care if my higher ups fall for something - is it ethical to just play ball and let them start expensive and unnecessary initiatives?
Click to expand...

I read a LOT of trade magazines. When new technology starts to get a buzz, the articles are much more fundamental in explaining it. By the time the technology is popular enough that Oracle or Microsoft decide to push it, I've read enough about it to at least have an idea what it is and could describe it in 25 words or less.

One way around the issue of letting higher-ups "fall for something" is to ask "Do you want me to look into this type of technology to see if there are other/cheaper/better options?" That might open the door to alternatives without any inference that the higher-up is making a stupid decision. But if the answer is no, then the decision has been made. Are you an AIIM member? I would research the heck out of a CMS issue via their resources.

This goes back to my job 2 jobs ago - my then boss was pushing the company to use a proprietary, needlessly expensive managed CMS that she was blown away with based on a conference.. She came to me for advice and I pushed Drupal and made a good case, and was passionate about it - made impressive slide shows and cost analysis and really made my point. Drupal saved the company quite a bit but I think "winning" that argument helped me lose that job a few months later, while my take whatever it is providers shoves your way and repeat the b.s. counterpart still has a job with that org.
Click to expand...

Think back to when that happened. How much of the discussion was you trying to change her mind, vs. how much was you working to help her look better by choosing Drupal? If winning that battle did contribute to your losing your job, then perhaps in some way she felt you were trying to make her look bad or you were angling for her job.
 
Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
Lifted said:
So you're saying you are the problem.
Click to expand...

I am the SOLUTION!!! :D

We need more people like me.

For instance, I see: Insert quick-lock clip on end of the twisted pair cat-3 leading to Z-Blocker into a single pair RJ-11 recepticle.

I write: Plug your DSL filter into a standard phone jack.
 
God Mode

God Mode

Platinum Member
Jul 2, 2005
2,903
0
71
Every field has BS involved to make the tech/procedure seem more complicated than necessary. Of course there are genuinely difficult issues but many things can be dumbed down with commonly used words without degrading the importance.
 
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