Had a great day meeting with clients, friends and colleagues at the Web 2.0 / Interop / Chem / Everything but kitchen sink show at the Javits center yesterday. It is a sign of the times that there are so many shows under one roof, no line to register and no fee for registering day of.
We wrapped up the day by briefing with one of these freelancer / trade press writer / consultant types. You know, the briefings in which it is anyone’s guess whether an article or sales pitch will result.
No matter, whatever you call him this was one sharp guy who has been around the block once or a million times and who provided feedback to my pre-launch tech start up client that was more rich and insightful than what we heard from some of the name brand analysts firms we met with earlier; advice that was more than worth the price of a nice steak dinner at Jack’s, where we continued the conversation after Javits.
During the dinner we had a very open, collaborative and intellectual conversation about one of my favorite topics, namely finding the right categories and words to describe things in tech. In this case, we were struggling to find a label that encompasses the businesses that provide computer software, hardware and support services to small businesses. Our client sees these types of businesses as an important channel and route to the market.
“Service provider” did not quite work because it sounds too telecom; consultant, VAR, system integrator, even MSP all had pluses and minuses.
In exasperation, and (if I must say so myself) moment of genius that great conversation, steak, and wine can inspire, I pointed out that analysts are great at coining terms that they sell to industry and build lucrative practices on. Why not call this business model “return on acronym” (and define an acronym ROA for shorthand!)
The consultant came back that people in my field, PR, are also experts at using words in this way. Touche’! I took this as a compliment.
