So funny! Okay so I was born right on the cusp of the generation that Will refers to in the below “rant” (Sheena will be proud!) and I cannot fully commit to the misspelling of words in texts although, from time to time I find myself conforming. Why?? Well, for me being 30 years old, I find myself right smack dab in the middle of the Will Weiss’s of the world who have distain for text talk and the younger generation who I will automatically give away my age and coolness if I don’t speak their language a bit. I understand the importance of spelling everything out as it seems emails will get shorter and shorter even if we are sitting right in front of our regular sized computer, but because of the technology and communication advances, we now have more time, more people and more ways to communicate, so sometimes I do find myself speaking the new language. While every word may not save you time, overall it’s  a way the mind works….I understand both sides. I also definitely agree with Will’s overall message…as I usally do!

Notes From The Field – Imma Be…Wat?

I suppose this will seem like a bit of a rant, and will make me seem old and crotchety to some.  But it’s really not. 

My phone buzzes the other day, and it’s a text from my wife.  Upon closer reading, however, it becomes immediately apparent that her phone has been hijacked by my 8-year old daughter; it was apparently critical that I get a detailed description of the new “Award Show Barbie” she just got her mitts on.  We go back and forth for a while and at one point I correct her in her incorrect spelling of the word “what” – she spelled it “wat”.

Her response was, “Daddy, that’s how you spell it in “texting” (quotation marks mine).

Excuse me?  Wasn’t I just changing your diaper a few minutes ago?

When I get home, said wife is busy downloading the song “Imma Be” from those hard-rockin’ souls (sarcasm mine) The Black Eyed Peas.  I first thought it was a reference to the Andy Griffith t.v. show (if you don’t get that, you’re too young).  Then I realized that it was simply a bastardization – sorry, that was nasty; let’s call it a colloquialization –  of the English language.  Not unlike the new Wanda Sykes standup show I saw recently called “Ima Be Me”.

Let’s ignore the fact that typing “wat” instead of “what” saves you a grand total of ONE KEYSTROKE, or a tiny fraction of a second (and let me tell you, my daughter is certainly not that busy).  What about the use of “iz” instead of “is”, or “l8tr” instead of “later” (one saves you ZERO keystrokes, and the other saves you one, however to type the “8” you need to move off your normal touch-typing hand placement – so that slows you down.  Not to mention if you’re on a blackberry; then you have to hit the ALT key…overall, the net time/effort savings is zero)?  I’ve seen my son use both of these while IMing with friends and I a. have no idea where he picked it up and b. can’t for the life of me understand why he bothers.

There’s a shoe point here.  I’m getting to it.  But first, further commentary on these pesky kids today.

A couple of years ago, I was training a new salesperson for the company I was with at the time.   I don’t remember her name (that’s a lie; but I’m being nice) but I do remember the most important thing – she was born in 1982 (some of you are shuddering right now; rest assured I did when she told me).  That made her around 24 at the time.  We were in Southwest Florida when the skies opened up in that only-in-South-Florida way – you knew it wouldn’t last long, but while it was happening you assumed that Judgement Day was here and you’d better start repenting — quick. 

What does she do?  She picks up here phone, dials her father back in NYC, and says (and I quote): “Dad?  Hey – I’m in Florida.  It’s raining, and I don’t have an umbrella.  Any ideas?”

Let’s ignore the fact that her father didn’t respond by:

1. immediately hanging up the phone and writing her out of his will.
2. Screaming “are you kidding me?” into the phone

(He did neither – he explained where she might go to buy an umbrella.  I’ll ignore this point, as this is not a diatribe at how parents can be enablers of immature behavior.  I would have given some suggestions myself, but unfortunately my head had exploded and I was busy mopping up so as not to stain the car.)

So what have we got?  We’ve got a group of people:

1. who think that it’s better to type “wat” than “what”, and otherwise are creating (and are accepting) an entirely new language and style of communication, even when it provides no intrinsic benefit
2. who fully accept when art and/or commerce is presented to them in this fashion
3. who are unable to decide what to do when it rains, without input from Daddy

Am I simply decrying “these damn kids today” and all that entails?  Hardly.  Believe me, there is much about what I see of younger people today that I think is completely ridiculous, and I certainly look at much of the behavior I see with disdain.  But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was quite possibly even MORE useless at that age, with even less regard for social mores, convention and acceptable behavior.  I heard comedian Dennis Miller once say that it is the evolutionary responsibility for the younger generation to irk the living you-know-what out of the generation immediately preceding it.  I took my irking seriously, and I’m glad to see that this circle is unbroken.

So do I want my kids to spell “what” correctly?  Sure, but that’s beside the point – and I sure don’t want the rest of them to change a thing.

I’m much too much of a whore for that.

By creating a new language, and a new way of communicating, and a new way of looking at the world, they are creating a brand new consumer group – one that is quite possibly different than anything we’ve ever seen.  New ideas, new needs, new preferences….what a BOONDOGGLE for a product designer!  Imagine discovering some lost tribe in the darkest depths of Africa, being able to study them, observe them and learn about them more easily than ever before….and then be given the opportunity to design product for them.  You could, ostensibly, help to create a whole new culture, one shoe at a time.

Product designers need to (and some are doing so) re-look at everything they do, from cow to shoebox.  This is a consumer group who think that “iz” is better than “is” – how can you reflect that total disregard for reality in the shoes we’re selling?  That was sarcastic, sure, but there’s a kernel of truth there – what seems to be meaningless in the status quo is completely meaningful to those outside of the status quo.  We need to all be rethinking how to design for, and communicate to, the new generation of consumers…beyond simply colors, materials, and shoelaces.  I have no idea what it is, but there’s SOMETHING that makes sense to these freakazoids texting each other while in the same room together.  By finding it, we can sell a lot of shoes.

Imma be gone – C U l8tr.

William Weiss

Best regards,

William Weiss

National Director of Sales

Hush Puppies USA

william.weiss@wwwinc.com

203 746 3620

203 746 3815 fax