I'm tired of the Profanity used by Internet Marketers !

Yes, and I will B@@ch about it as long as I continue to take a breathe on this Earth lol

Of course ,Freedom of Speech lets us all speak as we want even if it is ignorant.

And it is awesome to think I have the right to boycott (in a civil manner) a Company or even a IMer and their product if I think they are doing something that in my eyes is senseless and ignorant.

Gotta love it.

It depends on who you are targeting? the wild youth class enjoys a bit of profanity mixed into the dialogue.

That's what I was taught by my parents too, it seems to emanate from comes a gentler time when people who swore were considered 'ruffians'.

Today of course it is a load of b*ll*cks and many of the best educated people swear like troopers.

It seems that the 'F' word is used so often these days it may one day slip into everyday conversation, even with affection like the terms 'silly b*gger' or 'silly s*d', imagine your granny saying "look at that silly f***** ".

Certain other words were, I believe, in everyday use around the time of WW1 and were not considered offensive at time.

Imo the only word that will always be offensive is the 'C' word it makes me cringe when I hear youngsters using this word loudly in street, and I use my fair share of expletives, also I would never like to see this word used on a website or anywhere else. My $0.02

I think it's a generational thing also. The younger IM marketers tend to us profanity more often in their marketing because they thinks it connects with their audience more. It's a turn off for me though and I can't think of any point that can't be made better with it than wihout it.

It reminds me of smoking when I was young because I thought it made me look "cool." Profanity doesn't prove you are anything more or less than what you are.

Ron

Personally, I literally cringe when I read hard core profanity. I also cringe when I hear fingernails dragged down a chalkboard, see or hear someone vomit, and at the sight of blood.

I wonder if those that like to be proficient in profanity actually realized what they conjured up in the mind of their readers, if they would continue in its use.

Terra

But why can't you "dumb down" your vocabulary without using profanity? :confused:

Terra

I guess my point is that "many" is becoming a smaller and smaller group everyday. So as a marketer, failing to realize that is just ignorant.

@Terra, yes, i do agree with the hardcore profanity. I certainly think there is a point where the profanity becomes almost a focus of the writing for a bigger percentage of people.

I can slip in a "what the hell is up with that" comment and most people don't cringe. Many don't even notice to be honest. Even those that claim to be soooo against it don't notice those many times.

Also, this is another one of those type of things that people will claim to be against, but their behavior often times doesn't line up with what they say.

Like many issues, no one really want to be for profanity...thats not a super popular opinion to take. So when asked, of course most say they are against it. But the number of people who take action against a certain marketer based solely on their use of profanity is very small.

One of my latest articles had the word 's**t' in the title, stars and all.

It quickly became the article with the most comments on my site, even though it wasn't a lot.

Coincidence? I f**king hope so!

Yeah I have seen it in emails quite frequently.

But I guess what got me going with this Thread was reading a fellow Warrior's Blog (from her email list) recently. This person is highly reputable within the Community and she is also highly successful in IM.

She does hold no punches about saying what she wants and will speak her mind frequently. That is fine.

Lately, I clicked the link in the email I get from her everyday. I read the most recent Blog post and it started out something to the extent like this......... 'Hey guys, hope you are having a good day. It's going good for me. Anyway, I really got some good sh@t that might help you grow your biz so listen etc....

I was pretty much perplexed as I wasn't expecting it. And I am not trying to be sexist here but it is bad enough for men to do it, but when I hear a woman start cursing....its just plain ugly. Kind of like MissTerraK said, as I am just old school too. I would never do it in front of Men and especially in the presence of a Lady.

Anyway, I still go to this person's Blog and occasionally buy some stuff from her, but the way I look at her as a fellow IMer is just not the same; actually it is more negative. My buying stuff from her will be on a lesser scale than it would have ever been before.

That is the great thing about living in the US....you get to pick and choose and even boycott companies and entrepreneurs if they do not share similar values or say things that can be disrespecfull towards others .

However, its fine because people can pretty much say what they want on their blog.

And this person makes no excuses as she also repeats over and over and over again within her blog posts ! And gloats on the fact that she is proud that she says what is on her mind whether it be obscene or not. She would (and does)pretty tell you to take a hike if you do not like it.lol

I do not know whether that is a prudent way to run a business or not. Maybe the profane language (it is only occasional) she uses builds a sense of controversy which she also advices people do to be successful in Online Marketing.

To me I think Controversy can do just that but not in the context of using Profanity.

I doubt if he cares but that's one reason I stopped following his stuff. Great content but his juveinile language just turned me off but there are plenty of others who are impressed by it.

I second everything you wrote here.

I find it unprofessional. There are lots of expressions can be used to give more emphasis.

Anyway, to my fellow Warriors, just do whatever you think is right for you.

It was P. T. Barnum that said,

"Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one."

The Internet marketing relevancy of the debate about profanity, IMO, comes down to whether it hurts or helps your conversions, sales, signups, or whatever you're after at the time.

I won't use profanity, but maybe you do. So test, test, test and see how it affects your results.

Steve

Considering you are representing yourself in everything you do, I'd suggest not sounding unprofessional.

I avoid using profanities as I find a lot more mails get blocked by filters if they are used.

Interesting conversation. It caused me to look up the word "profane", which made it more interesting.

Merriam-Webster, in it's first definition of the word as a transitive verb, says it means "to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt : desecrate" As an adjective, it's first definition is: "not concerned with religion or religious purposes : secular

All of which seems only vaguely related to this thread, but may shed light on the roots of the drive to prohibit or discourage certain word usage; religion has a long tradition of establishing taboos. But the definition nonetheless, fails to make any reference to the idea of "bad" words or phrases.

The idea that there is some universally binding social contract that holds certain words and phrases are simply "bad" regardless of context, is just an outdated concept some people still cling to.

Even if we all agreed (which we don't), with the premise that there is such a thing as a "bad" word, we most definitely can't all agree which words belong on that list, as evidenced in this very thread.

As to why use words that might offend, when you could avoid them: because I find people who take offense easily, who want to control other people's behavior, dreary and annoying, and I don't wish to be influenced by their thin skin; it's their problem. If I turn off a few people, it might be all for the best; they weren't my type anyway; if they were, they wouldn't get offended. (I don't mean I go around randomly telling people to eff themselves: I generally try to be kind, but that doesn't mean never using a word that might offend some people by it's very utterance). To those people I say: they're just words; get over it.

Using profanity may be appropriate in some instances where you really need to grab their attention, or emphasize an important point. There is always a risk of alienating, or offending your audience when using profanity however, so I think it should be used sparingly. Generally, when it comes to using profanity in marketing endeavors, "less is more."

Serious Question

If the seller proved without a doubt that they are legit would you still let language steer you away from purchasing?

I mean if they REALLY blew you away with how much they knew about that particular subject that you have an issue with (so much that you were looking to purchase a product to solve your problem)

Good catch, ExRat!

Rather hypocritical coming from a guy who started a thread ranting about how Internet marketers should be smarter and more professional and never use profanity, er, "senseless jargon".

Of course, I'm sure his rationale is that, since he used an asterisk, it doesn't count. :rolleyes:

Roger,
That is the way you look at it. That to me is not profane. Obviously by not using the whole profane word, I am not using profanity. That is my personal feeling whether people like it or not !!

The extent I go to put that asterick to 'mute' the profanity to me spells out loud that I will not tolerate profanity in any of my blogs.

Hence ,the original Post I wrote which you may need to reread . Because I did the exact thing there .
And heard no people saying 'what a hypocrite he is ' etc..etc

If your argument rang true the others would here have blown the hypocrisy bell from the git go of this Thread; including you !

Hi discrat,

So you're still on your high horse, rattling on about different types of IQ and how people like Bruce could have more success if they took your advice -

...how people could improve their 'bottom line' by increasing their social IQ by not swearing -

...and still banging on about peoples' 'contradictory nature' -

...yet you still don't seem to have read through the one page of replies here and reached post 76, which appears to demonstrate your contradictory, hypocritical nature and the general pointlessness of this whole thread.

Sorry mate, I'm just trying to stop you from digging your hole any deeper, but it's not easy to do that if you don't read the replies before continuing your rant.

haha. That's funny and so true.

Has anyone else noticed a trend here? It's not about respect or courtesy for your fellow man or woman, it all about what is going to make me more money. It's all about me, me, me. If swearing like a drunken sailor will make you more money, then let it fly.

That's one of the downsides to today's technology. People can say or do almost anything they want anonymously without fear of face to face reprisal.

I also think that profanity is less a matter of lack of education than it is about just plain laziness. Apparently, thinking of a clean alternative to a curse word is too much work.

I'm not taking a moral stand on the use of profanity in marketing materials, but isn't it a little hypocritical to say that it's disrespectful, ignorant or rude for marketers, when the television is right full of profanity today? It would seem to me that if it was truly that offensive to the majority, so many of these words would not be allowed on the air.

You tell 'em bro. You tell 'em.

Rod, This is an interesting point. There are always alternatives to the vulgarity, if it's not appropriate in a given circumstance. For instance, you could refer to someone as an illegitimate matrisexual on pretty much any TV station and get that right past the censors.


Paul

Interesting post. It is worth noting that some words became "bad" simply because the victors of history (often the biggest as*holes), define good and bad. The Saxon word for sex (the "F-word"), became "dirty" simply because the Normans were successful in their invasion of England. It was a Saxon word, and therefore, became "bad".

I believe there are a number of Saxon "dirty" words that became so as a result of that conquest, and a number of "proper" words that became so because they were used and approved by the Normans. My history is weak, and I don't have time to research at the moment, but I do find etymology, what little I know of it, a fascinating subject.

One of the lessons history has repeatedly revealed, in my mind, is that in many ways, humanity is very childish, has been so, and remains so. The fact that many people still believe that certain arrangements of letters are somehow harmful just by themselves, is evidence of it.

Obviously words can be harmful depending on context; insulting, belittling, threatening others, etc can clearly have negative effects, but I am simply referring to particular words or phrases, that regardless of context, some folks think are "offensive", and mislabel as "profane".

I maintain that these words can be very useful for weeding out the overly sensitive among one's potential associates that see reasons to take offense everywhere. If one takes offense at the occasional "F-bomb", then to me, that's a pretty good indicator that they have a hyperactive "offense radar", and people who are prone to take offense at the drop of a hat, aren't much fun to hang with, in my experience.

The op is invoking the phrase "social IQ", but then claiming that the use of words he puts asterisks in, without the asterisk, indicates a lower one than if the same person had said the same thing with asterisks.

The problems with that are beyond obvious. Taking points off one's "social IQ" merely for using certain words, makes a lot less sense than taking points off for railing against the use of those words, particularly when one uses the same words, but with asterisks to show off your high standards.

That's like ranting about your office mate's sexual promiscuity because you used a condom for your Christmas party conquests, while he rode bareback, proving his slutty nature and your chastity.

I swear!

Wait! Hold up! Before you accuse me of being a hypocrite, let me finish my thought. :p

I swear that I never dreamed the use of profanity or the lack thereof would ignite such a long thread!

That is my thought on the subject at this point, and I swear by it.

Terra

Hopefully that's because the schools prioritize teaching kids things that matter, helping them develop into strong and good citizens, think about issues such as why so many people must live and die in hopeless misery, and other important life lessons, rather over installing conditioning to prevent them offend the older folks with their "bad" words.

Maybe some teachers are capable of being impressed when a kid shows that her conscience is troubled by the fact that her family burns 10 gallons of gas per hour to go boating, because she sees a connection between that, climate change, and millions dying of drought, which it likely contributed to. If she says "that is really effed up", perhaps the teacher focuses on something that matters instead of the F-bomb; the fact that the kid cares about real people more than being "proper". People aren't less moral because of words they use; it's the content of their thoughts and, far more, their actions, that matter.

Personally, I was a lot more appalled when I was going to school to see schools forcing patriotism down our throats while our country was bombing the sh*t out of peasants and spraying herbicides on their food crops (a real obscenity), than I would ever be if teachers used the F-bomb on a regular basis, but conveyed a clear sense of moral outrage over the killing of innocents.

There are conversations like this one that are kind of fun, but let's face it; trivial, (we must all be pretty privileged to amuse ourselves in this manner); then there are conversations that matter, such as how are we going to get food, clean water, and heat, to the low income seniors in New York that can't get outside their apartments because the elevators aren't working.

I never suffered from pangs of conscience over my own copious "swearing". However, I've suffered more than a few over how I can know about so much needless suffering in the world, yet do so little about it; there's a real moral issue for you; I suspect most or all those reading could save a few more lives than we do, if we ever do anything.

I wonder how many of the people who believe F-bombs are a sign of moral decay, ever worry about the fact that their country engages in torture and murder (most countries do, so I'm not talking politics, just a miserable fact).

It's been fun, but it's also been trivial. The only reason I jumped in is I love words, I love personal freedom, and I love a lively debate. Let's not kid ourselves that the F-bombs and morality have anything to do with each other.

So much ado about nothing...

If you guys want to really sound profane, try Spanish or Italian. Words with F and B are sissies... in Spanish and Italian you have Ps and Ts and lots of RRRRRs... that is cursing.

An example?

It depends. If it's once or twice, I'll let it slide. But if it's continuous, I WILL let them know.

I've been reading on this forum for a few years now and have never really noticed any overt profanity, except perhaps in a sales pitch, which still seems quite mild. I think profanity is best used in humour, although some of the modern comedians in the UK seem to use it rather too much for a cheap laugh. The Robin Williams video posted on here earlier about golf was the funniest thing I've seen for ages and I'm a golfer. Reminds me of a story of a lady teacher with a class of 7 year olds. She thought as an exercise she would go through the letters of the alphabet with related words and their meanings. Starting with 'A' she asked the class for a word and up jumped Johnny, "a**hole Miss" he said. "Yes, very good, Johnny, but lets move on. Can anyone give me a word beginning with 'B'?" Up jumped Johnny again, "b****cks" Miss" he said. Rather shocked now and thinking she couldn't possibly do 'C', she said. "Okay well done Johnny, but let's move on to 'D'. Can anyone give me a word?". Up jumped Johnny again, "dwarf Miss" he shouted. "That's excellent Johnny and can you tell me what a dwarf is?" Johnny thought for a minute and then said, "it's a little c**t Miss".