Consumer electronics are a joke, says tech writer Joel Johnson, who spanks gadget bloggers for using marketing language in their coverage and reminds us that the cutting edge is right where manufacturers and marketing people want you: in the realm of expensive, dysfunctional doo-dads that don't make our lives better, and rarely even live up to their own claims.
As newscopy has its own cliche and stock terminology, so tech writing frequently sags to a specialist quasi-PR language that cultivates a sense of noncomittal critical distance, even as it shamelessly boosts the subject matter. I note to my dismay that I've used the term "unleashed" this year four times! Will do better, I promise — but I still love me some of that hot, nasty UMPC action.
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Joel Johnson Returns...to Spank Us All for Supporting Crap [Gizmodo]
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