Sexy Secretary Taking Things Down

Shorthand is something that we’re all guilty of using. I’m not talking about T-Line or Pittman here, I wish I could do that as it would make it easier to take notes at interviews. No I mean the often alliterated and mainly meaningless shorthand adopted by some sections of the media, entertainment, documentary and news programmes.

Take the title of this post. I bet you all thought “Oooh photoset of a nice bit of skirt”. And why shouldn’t you. If you’re looking for titillation and like a girl in a sharp suit getting a bit frisky I’m not judging you. In fact I’d probably be more than happy to take a peek myself. What you got was some bloke on his high-horse about the dumbing-down of the media.

Because let’s face it, snappy terms suitable for sound bites are not the best way to communicate ideas. They reduce language to a barrage of staccato syllables intended more for their ability to shock/amuse/stick in your memory than to accurately describe a concept, person or thing.

Journalists use them for two reasons. One being because it’s easy to do so, the other because we respond to them like Pavlov’s dog. The mention of some phrases has us metaphorically (or literally) salivating in anticipation. They work.

Take “sex blog”. AlexSuze is a sex blog. It’s an adult blog. It’s also just a blog, a place to have fun and, as with this post, a place to have a bit of a rant.

Saying “sex blog” categorises us along with everything from the “pinkest” or Mills and Boone type blogs where an ellipsis conceals anything more than a peck on the cheek, to full-on commercial porn sites in a blog format.

Adult Blog is almost the same.

We are also sex toy testers. That should make for some juicy copy in the tabloids. But as we haven’t been “outed” yet maybe even that’s not shocking enough any more. Or perhaps we’re just not “important” enough, LOL, and who decides that.

The headlines for us would be a bit difficult to write don’t you think?

“Couple in stable relationship have great sex life and enjoy blogging, scandal!”

“Average people in suburbia thinking about sex – Shock revelations”

Is sex/adult blogging still the zeit geist? Maybe not, but if there’s a slow news day coming some editor is going to start sniffing around for an easy to digest sensational story. Just who will they pick on?

I think we ought to invent some skeletons in our cupboard just in case. Hehehehe.

~ by alexsuze on February 15, 2008.