jargon

Content Marketing

Please Explain Industry Jargon and Acronyms

Douglas Karr Last Updated: Saturday, June 27, 2015

1 minute read

I just read a press release from a company that was targeting marketing technology folks like myself. In that press release, they mentioned:

OTT, PaaS solution, IPTV, AirTies hybrid OTT, and OTT video service platform, OTT video services platform provider, over-the-top video delivery through an integrated media management system, hybrid demo of OTT, digital video broadcasting (dvb-t), AirTies Air 7320 hybrid set-top box, IP Multimedia Product Line, set-top boxes that support integrated OTT solutions for both SD and HD video.

I’m not making this up. That’s not all… here’s the last bullet point:

A new range of DVB-T/IP hybrid STBs, the Air 7320 and the 7334, the Air 7130, a Personal Video Recording (PVR) STB with internal Hard Drive and the new Air 7100, standard definition low cost STB.

After reading the Press Release, I have absolutely no idea what this company does. Not a clue. They are so heavily embedded in their industry and their technology that they assumed anyone reading the press release would understand what it is that they did, sold, whatever…

As you write your blog posts, Tweets, press releases and website copy, please explain industry jargon and spell out your acronyms. Maybe I would have discussed this ground-breaking technology had I understood what the heck it was. Instead, I wrote about wondering what the heck it actually was and why it was important.

Douglas Karr Last Updated: Saturday, June 27, 2015

1 minute read

Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of the Martech Zone and CEO of DK New Media. Douglas has helped dozens of successful MarTech startups, has assisted in the due diligence of over $5 bil in Martech acquisitions and investments, and continues to assist companies in implementing and automating their sales and marketing strategies. Douglas is an internationally recognized digital transformation and MarTech expert and speaker. Douglas is also a published author of a Dummie's guide and a business leadership book.

It all started as a book club.

Yes, I’m serious. I started my work on the web more than two decades ago. My first site was Helping Hand, which curated the best sites from around the web to help people with their computers and navigate resources on the Internet. Years later, I sold the domain to a company that helped folks quit smoking, one of my first big contracts.

I began blogging on Blogger and waxed poetic about everything from politics to Internet tools. I was all over the place and mostly wrote for myself – without much of an audience. I belonged to a Marketing Book club in Indianapolis that quickly grew out of control. Over time, I discovered that more and more of the group were coming to me for technology advice. The combination of my technology background and my business and marketing acumen was in high demand as the Internet rapidly changed the industry.

After reading Naked Conversations, I was motivated to better brand and control the content on the site. I also wanted more control over the look and feel of my blog, so I moved to my domain in 2006 and built my first WordPress site. Since I was focused on marketing technology, I didn’t want the domain with my name to get in the way, so I moved the site (painfully) to its new domain in 2008 where it’s grown ever since.

The Martech Zone is owned and operated by DK New Media, LLC, a company I started in 2009. After working with virtually every major online marketing department in my tenure at ExactTarget and launching Compendium, I knew there was a great demand for my expertise and guidance within such a complex industry.

DK New Media oversees my consulting, publications, podcasts, workshops, webinars, and speaking opportunities. Highbridge, my agency with two other partners, helps companies maximize their investment in sales, marketing, and related products. We offer integration, migration, training, strategic consulting, and custom development.

Thank you so much for your support over the years!

Douglas Karr
CEO, DK New Media