Friday, November 3, 2017

The Elephant In The Room



Before we get any further down the line with National Blog Posting Month, let's address the elephant in the room and see if we can come to some resolutions first, hokay?

"Elephant in the room? Whatever do you mean?" you might be asking.

Well, it's the acronym for National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo. Is that the most awkward abbreviation in the history of awkward abbreviations? (It isn't ... but work with me here.)

As an acronym, it fails completely. Admit it: Pronounced, "Naa-Blow-Poe-Moe" is simply dopey. (Not that it had much choice in the matter - you kind of have play with the cards you're given ... or not play at all.)

But who said NaBloPoMo had to be associated with such bumbling inelegance in the first place? Granted, "Naa-Blo-Poe-Moe" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Why couldn't it simply be noted as an initialism when it was originally introduced? "NBPM" may not be the most artful of abbreviations but it definitely has a leg up on the clumsy acronym.

Now, "NBPM" doesn't have the finesse of, say, FBI or DVD or 4WD or USA. But "NaBloPoMo" isn't in possession of the comfortably compact radar or scuba or NASA, either. Far cry from it in fact. But in my book, "NBPM" beats trying to think about and then pronounce (or even type out) "NaBloPoMo" hands down.

Still, I'll give credit where credit is due. Regardless of its unwieldliness, there's no mistaking the identfication associated with NaBloPoMo. It's got its own personality. And it doesn't have to fight with anything else in the recognition arena. If you have to be a graceless acronym, at least meet the world on your own terms with your shoulders back and your chest on display and fly that freak flag with conviction. 

Own it. 

You might as well. No one else is going to want to own "NaBloPoMo" ... believe you me, Bob.

(Or ... you could always do what this dude did. He gave it a twist while still keeping that NaBloPoMo recognition. And it's clever to boot.)






.......... Ruprecht ( I don't think NaBloPoMo will ever STOP being awkward ... )




3 comments:

  1. I'm so glad it's not just me who finds typing NaBloPoMo awkward to type out! I'd not really thought about how to pronounce it before, and I won't bother trying! Good luck with it (I'm not typing it again!). Mind Over Meta

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  2. I've just gotten so used to it!

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