Weekly Video Tip: Vocabulary Clarity

RISMEDIA, July 27, 2010—Today’s Internet and video technology is not only exciting and complex, but it’s also creating its own vocabulary at an amazing rate. Some of today’s terms, like vlog, blog, or even Facebook might not have shown up in listings from even a few years ago. And because many of the new terms and acronyms find their way into contracts and agreements, it’s wise to keep up with what’s going on. For example, someone could misunderstand a word like vlog to mean blog, or not understand terms like meta tag, pre-roll, hyperlink, or deep link.

When it comes to contracts and agreements, that’s precisely where what you don’t know can hurt you. New technology terms may be used to describe the product or service you’re agreeing to purchase. You blindly sign on the dotted line, only to find out later that what you agreed to is not what you had in mind. To steer clear of this hazard, we have four suggestions.

First, understand there is no such thing as a stupid question. It’s your money, so don’t hesitate to ask for a clear definition of any term or abbreviation you don’t understand. Insist on total clarity, and once the term has been defined, repeat the definition back to verify accuracy.

Next, ask for an easy to understand example to illustrate what’s being talked about. Application in real life situations is usually the best way to understand and clarify exactly how a product or service is going to be employed.

When it’s all said and done, summarize the results in writing to make sure everyone is in agreement, has a mutual understanding of what was discussed, and is willing to sign off on it.

And finally, remember the clever saying: “he who serves as his own attorney has a fool for a client.” It’s tempting to save money by reviewing legal contracts on your own, but whoever came up with the phrase “the devil is in the details” probably found out the hard way. A little legal expense now can save untold dollars and headaches down the line. In other words, don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.

As always, VScreen welcomes your comments and suggestions, so drop by our website today and get in touch. Thanks for watching!

Stephen Schweickart is the co-founder of VScreen. For more information on this topic, visit VScreen’s blogsite at http://www.vscreen.com/blog/.

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