I’m currently reading the text from Apple’s press event that’s going on right now. Here’s a direct quote from Uncle Steve:
‘Antennagate’ — it doesn’t seem like a good idea if you touch your phone in a certain way and the bars go down. But one of the first things we learned: it’s certainly not unique to the iPhone.
The part I want to focus on is the first word: Antennagate. Can everyone please, please stop attaching the suffix “-gate” to everything that’s even slightly controversial or scandalous? It’s exceedingly overused to the point where it doesn’t have meaning anymore, and it’s been reduced to just sensationalism. There’s even a list on Wiki of scandals that use the term. It’s just too much.
What happened to the days when people just said “the (person/event) scandal”? It was called the Madoff investment scandal, not Madoffgate or some equally ridiculous term. Or perhaps a term that’s more specific. If someone commits massive real estate fraud, then call it that – a fraud case. For this particular case, let’s call it… the “iPhone 4 antenna issue”. Yes, it’s a bit much to say, but as soon as you say “iPhone” and “antenna”, people will understand what you’re talking about.
Anyway, the Apple conference is almost over, and he’s used the term ‘Antennagate’ at least three times. Please let that be the last three times that word is ever spoken.
Leave a Reply