2009 was Year of "Authentic": marketing expert

Lots of terms and phrases become worn out and meaningless with overuse, no more so than in the world of marketing. In a new blog post, marketing guru Jason Cohen lists "authentic" as the number one buzzword that needs to be put to sleep:

If I had enough hubris to run around christening years, I would declare 2009 The Year of "Authentic." Enough! We get it! I respect the work of all those bloggers and Twitter-ers and lecturers and consultants who drove this word deep into our psyches. Indeed it's a tremendous gift: bringing concepts like authenticity, genuineness, and give-first-sell-later to the traditionally aggressive, non-engaging, selfish world of marketing. The more people honor this new code, the better for us all.

Nevertheless, it's time to retire words like "authentic." The misuse is to too widespread, the abuse too deep.