what does prepending an ‘e’ or an ‘i’ to a word really say? some have become clear brands thanks to marketing… eBay and the iPod are among the most successful. others are by now common categories: eCommerce & eGovernment where ‘e’ stands for electronic — transactions occurring via Internet (‘i’).
Today I attended the eChicago Symposium at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. Reflecting upon the ‘e’ prefixed to Chicago, we have to ask: what does it mean? electronic Chicago? What does that tell us?
We run into the same problem when we pair digital with just about anything. We have to take care with our language and not fall into such usage out of habit. We have to be intentional, and we have to know to what purposes it is suited. This is especially important when the coupling is intended to reflect a value or a goal.
Some pairings don’t work or don’t work as we might intend. We don’t want to promote a gimmick. We don’t want our language to serve shallow interests. We don’t want our words to be vacuous nor to twist the logic of the situation.
eChicago as reference to electronic Chicago doesn’t leave me inspired… and I think we should inspire and be inspired. eChicago should reflect what we value, what we hope to attain. let the ‘e’ evoke our aspirations and an invitation to excellence.
let the ‘e’ in eChicago stand for excellence…
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