Buzzword bingo

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Buzzword bingo is a game sometimes played in relaxed team meetings. The rules resemble those of bingo and housie, but instead of a matrix of numbers, each player's card is a matrix of buzzwords. When players hear any of their buzzwords spoken in the meeting, they cross it off their cards. The winner is the player who crosses a full line first and exclaims, "Bingo!" Part of the game, unlike in regular bingo, is having sufficient courage to yell out "Bingo!" in the middle of the meeting, especially as the winning buzzwords are likely to have been utterred by "the boss".

One documented buzzword bingo occurred when Al Gore, then the Vice President of the United States known for his liberal use of buzzwords hyping technology, spoke at MIT's 1996 graduation. Hackers had distributed bingo cards containing buzzwords to the graduating class.[1]

A similar game is bullshit bingo, which is normally played for satirical or ironic purposes.

[edit] References

[2] The original Dilbert cartoon showing "Buzzword Bingo" Feb 22, 1994
[3] Tom Davis's Buzzword Bingo. Site generates cards for you from large database.
"Lots of Executives Become Fair Game For Buzzword Bingo --- As for the Takeaways, Well, It Seems to Be a Paradigm For Mocking the Enablers," By Elizabeth Macdonald and Asra Q. Nomani. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jun 8, 1998. pg. A.1 (credits game to Tom Davis of Silicon Valley circa 1993. Suggests, to save job, coughing instead of yelling "Bingo").
"Time to take a terrible revenge on jargon addicts: Breathe life into office meetings with Buzzword Bingo, the game that makes management jargon worth listening out for;" [London edition] Kellaway, Lucy. Financial Times. London (UK): Jun 22, 1998. pg. 16 (says write down your own favorite management cliches. Cites Dilbert cartoon as source.)
"The buzz about Bingo," Industry Week. Cleveland: Jul 20, 1998.Vol.247, Iss. 14; pg. 68 (turn cliches into cash prizes, but avoid getting fired if the boss hears you say Bingo)
"Buzzword Bingo is the game!," Computimes Malaysia. New York: Sep 10, 1998. pg. 1 (says it originated in a Dilbert cartoon.)
"The Buzzword Bingo Book," Paula Chin. People Weekly. New York: Apr 5, 1999.Vol.51, Iss. 12; pg. 53. (says game invented by a Silicon Valley scientist).
" Buzzword bingo," Anthony Wilson-Smith. Maclean's. Toronto: May 22, 2000.Vol.113, Iss. 21; pg. 7 (says buzzword is an alternative for "the other bu.. word.")
"Let's play buzzword bingo!" Marketing News. Publisher: American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL USA. PMID (ProQuest Media Identifier): 22907. Chicago: Dec 3, 2001.Vol.35, Iss. 25; pg. 12 (5 x 5 card with some of these phrases and others)
"Hewson on talking a lot but saying nothing," Andrew Hewson. Horticulture Week. Publisher: Haymarket Business Publications Ltd.,London, ENGLAND. PMID (ProQuest Media Identifier): 55731. Teddington: Jul 3, 2003. pg. 19 (Bullshit Bingo makes it possible to appear to be paying attention in a boring meeting.)
[4] "BUZZWORD BINGO," Ed Gubbins. Telephony. Publisher: Prism Business Media, Inc. NEW YORK, NY 10011. PMID (ProQuest Media Identifier): 28303. Chicago: Dec 13, 2004. Vol.245, Iss. 24; pg. 21 (a scorecard of management cliches such as these would be made up before conference calls)
"DR SPIN" Hospital Doctor. Published by: Reed Business Information UK, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS ENGLAND.PMID (ProQuest Media Identifier): 59471. Feb 2, 2006. pg. 39, 1 pgs (example of Bullshit Bingo" playcard with many of these phrases. Tick them off then shout "Bingo" when you hear the fifth one in a meeting.)
[5] "Managers unable to communicate with staff," Personnel Today. Sutton: May 16, 2006. pg. 3 (Has a 3 x 3 "buzzword bingo" card. Some of same phrases. Says in survey employees want management to stop using "buzzwords" in meetings.)
"Is It All Hooey?," Brian Friel. Government Executive. Publisher: National Journal Group, Inc. Washington, DC. PMID (ProQuest Media Identifier): 22476. Jul 1, 2006. Vol.38, Iss. 11; pg. 70 (explains management cliches as a subgenre of the "self-help movement," cites some of these phrases)