Editing Buzzword bingo

{{Short description|Bingo-style word game}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Buzzword Bingo 2008 debate (2923590264).jpg|thumb|John McCain buzzword bingo from the 2008 presidential election]]
'''Buzzword bingo''', also known as '''bullshit bingo''',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/former-envoy-makes-devastating-attack-on-blairs-bullshit-bingo-management-culture-of-diplomacy-446358.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211115111/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/former-envoy-makes-devastating-attack-on-blairs-bullshit-bingo-management-culture-of-diplomacy-446358.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2008|title=Former envoy makes devastating attack on Blair's 'bullshit bingo' management culture of diplomacy|date=27 April 2007|work=The Independent|access-date=2010-11-02}}</ref> is a [[Bingo (U.S.)|bingo]]-style game where participants prepare bingo cards with [[buzzwords]] and tick them off when they are uttered during an event, such as a meeting or speech. The goal of the game is to tick off a predetermined number of words in a row and then signal bingo to other players.

== Concept ==
Buzzword bingo is generally played in situations where audience members feel that the speaker is relying too heavily on buzzwords or [[jargon]] rather than providing relevant details or clarity. Business meetings led by guest speakers or notable company personalities from higher up the pay scale are often viewed as a good opportunity for buzzword bingo, as the language used by these speakers often includes predictable references to arcane business concepts, which are perfect for use in the creation of buzzword bingo cards.

Turkey bingo requires the winner to ask a question or make a statement using his/her winning bingo words, thus signaling the win to insiders while ideally prompting the speaker to respond as if the question or statement were real. An alternate variation requires the person who has achieved bingo to raise his or her hand and use the word "Bingo" within the context of a comment or question. Other versions of the game require actually yelling "Bingo!" To avoid the reprimands that would likely result from doing so, participants may resort to looking at one another and silently mouthing the word "Bingo" instead.

An example of a buzzword bingo card for a business management meeting is shown below.<ref name=buzzword-bingo-generator>{{cite web |url=http://buzzwordbingo.org/ |title=Buzzword Bingo! |date=2014-08-18 |publisher=buzzwordbingo.org |access-date=18 August 2014}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|style="text-align: center; width: 115px;"| Scalable
|style="text-align: center;"| Life Cycle
|style="text-align: center;"| Markets
|style="text-align: center;"| Timeline
|style="text-align: center;"| Restructuring
|-
|style="text-align: center;"| Risk Management
|style="text-align: center; width: 115px;"| Off-line
|style="text-align: center;"| Sales Driven
|style="text-align: center;"| Penetration
|style="text-align: center;"| Drop the Ball
|-
|style="text-align: center;"| Benchmark
|style="text-align: center;"| Proactive
|style="background-color: #99ff99; text-align: center; width: 115px;"| Free Space
|style="text-align: center;"| Customer Value
|style="text-align: center;"| R.O.I.
|-
|style="text-align: center;"| Paradigm
|style="text-align: center;"| Strategy
|style="text-align: center;"| Disruptive 
|style="text-align: center; width: 115px;"| Schedule
|style="text-align: center;"| Cost
|-
|style="text-align: center;"| Review
|style="text-align: center;"| Granular
|style="text-align: center;"| Facilitate
|style="text-align: center;"| Touch Base
|style="text-align: center; width: 115px;"| Out of the Loop
|}

== Creation and popularization ==
The game has existed for many years, though without a universally-used name, and it is likely that its creation can be credited to several people working independently. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters2/endmar22news.htm#Snookered |title=Snookered |access-date=2022-03-25 }}</ref> 

By 1992, college students in the USA were playing a game called "turkey bingo" where they guessed which classmates would dominate conversations in classrooms.<ref>{{cite book|title=Making Elite Lawyers: Visions of Law at Harvard and Beyond|last=Granfield|first=Robert|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1992|isbn=9780415904087|page=81}}</ref>  This led to a variant popular in business schools called "bullshit bingo" based on overused business lingo.<ref>{{cite book|title=Teaching with Cases: A Practical Guide|last1=Anderson|first1=Espen|last2=Schiano|first2=Bill|publisher=[[Harvard Business Review]]|year=2014|isbn=9781633691131|chapter=How Should I Deal With Student Pranks?|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYXDCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT142}}</ref>  The Buzzword Bingo name was coined in early 1993 in an internal [[Silicon Graphics]] tool made by principal scientist Tom Davis in collaboration with Seth Katz, and popularized in 1993 in the first public web version by fellow employee Chris Pirazzi <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB897015806686100000|title=Unsuspecting Executives Become Fair Game in 'Buzzword Bingo'|last1=MacDonald|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Nomani|first2=Asra Q.|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=1998-06-08|access-date=2016-12-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://lurkertech.com/buzzword-bingo/ |title=Tom Davis's Buzzword Bingo |last=Pirazzi |first=Chris |access-date=2020-11-29 }}</ref> The 22 February 1994 ''[[Dilbert]]'' comic featured buzzword bingo in an office meeting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dilbert.com/fast/1994-02-22|title=Dilbert comic for 1994-02-22|last=Adams|first=Scott|date=22 February 1994|publisher=Andrew McMeel Publishing|access-date=2009-02-14}}</ref><ref>[[Scott Adams]]: ''Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert''. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008, {{ISBN|9780740777356}}, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7jF1vg_A8OIC&pg=PA203 203]</ref>

One documented example occurred when [[Al Gore]], then the [[Vice President of the United States]], known for his liberal use of buzzwords in enthusiastically promoting technology, spoke at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]'s 1996 graduation. [[MIT hack]]ers had distributed bingo cards containing buzzwords to the graduating class. Gore, who had been informed of the prank, acknowledged it during his speech.<ref name=al-gore-mit-speech>{{cite web|url=http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1996/gore/ |title=Al Gore Buzzword Bingo |date=1996-06-07 |publisher=IHTFP Gallery |access-date=15 February 2009}}</ref><ref>T. F. Peterson, Eric Bender: ''Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT''. MIT Press, 2011, {{ISBN|9780262295017}}, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VZjBk366-BAC&pg=PA126 126-127]</ref>

In 2007, IBM created a TV advertisement that was based on the concept of buzzword bingo.<ref name=ibm-buzzword-bingo-commercial>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6gL0p2_87g |title=ibm buzzwords bingo |last1=IBM |author-link=IBM |date=2008-02-13 |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=18 August 2014}}</ref> Video gaming website [[GameSpot]] hosted a video called "Executive Buzzword Bingo", in which they held a running tally of buzzwords uttered during [[Sony]]'s "PlayStation Meeting 2013" conference event on 20 February 2013.<ref name=gamespot-playstation-buzzword-bingo>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/1jeM0ENR6rI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130225100800/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jeM0ENR6rI&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jeM0ENR6rI |title=Executive Buzzword Bingo at the PS4 Conference |last1=GameSpot |author-link=GameSpot |date=2013-02-21 |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=18 August 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Buzzword compliant]]
* [[Corporate jargon]]
* [[Loaded language]]
* [[Verbiage]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* Custom buzzword bingo generators: [http://buzzwordbingo.org/ 1] [http://buzzbuzzbingo.com/ 2] [http://sweary.com/business-buzzword-generator/ 3] [http://bingo.hyfy.de 4]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220702134511/https://dilbert.com/strip/1994-02-22 ''Dilbert'' comic strip on buzzword bingo] (22 February 1994), which popularized the game
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6gL0p2_87g IBM commercial featuring buzzword bingo]

[[Category:Buzzword]]
[[Category:Bingo]]
[[Category:Games and sports introduced in 1993]]