What is a Backronym or Bacronym?

What is a Backronym or Bacronym?

 

People often use the word acronym but what is a backronym?  First it may help to explain an acronym. An acronym is formed from initial letters of several words to make a specific word.  A good example would be how FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions.

A backronym works backward. It is constructed so that an acronym can be formed into a specific word.  An example would be when Amber Hagerman was abducted, there was something created called an AMBER Alert.  In this case AMBER stands for America’s Missing:  Broadcast Emergency Response.

There are some more recent examples commonly used in the news.  Reporters have been using the TEA in Tea Party to stand for Taxed Enough Already.  Some older commonly used examples of using backronyms include:

Golf:  Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden

Bing:  Because It’s Not Google

AIG:  Arrogance Ignorance and Greed

One of the longest ones I’ve heard was OLDSMOBILE – Old Ladies Driving Slowly Making Others Behind Increasingly Late Everyday.

For an extensive list of backronyms, click here to check out a Businessballs article.

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How to Market You or Your Product Using Social Media

Today’s Ask Dr. Diane: I just wrote a book that is available through Amazon.  I’m just not sure about the best way to market it?  Any suggestions?
 
That is a good question.  The tips I’m about to give can also be used to market things other than a book. 
 
You could market it through several ways.  I would create a link to it on your site like I have links on my main website to Amazon.  If you don’t want to do that, you could offer it directly from you as a PDF through your site and charge them using PayPal. 
 
You might want to make a video (3-4 minutes at most) and put it on Youtube.  At the end of the video make mention of a free offer or newsletter and where to go for more information.  If they go to that site, it should be a capture page to get people signed up  to receive free newsletters (through a site like aweber.com) to get them interested in you and your book. 
 
You definitely need to be on Facebook and create fan pages like the ones I have for each of my books there.  See:
 
 
I would be on Twitter as well.  You can tie all of your Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, etc. accounts into one area on sites like Hootsuite . . . but I like to use Posterous a lot. It is like a blog but it has a great share information toolbar that you can get that and it also allows you to share your updates on multiple sites like Hootsuite does. 
 
If you want to learn about social networking and “how to do it” . . .for a reasonable price you can go to  Letsgetsocial and sign up to get their videos.  I watched them and they are really very informative.  They are designed to teach people how to be media managers but people who don’t want to do the job of media management can learn how to do their own media management from them. 
 
I gave a presentation yesterday to a local group here where others were presenting to career-seekers … they all agreed that Youtube is one of the biggest things you can do to get noticed. 
 
I watched a video a while back on Pitchengine.com about videos and they had some good information.  They are more costly though. You might watch their video for information.  If you are going to spend that kind of money, you need to have a major product to promote.  Books probably won’t have the return to support that. 
 
Talks are another great way to promote your book . . . so are radio interviews.   You can go to radioguestlist.com or other sites like that to find people looking to interview you.
 
Blogging is one of the best ways to get your name out there.   I like to use WordPress because it is free and uncomplicated. 
 
You can also release press releases on prweb or other such sites.  I am on wooeb who also has press releases that are not as expensive.  You can send out free releases on pitchengine.
 
You might check out some books . . . .I liked a book called Career Renegade . . . had some good ideas.  (on a different side topic . . .I liked the book The Happiness Advantage written by ex Harvard professor – very entertaining)
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How to Reinvent Your Career

If you have lost your job or are in a career that you dislike, there is hope. In her latest book, How to Reinvent Your Career: Make Money Doing What You Love, Dr. Diane Hamilton explains: There is, in fact a way to find YOUR definition of that dream job and make the money you deserve every day.
“Mike Leonard of NBC Today‘s Show states: There has never been a better time to take note of Dr. Diane Hamilton’s wise and encouraging advice. Use this book as a road map to a better career and a more fulfilling life.”

Many people have recently lost their jobs, forcing them to recreate their jobs and their lives—allowing them to finally do what they love. There are more freelancers and new businesses than ever before. Out of some abominable situations can come great ingenuity.

Looking to reinvent your career? Dr. Diane Hamilton, author of the newly released book, How to Reinvent Your Career, has the experience and tools for creating a new work identity. After remaining in the same company for 20 years, she found the power to leave and reinvent her career and her life. Over the course of her working career she has reinvented herself 10 times, and with each job came a new lesson—both about life and the working world. Turning life lessons into real solutions, today Dr. Diane Hamilton is an author, speaker and teaches courses at multiple online universities.

The first step Hamilton recommends for reinventing a career is finding out what are the “tasks” one truly enjoys doing on a day to day basis. Starting in an administrative job, Diane realized early on that she loved to do paperwork and work on computers. To many people, this is the worst part of the day but for her, a satisfying way to spend her days. Now, 25 years later, Dr. Hamilton is very happy doing these things as an author and online university professor. Everyone has different passions. Once one learns what actually leaves them fulfilled, it is time to do the research and find the job that fits that skill set. Ultimately, enjoying what you do every day will squash those “Sunday Night Blues.”

Yes, believe it.

Some jobs are perceived as the “dream job” when in fact it is different for everyone. “I had what seemed to be the perfect job from the outside when I was a pharmaceutical rep. I rarely had to work a full day, I traveled, barely spent any time ‘in’ an office and was financially doing very well,” says Hamilton, “However that was someone else’s dream job, not mine. I refer to this situation as being locked into the golden handcuffs. There are ways to make money and still do the work you love.”

Personality tests are one way to find out what is the most suitable career to the individual. They are not to be underestimated. In her book Hamilton, a qualified Myers-Briggs instructor and certified emotional intelligence expert, explains the use of personal SWOT analysis, something commonly used by organizations, can be a great personal tool toward the road of job satisfaction and success.

Above all, times are changing fast. There is new technology and now with the advent of social marketing there is a new way to communicate every day. Being adaptable to change and knowing the right ways to network for mutually beneficial relationships are skills that can be carried over into any career. Taking this time to keep up with the times is an investment in the future—the path to that career dream come true.

About the Author

Diane Hamilton has a doctorate in business management. She currently teaches bachelor-, master-, and doctoral-level courses for six online universities. She has written several books including The Online Student’s User Manual, The Young Adult’s Guide to Understanding Personalities and How To Reinvent Your Career. To find out more about her writing, visit her website at https://drdianehamilton.com or her blog at http://drdianehamilton.wordpress.com/. Review copies are available.
How to Reinvent Your Career: Make Money Doing What You Love is available October, 2010 ($16.95/ Amazon). ISBN: 0982742819/9780982742815

PR Contact:
Rebecca Crowley, RTC Publicity
646-619-1178
rebecca(at)rtcpublicity(dot)com

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To read full press release click here.