Friday Buzz: BlackBerry Loses a Stronghold

It took a good long while, but the BlackBerry is finally losing its grip on the federal government.

This week, political blogger Jim Swift revealed  (opens in a new tab) that the Senate would finally discontinue its distribution of BlackBerrys, largely because its Canadian manufacturer stopped production of its most recent generation of the device.

“BlackBerry informed Verizon and AT&T that production of all BlackBerry OS 10 devices (Q10, Z10, Z30, Passport, and Classic) has been discontinued. Future carrier order fulfillment will not be guaranteed due to limited remaining stock,” said a note sent by the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms.

The chamber has hundreds of the devices at the ready for the time being, but it won’t purchase any new ones  (opens in a new tab), leaving powerful fans of the click-clack mobile keyboard in a lurch when their Blackberrys do run out.

The shift suggests a bigger move in DC away from the devices, though old habits are hard to shake. In the White House, staffers were required to use BlackBerry devices until just a few months ago  (opens in a new tab), and President Obama, despite being a noted Apple fan, has to use a modified BlackBerry for security reasons (though he does get to use a Wi-Fi-only iPad).

In case you’re wondering what led to BlackBerry’s slow decline, you can read Jeff De Cagna’s detailed account in his 2014 Associations Now article.

Parse the Buzzwords

Find yourself weeding through corporate jargon on a regular basis? This cheat sheet from Asana might help save your sanity. It covers such longtime favorites as “move the needle,” “churn,” and “dogfood.”

Why do you need a cheat sheet? Well, it can help you better navigate the office environment around you, the company says.

“Jargon is everywhere. Rather than improve understanding, however, corporate doublespeak can obfuscate and confuse,” Asana writer Vivek Sri explains  (opens in a new tab). “Worse, it can make you feel unempowered.”

Other Links of Note

Common sense might seem like enough in managing your social media accounts, but having set policies might be a good idea, blogger Christina Green argues on Frank J. Kenny’s blog  (opens in a new tab).

Need a blog post idea? Check SocialFish. Its latest infographic has a ton of them  (opens in a new tab).

“To control content is to control ideas, behavior, and ultimately money.” Stephanie Pelch of Rasa.io explains the pluses and minuses of Facebook’s latest algorithm change  (opens in a new tab).