Does this make sense?

Michael H Covarrubias mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU
Sun Aug 26 04:43:23 UTC 2007


Quoting Wilson Gray:

> "_Free Agent_:
>
> "Your on.
>
> "Don't take just your files –
> "carry your desktop environment
> "and files in your pocket."
>
> What does it mean for _Free Agent_ to be someone's "on"?
>
> -Wilson
>
-------------

On 25 July Nancy Friedman wrote about "Grammar Girl's" exchange with Seagate
regarding the company's FreeAgent ad campaign using "Your On"

<http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2007/07/memo-to-seagate.html>

Grammar Girl quotes a Seagate rep--"someone named Forrest Malloy":

>      "Your On" is spelled this way to
> indicate that Seagate is your (possessive)
> access to being "on." In essence, Seagate = On.
>
>     This version ties the connection more
> closely to Seagate (as your access to being
> 'on') as opposed to the more traditional
> spelling of "You're On," which places the
> emphasis more closely on the consumer and away
> from Seagate itself.

Friedman responds to the explanation:

> "Impressive tap-dancing, Mr. Molloy! Too bad
> you neglected to check your company's own
> press release, which reads:

> > And now, wherever you are, whenever you
> > need it, Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX)
> > makes sure "Your On."

> Which certainly sounds, in context, very much like a misspelling of 'You're.'"

Friedman's post quotes a commenter who claims to be a Seagate employee. On Mark
Hachman's blog, "David" writes:

"As an employee I can tell you that this
was caught internally before we went to
press. But it was too far gone to stop.
When faced with a blunder like this, the
only thing to do is pretend it is [a]
play on words and hope that you can get
away with it."
------------------

Hmmm...

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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