There is a group of linguistic purists who strongly object to the existence and use of the coined term “webinar.” I’m never going to win them over, but given that the name of my company is Webinar Success I am obviously not going to join their ranks.
Despite the lexicographic veracity of the naysayers’ arguments, webinar continues to gain in popularity and usage. I just used the Google Trends application to check on the relative change in search frequency and news reference volume for the terms “webinar” and “web conference”:
Changing the comparator from “web conference” to “web conferencing” shows the same trend, but with an earlier crossover point:
Webinar seems to have hit the public radar in early 2005 with a sudden jump. Should I take personal responsibility for this corruption of the English language simply because I started Webinar Success and The Webinar Blog in late 2004? (Wink and grin intended.) No, the term existed before me, and continues to gain ground because it is concise and useful. If you have been shying away from using webinar in your promotional activities, fear no longer. The world is ready for it.
This subject always generates interest and controversy. If you would like to read up on past ruminations about the term webinar, you can start here:
- Legal Status of Webinar
- You Can Say Webinar
- Webinar Webinar Webinar… Nyah nyah
- Webinar Or Webcast – What’s The Difference