I'm starting a list of phrases I hear smart people use quite often that annoy me. My reason for doing this is to help ensure I never use these phrases, and to warn those of you I love and respect that I will not hesitate to verbally abuse you should you use any of these in conversation with me, or on my Facebook page, or anywhere else.

"X" is the new "Y"

If you've ever wondered why true innovation is so very rare, look no further. Certain people's need to define every old thing by announcing it is being replaced by some new thing is a pretty good indication that they can't actually imagine anything new, or think of any interesting way to talk about something new themselves.

Just sayin'

If you have something to say, say it and move on. Do not waste my time with inane redundency. Do not attempt to appear hip or cool by announcing that you have just made a statement. If you do, you are an asswipe.

Facebook/Twitter/Google+ already does that.

Oh, I see. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter the Internet has nothing more to offer. Nobady could ever do anything better than Facebook, Twitter or Google, so we should all pack up and go home. Thanks for being so visionary as to save me precious time I might have wasted on innovation. Douchba

It's like "X" for "Y"!

This is a Hollywood thing that VCs and other investors have co-opted to make them seem more cool when talking to entrepreneurs. I get the purpose: To simply and quickly express the concept of what you're doing. It's a noble purpose, but really it's just a cop-out. It's a way for Hollywood execs and Silicon Valley bigwigs to say "I'm too important to listen to you, so you must win me over in a single sentence." The problem is, nothing that's truly innovative can effectively be plugged into this formula. How would you describe the original Star Trek series using this silliness? What would you say about the MacIntosh computer? "It's like a computer for humans!" Wow.

The "like 'X' for 'Y'" thing is harder for me to ignore, because the important people truly expect this so I kind of have to play along when I'm talking about WatchParty or other ideas. But ask yourself this: Are the truly great Hollywood movies great because they fit this mold, of because they don't? The Godfather, Star Wars, Jaws, Forrest Gump, hell, even Ferris Beuller's Day Off are great films in part because they were unlike anything else that had come before. The point is, formulae stifle innovation.

I'll probably keep adding to this list, but this is a nice start. Feel free to email me if you have any to add.