Blade’s STI gaffe proof of power of abbreviations

It is author CS Woolley who said: “You can’t take over the world without a good acronym.” And the English author understands the power of abbreviation all too well, using only her initials instead of her full names – Caroline Sarah – for her literary debut in 2010, with the publication of her first book, Nicolette Mace – The Raven Siren.

I was reminded of this quote this week by our Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande, who has been super busy though his major portfolio is on a mid-year break.

He was in Paris this week with other ministers in the higher education, scientific research, and innovation portfolios from around the world, who were joined by scientists to talk about what they are doing in line with Unesco’s theme for this year, aptly titled the “International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD)”.

See how important abbreviations are, especially in this age of Twitter and hashtags?

Former Transnet boss Siyabonga Gama can give a master class on the art of abbreviations. When he took the helm as custodian of the ports, freight rail and pipelines in SA, he abbreviated his title from group chief executive officer (CEO) to just group chief executive.

Transnet is a big multibillion-rand operation with other CEOS heading different divisions, such as port terminals, engineering, freight rail and so on. What would distinguish the big kahuna from the others heading the operations divisions?

Surely, the “officer” in CEO is unnecessary to describe the highest-ranking employee in a company.

Pardon my digression. Back to the SACP leader.

In the spirit of keeping us abreast of the happenings in his portfolio, Nzimande tweeted this week that he will be giving the keynote address at the launch of the 2022 Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Indicators Report later this month.

The tweet opened with the hashtag #STI.

When I saw the abbreviation STI, I thought to myself, “I know comrade Blade is a doctor, not an honorary doctor, but I also know that he is not that kind of doctor! That’s Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla’s portfolio.”

It is still early days for the hashtag, but as they say, “forewarned is forearmed”.

With the SACP national congress taking place this week, Nzimande – who is stepping down after 23 years at the helm of the party – made sure that he will still be trending in the world of social media long after he has handed over the baton at the SACP.

So, do not be alarmed when #STI and @Drbladenzimande are trending at the end of the month. It will not be because of an infection, but an indicator.