Putrid salute to gullibility

Today I received - not for the first time - a message from "Continental Who's Who".

It was a bit like the one I keep getting from someone who tells me I can belong to something vaguely, but not really, associated with Princeton University.

It read:

Drayton, Welcome to our Inner Circle.

Inclusion in our prestigious organisation is a career milestone only available to those who have demonstrated exceptional professional knowledge, expertise and client service - and I think you quintessentially meet those standards.

Our forum enables you to be reached by thousands of professionals and your peers with the purpose of doing business with you. Simply put - Members are friends you haven’t met yet.

I want to thank you for helping us to create a stronger platform.

Much Continued Success,

George Malone

Executive Director

What total jargon-crammed bollocks - rather like a society for the mutual masturbation of wannabes. Mr. Malone (though it isn't his real name, is it?) should be sentenced to a lifetime of dreary English lessons. But plenty will sign up, won't they?

It's hard to beat anything that combines flattery - no matter how insincere - with the shrewd exploitation of our abiding insecurity.

But what really depresses me is that I regularly have to deal with educationally deprived executives who actually talk shit like that - but don't know it's shit.

These are worrying times.