Liar, liar

You're all a bunch of liars. OK, maybe not all of you, just three out of four. (So feel free to consider yourself the honest fourth . . . at least for the moment.) According to a survey conducted by SelectJOBS.com, an Internet job-search service that caters to high-tech professionals, almost three-quarters of 671 respondents admitted to having fibbed on their resume. Many fessed up to only minor fudging - omitting less than flattering details about their employment history, for example. But the fact remains that a number of you and/or your colleagues apparently have played fast and loose with the facts in order to gain an edge in the job market.

Are you still that honest fourth out of four?

Regular " 'Net Buzz" readers know that I consider the results of self-selected Web surveys to be about as reliable as, oh, let's say the typical IT professional's resume. Nevertheless, any poll result as eye-popping as this one is difficult to ignore.

What drives smart people to do something so dumb as to jeopardize their jobs and careers by inflating their qualifications?

Sure, it's possible - even likely - that they'll never get caught. And even if they're unlucky enough to have their creative resume writing exposed, odds are the consequences will fall short of unemployment (just ask Lotus CEO Jeff Papows.) Our society's not big on punishing dishonesty these days (just ask President Clinton.)

But who wants to go to work every day with that time bomb ticking away in file cabinet inside the human resources department?

(Note to the Network World human resources department: About that little Pulitzer "joke" on my resume . . . )

The spiffy prize drew a whopping 128,664 entries, according to the company, from which TixToGo chose their new name: Acteva.

Say what?

Here's CEO Lu Cordova's press release explanation, which included a pronunciation guide (ak-tee-va): " . . . Acteva was selected because its individual elements reflect our company's core business. The word 'act' conveys the company's focus on activities, while 'e' signifies our electronic commerce service and 'va' connotes our expansion worldwide with the Latin word meaning 'go.' "

Of course, that's a pile of ineptiae, which in Latin means "nonsense."

Among those who didn't win the sports car was Buzz reader George Carmichael, manager of client services at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Carmichael's name suggestion - eventmanager.com - apparently suffered in the eyes of the judges because it actually conveys meaningful information about what the company does.

"Am I out to lunch to believe that Yahoo-ish nonsensical-type names are a fluky aberration?" asks Carmichael, an obviously bitter man who must now remain content driving his 1994 Mustang. "Sheesh - for them to actually have to tell us how to pronounce the darn thing . . . I think they're a little distant from reality."

You're not out to lunch, George.

On the other hand, advocates of the "empty name" practice argue that such monikers give a young company flexibility to change strategies and product lines without having to ditch a name that has already gained a measure of recognition.

In other words, names such as Acteva might be a good idea for companies that don't have a lot of faith in their current business model.

Send your Internet news tips, gossip items and favorite fictitious resumes to buzz@nww.com.