WEBOPEDIA AND NETLINGO HELP US TO UNDERSTAND THE 21st CENTURY

“Technobabble: technical jargon incomprehensible to non-specialists; -- sometimes used derogatorily of discussions using unnecessarily technical terminology and intended to impress or confuse, rather than inform, the listener.” From Question.com.

My husband announced today that he will be attending a webinar on Thursday. “Webinar,” I exclained! “What is it and where?” “You don’t GO anywhere”, he patiently informed me. “It’s on the web and you simply log on and learn.” This explanation came on the heels of a TV commercial I had just seen, where a 5 year old boy was holding a flash drive in his hand, letting everyone know that THIS particular gizmo was just what he needed for school. I think it was actually on his school supply list. Wow! I thought to myself. This is big. It’s a whole new way of communicating and I am falling seriously behind. Thinking it might be a neat topic for my blog, I asked my hubby to give me ten unsual blogosphere vocabulary words that I could pass on to my readers. He looked at me blankly, then brightened. “Just log on to the internet. You’ll find out what you’re looking for.” So I did, and here are a few interesting bits of modern “techno speak.”

For starters, forget encyclopedias, my old tried and true method of getting information. Now it’s the webopedia that you want. I typed in “latest technology terminology” on the Google search bar, and up popped page after page of entries from which to choose. I didn’t get past the first page, as my eyes latched first onto “NetLingo – The Internet Dictionary” and then on “Webopedia: Online Computer Dictionary.”

I casually perused a few entries and realized that a different languge is now being used. For example, in the not so olden days, I believe “social scoring” might have referred to some guy hitting on a girl at a party. Not today. According to one on-line definition, social scoring, a.k.a. your social score, is “the act of rating a person’s level of influence based on evaluating one’s followers, friends and postings on social networks like Twitter and Facebook.”

Next I checked out NetLingo. What a fascinating site, but way TMI to go into here. I have decided to share a few examples, then encourage you to expand your technological horizons by clicking on the sites I have listed.

Feeling in the need of a bit of humor after the constant barrage of depressing congressional budget haranguing, I found several lists writen by Erin Janson, writer, publisher and contributing editor for newspapers, television and online articles. Her top 50 funniest terms used in the online world. http://www.netlingo.com/top50/funniest-terms.php was just what I needed Here are ten you might enjoy.

1. “Assicons” - a funny take on emoticons. Boobiecons, like assicons, involve another body part.

2. “Cluster funk” - when a multitude of things go wrong on a computer system.

3. “Corneo gumbo” – a visually noisy or over-designed web site, usually with too many graphics.

4. “Double geeking” - when you use two computers at the same time. “Triple geeking is using three computers.

5. “Fram” - spam sent to you by your friends or family

6. “Grok” - to “get it” or understand something so that you absorb it.

7. “Open your kimono” - Silicon Valley slang for revealing your business idea to someone after he or she signs an NDA.

8. “Seagull manager” - a manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps over everything, and then leaves.

9. “Word of mouse” - gossip or information spread via the net, usually through e-mail, blogs or newsgroup postings.

10. “Shareware girl” - office jargon for the coolest girl in the company.

For those who feel hopelessly out of touch with your kids, she has 50 acronyms every parent needs to know. Here are another ten examples:

1. CD9 - Code 9 - it means parents are around

2. P911 - Parent Alert

3. NIFOC - Nude In Front Of The Computer

4. KPC - Keeping Parents Clueless

5. TDTM - Talk Dirty To Me

6. PIR - Parent In Room

7. POS - Parent Over Shoulder -or- Piece Of Sh**

8. RUH - Are You Horny?

9. 420 - Marijuana

10. ASL - Age/Sex/Location

Other top 50 lists include, Top 50 Popular Text & Chat Acronyms , Top 50 Popular Text Terms Used in Business , Top 50 Newbie Terms Everyone Needs to Know , and Top 50 Tech Terms that are Now Common Expressions

For many of my generation, all of these lists exemplify a form of technobabble. A kind of blah, blah, blah that no one can or wants to understand. I, on the other hand, find changes in the way we communicate, updating the dictionary, and learning new information as an important way to keep relevant in this increasingly complex world. With this philosophy I’ll try to keep you abreast of future trends and bits of interesting trivia. I want to be seen as “with it” when I show show a 20 something year-old that I know full well that discussing velveeta is not referring to cheese! Have I piqued your curiosity? Go check one of the Top 50 lists to become informed.