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Showing posts with the label internet words

Five confusing IT terms?

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What is an octothorpe?

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In the 1960s engineers at Bell Labs were designing the first touch keyboard telephones.

What is FLOTUS? Who is the POTUS?

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There some dispute as to when FLOTUS entered the lexicon: 

What is an emoji? An emoticon?

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Emoticons  The emoticon :)—a colon followed by a parenthesis—is a visual representation of a smiley face turned sideways.

What is vlogging? And a haul?

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Vloggers (or YouTubers as they popularly known) broadcast regular short videos on YouTube channels .     Anyone can set up a free channel - the trick is then to attract subscribers who regularly watch your broadcasts. What is the appeal of vlogging? Fame and fortune without leaving your house for the most successful.  The most popular YouTubers have pop-star status amongst their fans. They are often known by their user names - PewDiePie, for example. These, of course, are the lottery winners of the vlogging world. For most the appeal can be described in two words: free fun.  What do YouTubers talk about? Themselves, mainly. The appeal of the most popular YouTubers is that of an intimate friend who shares your interests and concerns.  One popular topic is  hauls  (what I bought today) - here is an example.   Other staples include:  How-to-make/do tutorials Challenges  (often involving food tasting - see above) Pets Pranks  (elaborate practical jokes). The be

What is a MOOC?

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A MOOC is an online course with open enrolment and no fees. MOOCs are now offered by a variety of educational providers including some of the best universities in the world, including Stanford & MIT.  MOOC advocates see the movement as offering the chance to give poorer/more remotely located students access to the best available education - see here . For a view on how this might impact on the future of university education - see here  & here

What is a Maven?

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Maven comes from the Yiddish word meaning ‘expert’ or ‘someone knowledgeable in a particular subject’ . Modern usage tends to conflate expertise with influence - a maven is a person whose opinion or course of action is watched closely by others The word became widely known when it was used by  Malcolm Gladwell  in  The Tipping Point . Gladwell describes how a few key individuals can influence a large numbers of people.  Obvious examples include technology pioneers like Jobs and Zukerberg but maven can be said to be present in every sphere of activity. Despite his vociferous denials, Malcolm Gladwell himself is a maven in the area of pop psychology. In marketing, the word has a slightly different usage. The maven can be a person, group, network, company or association that already has a relationship with the people you’re trying to sell to.  Source A version of this post is included in  50 FAQ about English    ($1.75)

What is a meme? A scientific term? Or 'a pretentious way of stating the obvious'?

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This cartoon refers to 'Rickrolling' meme (see below) The word meme was first introduced by Richard Dawkins in  The Selfish Gene . Dawkins was looking for "a monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene'" to apply a biological concept to 'cultural evolution'. He wrote that evolution depended not on the particular  chemical basis  of  genetics , but only on the existence of a  self-replicating  unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the  gene . For Dawkins, the meme exemplified another self-replicating unit with potential significance in explaining  human behavior  and cultural evolution. [1]   The form a meme can take is very fluid. Here BBC Radio 4's  Start the Week  discuss a 'cultural meme' listen to ‘English FAQ: What is a meme?’ on Audioboo The term  internet meme  is a further simplification of what some have argued is a pseudo-scientific term. It is defined on one tech blog as: a catchphrase or concept

What is a metanarrative?

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The definition of metanarrative is earnestly debated in faculty lounges and hipster coffee-bars. Here is one attempt: a narrative  about  narratives of historical meaning, experience or knowledge, which offers a society legitimation through the anticipated completion of a (as yet unrealised) master idea.    J. Childers/G. Hentzi eds.,  The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism  (1995) p. 186 What does this mean in comprehensible English?  I can make no sense of 'narratives of historic meaning' but the meta here seems to be defined as 'wider' or 'overarching'.  So for a Marxist the story of the Russian Revolution forms part of the wider metanarrative of the (supposed) history of class struggle. Terms like  metanarrative  have emerged from the influence of post-modernism on leading universities in the West.  Matt Labash  is one of many to question whether this influence has been entirely beneficial. What is a meme? What does m

What does 'meta' mean? What is meta-language?

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Thanks to Ms Langley's Year 11 English class for this Wordle The prefix meta - as in metalanguage, metanarrative etc - is very difficult to pin down. In broad terms meta means 'about itself' - so metalanguage is the language of language. For example a language teacher might use metalanguage like  lexicon or  past perfect in a lesson plan. This is reasonably comprehensible, though some might argue that a less fancy-pants alternative would be technical-terms or even jargon. It could also be argued that unlike other words with the meta prefix (see metatnarrative)  metalanguage has at least the advantage of precision e.g. teachers should avoid using complex metalanguage in the classroom. And it can be useful for teaching identifying the concepts that underpin language learning. What is a meme? What is a metanarrative? Mrs Langley's English Class Wiki

Has the Internet only produced ugly words?

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A fascinating discussion about new online vocabulary has been taking place on the Macmillan Dictionary Blog . It has got me thinking that the Internet has brought us many wonderful things but a beautiful vocabulary is not one of them.  Whose heart sings at the word ‘blog’? Or worse still, blogosphere? And while Shakespeare would have marvelled at the instant access information supplied by Google, could he have made the verb rhyme with anything? (Dougal? Boogle?) Are there words that stand out from the dull online crowd?  I suggested one for the Macmillan discussion - you can find it at the bottom of the comments  here .