Influence of IoT on etiquette of language and redefinition of colloquialism

The journey of language has paved its way from sign language to more and more structured language and so on..... and now with the onset of Internet of Things (IoT), the jargons used on it have further changed our etiquette of language and redefined colloquialism.

We can say that social networks drastically brought change to our English vocabulary and also gave new definition to the meaning of certain terms. The jargons used in them have immensely influenced the colloquial vocabulary and changed the connotations of certain words. These words/terms and short forms/abbreviations have come into regular use in our day-to-day verbal language and also reflect to an extent in our behavioral pattern. It has influenced both our sociological and psychological orientation. We have started thinking and behaving as per this new paradigm.

Facebook, as we all know, is almost as old as a decade now, many have grown with it and the rest, adopted it. It introduced words and phrases into the vernacular, whose various slang terms have crossed digital borders and found their way into our every day life. Then there was Orkut and the like...., then WAYN (Where Are You Now) and so on. The arrival of Internet in the smartphones lead to the use of several apps, further contributed to this new wave of jargon flow. They have been impressing, fascinating and influencing masses and evolved a new lingo, specially amongst the millennials, which I am sure, did not spare any Internet user from its enticing spell.

So, let's take a sneak-peak into some of the contributions made to our ever-growing lexicon:

Friend - To add another Facebook user as a friend; to digitally befriend

Like - To show your appreciation with a thumbs up on Facebook

Relationship - The connection or the linkage between users

Post - The name for dissemination of original content into a network of users

Share - Used to describe sharing another's post through the same network

Response - A user's reaction or feedback on a post

Poke - To alert another user that you exist by sending them a notification

Pro Pic/Display Pics (DP) - The photo that represents you on your public profile and when you leave comments

Stalk - To look too deeply into another's Facebook posts and pictures, regardless of familiarity with that person

Tag - To add a link to another user's profile through a photo, status or comment

Unfriend - To remove someone as a Facebook connection

Unlike - To redact a formerly liked post by pressing the like button again

Wall - The public face of your profile, where your posts and others' posts to you appear

Connections - The online version of network, made up of the people you decide to “connect” with. When you’re a “connection”, you can view their “full,” profile instead of their “limited,” one and send them private messages and updates

Circles - These are the community groups users put together

Feed - The news feed or feed of information that is given to a person in real-time to display news and updates from other users that the person follows on a variety of social media platforms

Handle - Contrary to a door handle, a handle will refer to a person’s username on Twitter

Viral - This describes any topic or post that is organically rapidly shared across a wide network through the Internet through social media, email, and video sharing websites

Rewards - The way in which the user is rewarded for engaging with the network

Trending - A Hashtag that has become popular across a certain region or country that will be highlighted often on the left or right side of a person’s feed

Tag - A keyword or phrase assigned to a piece of information, such as a blog, bookmark, or digital image. It helps describe the item or topic and enables it to be found again through a browse or search

Popularity - Method to determine popularity of a 'post' within the network

Pinning - This is how you show you like content on Pinterest. Once content is pinned, it appears on your own Pinboard

Archive - An organized index page that collects a website’s posts from the past

Tweets, Retweets - Tweets are posts on Twitter, limited to 140 characters. When a user tweets another’s tweet, it’s called a retweet. Credit still goes to the original user and the tweet appears as RT in the timelines of all the retweeter’s followers

Keywords - Descriptive words that describe a piece of media. A good use of keywords makes it easier for a website, article or video to be found on search engines

Meme - It rhymes with "dream", "seem" - short for "mimicked theme". Memes are ideas that catch on, in the simplest terms as an idea that spreads

Hashtag - Indicated by the # symbol followed by a word or string of words with no spaces. On Twitter, and Facebook, this creates a hyperlink that when clicked on, performs a search for that word or phrase on the social network

Geotagging - This is adding a geographic ID to let others know your location

Social Graph - A visual that shows all the connections an individual has within a social network

Widget - This is a mini application that performs a specific function connecting a user to the Internet

Private Note/Private Message (PM) - Direct and confidential user-to-user communication within a network

Descriptors - The in-network methodology for labeling and categorizing a post

Organisation - Term used to describe how users can organize posts with the network

Troll - A troll is someone who posts irrelevant, off topic and inflammatory content on a social site. A troll's main objective is to startle others and disrupt normal discussion and igniting a negative string of conversation from other users and potentially a response from the person/brand itself

Community Manager - Previously used to describe the manager of a condominium or homeowners association, digital community managers are responsible for managing a brand’s digital presence

Then there are some of these slangs (short forms/abbreviations) that prove very useful in daily (sms, whatsapp, FB, other social media and colloquial) conversation:

TBH - To Be Honest

SMH - Shaking My Head

IDK - I Don’t Know

FTW - For The Win

HBD - Happy BirthDay

BRB - Be Right Back

TTYL - Talk To You Later

TLDR - Too Long Didn’t Read

SO - Significant Other

DAM - Don't Ask Me

DBD - Don't Be Dumb

CIHY - Can I Help You

DBJ - Don't Be Jealous

DBL - Don't Be Late

WWY - Where Were You

DBM - Don't Bother Me

DBS - Don't Be Stupid

DFLI - Don't Feel Like It

IDC - I Don't Care

IRL - In Real Life

AMA - Ask Me Anything

TBT - Throwback Thursday (Throwback Thursday is an Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook phenomenon that often refers to sharing a photo that recalls something from the past)

MCM - Man Crush Monday

WCW - Woman Crush Wednesday

DFTS - Don't Forget to Smile

TISA - That/This Is So Awesome

And there are also the slang symbols like:

?u@ - Where are you?

^5 - High Five

>,< - Angry

*4u - Kiss for you

24/7 - Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week

224 - Today, tomorrow, forever

4649 - Pleased to meet you

0noe - Oh No

TX - Thanks

381 - I Love You (3 words, 8 letters, 1 meaning)

39 - Thank You

LOL (Laugh Out Loud)....This colloquialism has been so openly embraced from this form of (new) media, new users to social media sites are continuously presented with a myriad of unfamiliar phrases or baffled by a series of recognizable words that have been repurposed and redefined.

While this cultural language has helped to build the inner community of social media enthusiasts, I guess so will the corporates and businesses also be obligated to support this lingo.

As each channel of communication emerges, so do new slang words, new etiquette and redefinitions of space.

Just embrace the millennial lingo....

And DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome) !!