Michelle Han
June 2, 2015 | 05:54:41
Inspired by a crowdsourced list of “new words we should add to a dictionary,” here are some of the words we’d love to christen for use in tech PR, and our reasons why.
“Textpectation“ — (noun) The anticipation felt while waiting for someone to respond to a text. You know the feeling — you’ve been texting with that tech journalist when things go quiet. Or you’re expecting an important communication from a client giving you the go-ahead on strategy. Textpectation can be a real nail biter, especially when working on a deadline.
“Cellfish“ — (adjective) Being rude and inconsiderate of others by talking or texting on one’s cell phone. It’s so disconcerting when your audience starts checking emails while you’re trying to hold their attention! Whether it’s a client, colleague or prospect, it’s so prevalent we’ve (unfortunately) all been there.
“Internesting“ — (verb) The act of swaddling oneself in cozy blankets and pillows to settle in for some quality time on the Internet. No doubt many hours have been lost to, uh, research, here.
“Netflixing“ — (verb) Often concurrent with Internesting, Netflixing is the act of watching the entire season of a show in one sitting, a not uncommon occurrence (especially when certain shows reach the Netflix queue) that is a telling trend about how we consume video entertainment today.
“Unkeyboardinated“ — (adjective) Being so uncoordinated with a keyboard as to continually make mistakes while typing. This one is not acceptable for communications professionals, although some think a disclaimer in your email sig – i.e. Please excuse any ‘swypos’ (another hybrid word!) – can help. Discuss among yourselves.
“Nerdjacking” — (verb or noun) Nerdjacking happens when someone starts talking passionately about one’s (usually highly technical) interests in the presence of non-techie people. It can be an endearing term when used among insiders, but leaves lay people feeling as though a different language is being spoken.