Why you should be familiar with the language of technology.
The French Journalist and Novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse is credited with the quote. “The more things change the more they remain the same.”
TIMES ARE DEFINITELY CHANGING
I thought about this recently and found myself asking myself. “really?” Would he have felt the same, if he had lived one hundred years later, and encountered the world of technology, computers, and digital communication?
This is an expose’ of me and the new digital age. Hope it makes you smile.
I recently had my first experience of learning the simple rudiments of pointing a domain name to a company server. It got me to thinking.
Once upon a time, I thought that pointing automatically involved an index finger. I guess the basic action is the same as in showing one the way to go to reach a particular destination, but index fingers are not exclusive in this action, in the world of technology, unless you are a one finger typer.
So I pondered some of the new lingo, that once meant something completely different to me, and how my aged brain has to reset itself to think in this digital age. Having been very much bred in a completely different time and space, the tendency to reflect is somewhat automatic even though at a subconscious level.
The world is moving on. If you want to keeppace, Click here. and then HERE
WORDS BEAR NEW MEANING
A domain does not necessarily have a King. Actually if you look at it from a different perspective, anyone can become a “king” by purchasing a domain for a few measly bucks.
Back in the day, ”servers” were what we called the ladies dressed in all white from head to toe, who served lunch at school. Now servers can distribute so much more than food, and has no name or face to identify them.
Many of you know Tina Turner. Some of you may know that she recently got married, and may be aware that one of the highlights of her lavish wedding was these beautiful black and white fans. I have owned a few fans in my day, but the word is now more often used to represent a person or more accurately a personal profile who likes something about you, or simply wants to hear what you have to say.
Yes, “Fans” have nothing to do with being hot in a crowded church anymore,.
Sharing doesn’t necessarily mean dividing up your food or fruits, or nuts between you and your cousins, as I remember it. Now the whole world can have access to what you share equally, without reducing the content. As a matter of fact, in the new technological age, the more you share, the more power your original content gains.
Once upon a time, a cell was a semi-private dwelling at the expense of the government . Now anyone anywhere in the world can have a “cell” without even committing a crime.
As a child, the word ghost sent almost all little children into fits of fear. Somehow it was about dead people in transparent white that came out when we were asleep. Now anyone can be a ghost, albeit “ghost writer”, by having some practical writing skills, and using them to their advantage. I will never again think of ghost in a scary manner, but rather as an opportunity to work behind the scenes.
I used to think that, you only capture people who were on the run. Escaped prisoners, etc. Now you invite people to your online residence, they willfully accept, but you feel the need to try and capture them anyway. What a brilliant concept!! No one expects to be captured voluntarily. It is almost funny, when you think about it.
It reminds me of building “fly traps” as a kid. Not to capture flies, but birds.
Who told me that an application was associated with a future job? Maybe no one did, but from experience, that was all it meant. Now applications are so prevalent, and so taken for granted, that no one bothers to call them by their long name. There is an app for everything under the sun.
If you ever thought that paper mail was annoying? Try dealing with the same electronic -mail showing up in 3 different places. Everyone seems to think that you need to see the same thing twice or thrice. They send a copy that is in their system to a regular e-mail just to make sure that you don’t miss it. (as if that is possible). There is a difference between not seeing, and not wanting to see. Some things in this new digital world can be so efficient that they are somewhat annoying.
SOME EXPERIENCES ARE LOST FOREVER
Electronic mail boxes are like colons. If you don’t keep them flowing out as fast as they go in, pretty soon constipation sets in, and the longer they stay, the harder it becomes to deal with. I have one mailbox that I totally gave up on. Even though most mail goes directly to trash, when you have 10.000 unread messages, it becomes pretty much a lost cause. Good thing you can create as many of them as you want.
When I was growing up, “mail-boxes” didn’t even exist. The postman (not “mail-man”) dropped the mail in the open window, which was always open because there was no reason to close it, and a fresh breeze was always welcome in almost-constant ninety degree weather.
Which reminds me, “windows” were those same things that you had to shine a few times a year, and had no relation to operating systems, because operations were done at the hospital.
What does the word “bite” mean to you? (Now we spell it “byte”) . In my pre-tech world, a bite usually involved some kind of insect. A “red ants” bite was not the same as a “black ant bite” and stinging ants were a complete horror, if only for a short while, till you could get a piece of onion to rub on it. And even though a centipede does not technically bite, every one lived in fear of encountering one of these creatures especially during the rainy season . God forbid, if these bites came in mega-bytes, and gigabytes.
Decades ago, if I heard back –up, the vision of a car reversing came to mind. Now servers back-up my data, and there is not even a beep-beep associated with it.
Here is a pleasant memory!! “You tube” in this age, is a part of everyone’s vocabulary. For me, when I hear tube, I think of an inner tube. Remember when car tires came with an inner lining, which was filled with air ? We called them inner-tubes.
A patched up, formerly discarded inner tube, filled with air could be a joy in the clear Caribbean sea on a crowded beach on a given Sunday, or summer vacation, or whenever. Memories of these devices in the sea, and the fun we had should be on “Youtube”.
Talking about car tires!! “Alignment” was always preceded by the word wheel. The only alignment I knew of was a wheel alignment on your car. Now, I can align, left, align right, or just dead center with no hoisting or special heavy duty equipment.
Now, who here has not ever caught a virus, or a bug? If you have, and I believe you know what I am saying, you could not help but know it. Your throat told you, your ears told you, and before long your whole body was involved. Now, people can spread viruses with a few clicks of a mouse, and they can be hard to detect and just as challenging to get rid of.
You know those “Arrow keys” on your computer? The word arrow sometimes conjure up memories of those poor birds who died at the hands of endless “bow and arrows” we made as kids. It was for no other reason than recreation, or competition, to see who could make the more efficient ones and whose could shoot the farthest. .
Talking about birds!!. A tweet used to be what birds did. The tweets were the sweetest when there was the sweet scent of ripened, mangoes or papayas, and they were really happy delving into ripened fruit. Now humans tweet more than birds, funny thing is they don’t even have to open their mouth to do it, And unfortunately, not always when they are happy.
This is a brand new world, and we baby boomers, got to know the old world as intimately as many of us are embracing the new one.
What about you? Does any of the technological vocabulary bring back memories for you? Share something with us in the comments below.
And to make sure that you don’t get left behind in the world of technology. Sign up for your own e-book business and earn as these trends continue. This is so cheap, it is as easy as clicking “SEND” on your keyboard. SIGN UP.
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Hey Yvonne,
Awesome. This post got me smiling all the way. Times have changed and more words are incorporated with technology. ‘Google’ it, ‘tweet’ it, ‘hashtag’ the word. Schools will have a subject on ‘Digital Language’ someday.
Justin Iskandar recently posted..10 Laws of Social Media Marketing
Hi Justin,
I doubt that course on digital language will be necessary. It is out there. It is what the younger generations grow up with.
They don’t know any other way. I think most will go DUH!! if it was introduced.
See!!! I know another modern word……..smile
Hi Yvonne!
We must be in about the same age group, as I can relate to all but your postman’s system of delivering mail 🙂
I have mixed emotions about the surge of electronic technology. I love certain aspects of it; but in many ways it’s made life more complex and busier than it was for our earlier ancestors.
Nevertheless, I was just thinking this morning how much I love having an instant encyclopedia at my fingertips for every possible question I might have…
it is important to keep up with the technology, even if those of us who are older have to make giant steps to catch up! Thanks, Yvonne 🙂
Susan Schiller recently posted..I Am From
Hi Susan,
I agree, in many ways technology is cool. The encyclopedia, the dictionary, even the bible online are great.
But it is just amazing how we cant take anything for granted when it comes to the world as we knew it.
Thanks so much for your contribution.
Hey… you got me at this sentence I taught well, she’s talking about me OMG…(unless you are a one finger typer) Ok now let’s go in the real meaning of this wonderful post.
Yvonne this post is the top post I have read this week. Congratulation, really you have that gift that I’m about to be jealous about. I like reading you, it make me laugh all the way. So keep writing post. I will share this post to the internet world they need to read this and Enjoy like I did.
Thank Princess
Helene Martin recently posted..YouTube-Viral Traffic-Samsung Galaxy ?
Helene,
You make me laugh. I cant match your humor but I can try.
There is no shame in this game. I never learned to type before computers. As much as I type, I look at the keyboard all the time. I can do it pretty quickly now, but there is no skill to it at all.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing.
Hey Yvonne,
I loved this post…a bit of a departure from your health and wellness posts, but very well done.
It is amazing how terms that we used in the past have taken on such different meanings online these days. They are now so far removed from what they were.
Love your reference to “capture” and your comparison of electronic mail boxes to colons…so true.
I really enjoyed the humor in the post…
Keep inspiring us,
Marc
Marc Korn recently posted..How Do You Develop The Habit Of Self-Discipline?
HI Marc,
Thanks for stopping by. I am happy that you enjoyed reading my article.
Yea, we all end up with a bunch of trash in our mail boxes, and if you are like me, you dont even want to be bothered to empty them.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Much success to you.
Fun post, Yvonne. Made me chuckle. Now I feel old, too. 🙂
Tanya MarCia recently posted..What Shark Tank Can Teach You About Being a Better Content Marketer
Tanya,
No need to feel old. You are no where as old as I am. But the ways this digital world is going, you can get old in a month if you dont keep up with everything new that is being rolled out daily.
Best wishes.
Hi Yvonne, What a lovely and amusing post on technology with a lighter twist, showing how we have changed our language and adapted it to deal with the technology ‘prose’ on the computer and ‘smart’ devices we all so readily use today. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did, bearing in mind that I have been a technology specialist for many years. It was such a pleasure reading this, thank you.
Ron West recently posted..An Eagle Kiss
Thank You Ron.
I am happy that you enjoyed this. I sure enjoyed writing it. A little trip down memory lane was good for me.
Wishing you the best.
You had me smiling all the way through this Yvonne because I was thinking a lot of the same thoughts as you shared the different words and their meanings today.
I remember like some of the words that didn’t exist a long time ago that do now so things are always changing, growing and evolving.
When I came online I had no clue what even half of this stuff meant and I was so lost. I was hearing words for the first time that I had never head before. I look back now and think it’s funny but to anyone who is new they won’t think that way for a very long time.
Thanks for sharing this Yvonne and you definitely made me smile.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..5 Bloggers That I Admire
Hi Adrienne,
I am happy that I brought a smile to your face.
I was hoping that people would enjoy it and everyone did. I usually am talking about serious stuff that affects our health and even though it is crucial, laughter is also good for the body.
Continued success to you.
I absolutely love this post as it’s such an eyeopener. This is something I don’t consciously think about, but I’m surrounded by it everyday. Our vocabulary is growing and changing every single year, at a rapid pace compared to 50 years ago.
Technology is growing so rapidly and I love it. I’m young but I can remember when a cell phone was a car phone because it was kept in the car, not attached to you 24/7.
Keri Kight recently posted..Are You Open to Receiving Help From the Animals?
Hi Keri,
I remember when a cell phone was in a carrier case like a camera. Now you have the cell phone and th camera in one and it still fits in your pocket.
I often ask myself, why did I bother to buy a pocket digital camera a few years ago. Once I got my first smart phone soon after, that was all she wrote.
But its all fun.
Keep up your good work.
What a fun post! No, I don’t mean fence post. I smiled several times as I read. Pleasant memories of the past compared with the latest technology. Thank you for sharing such a fun post!
Pat Moon recently posted..Blood Pressure Can Increase Or Reduce Your Risk Of Diabetes
Thank you so much Pat.
I am happy that you stopped by and that you enjoyed reading my post.
Wishing you the best.
Gosh I can relate to what you are describing here. The change of language in so many areas of life can make me feel so old! My eldest daughter often puts me right on terminology. She laughs and says things like ‘Nobody uses the word telephone anymore mum. It’s a mobile or cell, or landline.’ And if only you could see the complete look of horror and disbelief when I tell her that we didn’t have computers when I was school.
Yep, I am practically a dinosaur. 🙂
Carolyn Hughes recently posted..Who do you think you are?
Hi Carolyn,
I am happy that you enjoyed the post. I don’t think we are dinosaurs. It is just that the pace is really fast when it comes to technological advancements.
Don’t blink too long, or we will have to take a refresher course.
Wishing you all the best carolyn.
So hilarious, but so true!. I laughed out loud on several of these. Thoughtful and though provoking! The one struck me the most was domains and kings – because our world, at least in the US, is so me-centric. I hope we turn our eyes and first look to God and then to our neighbors to help one another.
Thanks Marvia,
I’m glad I could elicit a chuckle. Thanks for stopping by. All the best to you.
This post got me thinking about mail and how my own daughter came to me for help because she didn’t know how to address a envelope. She is 17 by the way and can do anything on a computer. Love your website, good content.
Christine recently posted..Get your brand on with IBO Toolbox.
WOW!!. That is very understandable, that kids would not know much about snail mail. Do they even teach that in schools anymore. It was part of the curriculum in elementary school one.
Thanks for the kind words, and I am so glad you dropped by to visit.
All the best Christine.
I recently read a post on the 50 things we no longer do, “thanks” to technology. And now this post about how we’ve given our vocabulary all new meanings. Progress, we call it! While our parents and grandparents spoke of progress in the same tone, the difference is that we’ve amped up the speed at which change is taking place: it’s exponential growth, instead of geometric or arithmetic. At least no one’s bored … 😉
That’s what I say. Never a dull moment. And if you doze off, something will pass you by. But it can be exhausting trying to keep up with the pace of the progress.
Thanks Sharon. All the best to you.
Absolutely fabulous post Yvonne. You had me chuckling right through it. The part I loved most was “Youtube, my tube, our tube, inner tube” as it reminded me of my childhood when we would float on the Rhine River with it. Thank you very much.
Gertraud Walters recently posted..Gertraud Unplugged – Day 1
Thanks Gertraud, for your lovely comments, and also for taking the time to visit. Yes, we had lots of fun as children back then. And it did not cost much.
Much success to you.
Health-wise I use technology to look up for nutritional foods to add to my weekly menu.
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