Pop!Tech Words!

Well, it took me much, much, much longer than I thought to update with the great new words created at Pop!Tech ... that's the problem with conferences, the rest of your work doesn't hit the "pause" button while you're at them! Pop!Tech, as you may or may not know, is a fabulous conference in Camden, Maine, where people talk about (among other things) new technology. But not just in a shiny, trade-show way -- no, this is about technology that helps people live better, healthier, more fulfilling lives. (By the way, if you watch anything from the most recent Pop!Tech, it should be this talk.) But -- on to the words! First off, the winner: -- attachmeant -- the file you have to resend because you forgot to attach it the first time. (from Julie Meyer) Tied for second and third were: -- polydundant -- of a phrase that is redundant through the use of words from two or more languages that have the same meaning, e.g., Panera Bread Company. (from Annaliese Hoehling) -- pretoxicated -- the state in which sufficient alcohol has been consumed to be intoxicated, but before feeling intoxicated. (from Tierney O'Dea) Some other favorites from the workshop ... -- forblogen -- unsuitable or unavailable to be blogged about, "don't post about our new beta, it's still forblogen." (Also Julie. :-)) -- techumanitarian -- someone who uses technology to promote social good. (from Michelle Riggen-Ransom, a Pop!Tech blogger -- she should know, right?) -- sustetic -- achieving sustainability through aesthetics (i.e., the object is so beautiful you don't want to throw it away, you want to reuse it). (from Jens Martin)

Labels: bootcamps, neologism, poptech

Comments

[Dory]

Is Chai Tea polydundant?

[Wenonah4th]

Yes, Dory, I think so! And I love "polydundant."

[Shay Andrews]

This post has been removed by the author.

[Shay Andrews]

I've just made up my first neologism! Quasialidiem, the feeling that it is a different day than it actually is. It's from Latin roots, although I'm not sure if I've put them together correctly.I also wanted to thank you, Erin. Your blog, Verbatim, and the talks you gave at Google and TED are great resources for my linguistics term paper. I'm adding Dictionary Evangelist to my RSS feed.

[Pat]

"Forblogen" - what is the root of this? "Verboten" = "forbidden" in German (if I remember my UofC German classes correctly), so I would've thought it would be "verblogen" for "something forbidden to be blogged about". But that's only true if we're sticking to German-type roots. Perhaps the "for-" prefix is from another language and has a more appropriated sense for this usage?

[Shay Andrews]

I think it's just a play on the word "forbidden."

[Pat]

How dim am I? Why did I immediately jump to "verboten" instead of "forbidden"? Some cognitive scientist somewhere would love that mapping!Thank you, Shay.

[arioux]

I prefer the spelling "forbloggen."

[Paul]

I'm disappointed by 'forblogen', which really should be a state of heightened anxiety prior to posting or reading a blog.

[MsAPhillips]

Hi, Erin --Psychotherapists in NYC are wondering: have you run across a term that describes being hopeful about technology and then having that hope dashed?It's the Charlie Brown / Lucy with the football phenomenon of being excited that, for example, an upgrade will bring about a shiny new world, but then you wind up with more problems than when you started.So far, we have the term "technofrauded" -- liked in part because it sounds like schadenfreude and defrauded by technology at the same time.Suggestions?

[Erin]

This sounds like a job for Barbara Wallraff!http://barbarawallraff.theatlantic.com/

[Anonymous]

Sustetic.Amazing. It's an entire design manifesto in one word.lexinspiration!

[talkaboutquality]

The word I grew up with is ... bedraggled. Regular word in the dictionary, you say?But thats not what I understood as a child. It made perfect sense to me: bedraggled is what you look like first thing in the morning when you get up out of bed and look in the mirror. Bed-raggled.

[Lucy Coats]

Excellent, Erin. Always glad to meet a fellow dictionary evangelist. Even though my Twitter/blog alphabet project is based on my lovely Chambers 20th Century dictionary, and not the more modern version. I too love polydundant. Lucy Coats at http://www.scribblecitycentral.blogspot.com

[Anonymous]

Yes, chai tea would be polydundant. Chai is the Hindi word for tea. I know a guy from India and he thinks its ridiculous that people here say chai tea.