There are a number of ways: ranging from those used by great writers, to inventions and discoveries and those that come into being from new ways of life.
When boats, trains and computers were invented, they were added to our vocabulary. Now, there’s one more avenue through which new words are created – our lives on Twitter and YouTube.
The Wadsworth Constant
This is a theory about YouTube content. What is it? “The Wadsworth Constant is the idea that one can safely skip past the first 30% of any YouTube video without missing any important content.” Have you ever skipped the first part of a video? Check this theory out at once!
The word Wadsworth’ is the user name of a Redditor who first formulated this constant.
The theory is so popular that bots, browser extensions and scripts are being created to automate the skipping of the first 30% of any programme online.
Sites such as YouTube have transformed the Internet – and our lives as we know them, including our language.
So, get internet-sawy with these words and expressions born from our new, digital normal.
Subtweet
There is a “sub” for everything, like sub-urban and sub-collector. But a subtweet is a somewhat different idea.
Tweets, as you know, are messages sent out on Twitter. Subtweets are known as their evil twins. A subtweet is “a negative post especially on Twitter, targeting a certain person without directly mentioning them or their username.” Example: “Some people think I cannot read well. That is not true.”
The term “subtweet” appeared on Twitter in 2009. According to a report, someone who went under the name @Chelsea_x Rae tweeted: “1 hate when I see people who dnt txt [sic or call me or even tweet me anymore make general tweets. … Yes that was a SubTweet.”As you can see, this tweet avoids blaming anyone directly, but still makes a clear complaint. A subtweet is a subliminal (under the surface) tweet.
Snitch-tagging
Snitch-tagging happens when you are actively aggressive while tweeting. It is the act of tagging the subject of a negative post about them, especially on Twitter, when they weren’t already tagged in.” It works this way: A subtweets about B. Now B doesn’t know A has made a subtweet about him/her. Then C comes in, and tags A’s subtweet to B. or makes a response to A’s subtweet, tagging B. The idea is, C makes sure that B comes to know what A has said about him/her. Now B has seen A’s shady comment about him/her it is like saying, “Hey B, A has been talking about you behind your back!” Let me add quickly. Snitch-tagging is considered cowardly and disrespectful.
Twitterstorms & tweetstorms
Have you had to face a twitterstorm? You know what a storm is – a sudden strong assault by wind, rain, snow or dust. On Twitter, it is an unpredictable flurry of interest and activity around a topic, which can feel chaotic.” Twitterstorms are known to damage a person’s name or brand. They often begin when one user posts an angry reply to a controversial statement by someone.
This response to an insensitive tweet invites responses for or against the original tweet or the angry response. Then it snowballs into a twitterstorm of posts. Messages get retweeted and quoted
A twitterstorm can also be started by an individual tweeter. If you unleash a rapid series of tweets within minutes, and these are angry in tone, you have launched a twitterstorm. But if you want to discuss a topic in depth and put out a series of tweets about it, you just create a tweetstorm.
Unboxing
Now let’s go to YouTube for new words. Have you seen an “unboxing” video? “Unboxing” is “the act of documenting oneself, mostly on video, of opening a packaged product from a box and displaying, reviewing, and showing off its contents.” Unboxing videos generally have the object that is being unboxed as part of the title.
There are YouTube channels dedicated to unboxing everything from toys, to food to devices. These videos get millions of views!
Why are they so popular One is the surprise element. Another is the information you get from the review. The third must be that it is one way to kill time. It could be the feeling that you are doing the unboxing yourself. Whatever the reason, the word “unboxing” is here to stay.
Ratio
You have heard of the word “ratio” in your maths class. It is the relation between two amounts showing the number of times one value is contained within the other. On social media, the term ratio is understood differently. On Twitter, you get “ratioed” when “replies to a tweet vastly outnumber likes or retweets. This means people are objecting to the tweet and thinking that the content is bad. Expressing approval is easy on Twitter, right? You just like or retweet the post.
Obviously, it takes more time and effort to make a negative comment. So, if lots of people do so, it is a sign the tweet is not appreciated. You are “ratioed!” Getting “ratioed” started on Twitter, but this can happen on any social media platform – Reddit Instagram – wherever you can leave a comment.
Vlogmas
All of us enjoy celebrating Christmas. There are some who look forward to Vlogmas, which also happens in December. Vlogmas is a tradition among YouTubers to “Vlog, or video-blog, every day in December until Christmas (December 25).”
It is, as you can guess, a combination of the words “vlog” (a video version of a blog) and Christmas. Like for Christmas, Vlogmas celebrators begin planning the content of videos even before Thanksgiving. Since it coincides with Christmas, a lot of vlogmas content is related to Christmas.
Picture Credit : Google
