In this rapidly evolving technology and cryptocurrency world, terms do not often mean what a user may think they mean. Can you differentiate an emoticon from an emoji? A firewall from a flamewar? FOMO from foobar? If you can make perfect sense from these tech terminologies, congrats – you are not a digital ‘noob’ anymore. But ever asked yourself why online instigators are called trolls? ( by the way, it has no relation whatsoever with the Three Billy Goats Gruff.) Another question, which came first, blog, or blogs? You may be able to speak tech jargon eloquently, but there is a high chance that you cannot tell what Wi-Fi stands for.
Even with the much you know about your meme, the narrative behind most of the jargon used every day might blow you away. Like how slow fishing method got intertwined with Norwegian oral tradition stories in the deepest part of Usenet, or how Leia, the royalty, owes her online presence to a Redditor with abnormal fixation with celebrities.
Here are some weird, excellently layered, and usually wanton sources of tech terminologies that are used now and then.
Deepfake; A Squalid origin story
Deepfake integrates “Deep Learning” (an Algorithm) with “fake,” It is used to describe very realistic video forgeries. The tech can be utilized to produce ethical and moral work; for example, Carrie Fisher was brought back to life by filmmakers as Princess Leia in Rogue One and Rise of Skywalker. It can also be used to perform tasks that are not as good, as it was initially developed to do.
Where it originated from: Porn. A Reddit user going by the handle “deepfakes” to be more precise, the user created and uploaded celebrity porn videos on the anonymous social network back in 2017. From then, Reddit has stopped “involuntary pornography,” and states such as Virginia and California have illegalized it.
FOMO: When envy transforms into anxiety.
What it means: FOMO is an abbreviation for “fear of missing out.” It describes the anxiety brought by one’s social choices, for example, when buddies are uploading images of a party while you attended another, or probably home alone.
Where it originated from: A 2004 op-ed in Harvard Business School’s The Harbus utilized FOMO to explain the behaviors of freshmen students to tire themselves by attending every campus event.
Noob: A slur for newbies.
What it is: Noob is a patronizing term for a gamer who is learning or technological neophyte, aka newbie. Other spellings include newb and n00b (zeros).
Its origin: This terminology goes back as far as the 1850s; it means someone new at something, it was shortened around the year 2000, pejorative form n00b began to be widely used among online gamers.
Further Reading: https://www.cnet.com/news/the-strange-thorny-and-sometimes-sleazy-origins-behind-11-tech-terms-you-use-every-day/
