Technology may make our lives easier, but the terms surrounding the tech industry can be downright confusing.
The Global Language Monitor (GLM), a Texas-based organization that tracks, analyzes and catalogues word usage trends around the globe, has just unveiled a list of the most confusing tech buzzwords and phrases currently in use.
The GLM reports that “big data” – a term used to describe data that exceeds the processing capacity of most database systems – tops the list.
“It has been called the key to new waves of productivity growth, essential to the U.S. place in global economics, and more. Now, if only we could agree on exactly what this means and how we get there,” said GLM founder Paul JJ Payack.
Other tech buzzwords topping the list include “the cloud” – as in cloud computing – and the phrase “The Next Big Thing,” which the GLM describes as a total IT cliché uttered by many in the industry.
Rounding out the tech talk are buzzwords such as “social discovery,” “web 2.0,” “solid state disks,” “CERN” – an acronym referring to the European Organization for Nuclear Research – “solar max” and “de-dupe,” a computing term that involves eliminating duplicate information. The smartphone terms “3G,” “4G” and “5G” also made the confusing cut.
“High tech terms have long spilled into popular culture,” said Payack.
"To a large and growing extent, high tech buzzwords are fueling the growth of English, which now serves as the Earth's means of global communication."
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