Phenquestions
Every field has its own set of acronyms and buzzwords that are used frequently. Some buzzwords are easy to understand given the context while others need an online search to find out what they mean. The definition of buzzwords according to the Free Dictionary is: “a word or phrase, often sounding authoritative or technical, that has come into vogue in popular culture or a particular profession“. In this post we will check out some of the important and popular buzzwords of 2013/2014 in the IT sector.
Computer, IT or Tech Buzzwords
You may be surprised to know that there is a system that releases most used buzzwords, slangs etc. annually. The system is called Global Language Monitor or GLM for short. According to the GLM, usage of acronyms and buzzwords are not only fashion but also serve to English as it says much more in one or more word(s). It keeps an eye on what all is being published on the Internet and how many times a word, acronym or phrase is repeated to find out new buzzwords and acronyms.
Top IT Buzzwords That Confuse Many
Big Data
Biggest buzzword for 2013-2014. Before that, no one knew the term exists but thanks to AdSense and advertisers, Big Data is a common buzzword that is not quite easy to understand. In effect, Big Data refers to one or more sets of data that can be used to create strategies after analyzing them. Big Data is not one or two MB. It can be measured in terms much higher than Gigabytes such as hundreds of terabytes! There are special tools to analyze such data as humans cannot analyze it without error margins and more importantly, without bias.
Cloud
This makes sense and at the same time keeps us confused. Anything not on your premises and implemented on remote servers is cloud. That is not a comprehensive definition as there are certain other factors related to it. Many people do not understand the entire concept of cloud. Some think it is only for storage while others know about the features of cloud they use. I remember watching an interview of a politician. The politician said, “Google stores email in the cloud CD. But if you are not able to retrieve the mail before it rains, the data is lost!” I wonder if this has to do anything with philosophy or the politician was really that ignorant. So then… What is Cloud?
More Buzzwords from 2013/2014
The Next Big Thing: It is an easy buzz, understood by all. This need not be explained. But it has been used in so many contexts that we truly do not know what the next big thing is. Err… Can it be Ubuntu convertible smartphone? I guess it varies from person to person.
Social Discovery: This one is a little tough to understand even though the words clearly indicate that it is some discovery via social networking sites. For example, you come to know about anything using the social network sites, it is a social discovery. It is not limited to social sites but covers blogs, reviews and views also. If you feel uncomfortable with the buzzword, here is link to understanding Social Discovery
CERN: Very confusing indeed as the acronym does not even match what it represents. According to Wikipedia, “The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN is a European research organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory”.
Web 2.0 or 3.0: Used to indicate a better world wide web. From what I understand, web 2.0 is a way ahead of static pages where users had to interact in passive mode. Web 2.0 is faster and lets the user interact in real time. It has features to engage users for long. For example, the social networking sites.
2G, 3G and 4G: Here, G stands for generation and the entire work 2G or 3G refers to mobile bandwidths. There are differences when it comes to speed while using or flipping among the generations. A 3G is higher (faster) but availability of the network may not be everywhere. In that case, your phone will drain more battery looking for the 3G network. As of now, 4G is even rare and I don't think you should keep it “ON” in areas where you know it won't be available - such are rural areas.
SoLoMo: This one is another confusing but popular/important IT buzzword. It stands for convergence of Social, Local, and Mobile. I still can't create a proper image of it in the brain - even after reading an entire blog on it. This needs more research.
SOA: One the most confused but important IT buzzword is SOA. There are more than 40,000 books on the topic, each trying to explain Solutions Oriented Architecture. I cannot explain it here as I am not much familiar with the concept. I will stop here with a link to a page containing SOA for Dummies and few other books on the topic.
In case you think I missed out upon any popular IT buzzword, please share with us.
