Whether you are a tech marvel who knows the internet like the back of your hand, or are a beginner who can just about place an order on Amazon there are always new tech buzzwords being created that can be confusing for anyone.
But, have no fear, really these words are designed to help us and not send us running for the hills so here is brief definition of some popular buzz words circulating online at the moment.
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The Cloud:
The term “Cloud” gets thrown around quite a lot. It is basically a place to store all your photos, media and data online. It’s easy access as everything is stored together and usually offers much more space and memory for you too. It may be referred to as a cloud, but that doesn’t mean your data is out of reach, it is one account that can be accessed by your phone, tablet, desktop or whatever else you use to access the internet. Things like Onedrive, Google Drive and iCloud are good examples of cloud storage.
Disruptive:
Disruptive usually means an idea or creation that causes big changes in the industry it’s in. This is normally a good thing, think of the iPhone, Google or Facebook. All three created shockwaves in technology, the internet and social media and have completely changed (and are now the forefront of) the industry they are in. So, the iPhone has been disruptive on the mobile phone industry.
Most products talk the talk, but do they walk the technical walk?
Innovative:
If you think the term ‘Cloud’ gets banded about a lot, it has nothing on the term innovative. It fundamentally means an idea that is really coming of age and brings something new to the industry. Innovative ideas usually go along with disruptive ideas, meaning they cause a right stir and bring something new to the table. Innovative ideas tend to lead the way, but the word itself tends to be used incorrectly. Most products talk the talk, but do they walk the technical walk? The iPhone is innovative, so is Sky+ and the kindle (for e readers). Faux innovative products may use this term but have very little to back up these claims and tend to be in the shadow of their pioneering competitors.
Cookies:
Yum! Well, not really. You may notice on many websites you visit a message pops up either at the top or bottom of the page stating “we use cookies on this site” or something along those lines. Unlike the tasty biscuit, internet cookies are text files designed to track your “behaviour” on a website so they can learn your preferences and relevant information to make it much easier to scroll the site when you return at a later date.
Snackable Content:
Speaking of delicious Cookies, there is a lot of snackable content out there for us to chew on. Again, this is not literal (no matter how much I wish it was) so no Cookies and snacks for us. Snackable content is basically short, snippets of info that visitors or readers can ‘digest’ quickly. The idea is information is given in short bites for the reader’s convenience, leaving them hungry for more.
Gamification:
Gamification is all about positivity and giving positive outcomes for the user. Basically, it is providing games or interactive rewards within an app or site to give the user something to achieve. Think along the lines of point scoring, competition, leader boards and rules and guidelines and they often appear in gamification. It’s all about having more fun with the feature causing it to be entertaining as well as serving its purpose. Nike+ is a fitness app which allows users to reach their fitness goals and gives a sense of achievement by enabling users to share their results with friends and family who also use the app. In terms of motivation the app can be quite addictive. Starbucks also uses an app for their rewards system. Much like a loyalty card, the Starbucks app uses stars for every cup of coffee you buy. The more coffee you buy, the more stars fill your cup. Users can become determined to fill their cup with stars in order to receive their reward. These are just two examples of successful gamification.
Viral:
This is a phrase many of us will be familiar with. When something goes viral it means it’s taken the web by storm and is being viewed via video, shared between friends, tweeted, retweeted and blogged about. Successful viral ad campaigns have now gone one step further and it’s not just about having 1 million youtube hits. They provide hash tags (e.g. #viral) to get people talking about their business or services. This makes the item in question much more accessible and broadens the audience ten fold. Mobile Ntework Three’s Singing Kitty Campaign has knocked up over 5 million you tube views alone, making it a huge viral success.
Startup:
A Startup idea or business simply means new or in the beginning stages of development. Startup businesses tend to be independent and on a small scale and are fresh to the world. If you are looking at a product that is a startup product or comes from a
startup business then it will be relatively new to the game. This is not a bad thing, startup businesses may be the next big thing, just research the company through reviews and customer comments (via Twitter etc) to get an idea of them. I didn’t ask them though, because I knew once I got them started I’d never get them to shut up again. They have mentioned that you usually get a much more personal experience with a startup, and that by being such a small company they base everything they do around what their customers actually want. They really love talking to customers!
Wearables:
This simply means technology that can be worn. This is not as space age is it first may seem. Anything like fitness trackers, smart watches, wireless headphones and Google glass are all wearable technology. Wearable technology has a lot of buzz around it at the moment and right now, the Apple iWatch is rumoured to be under production. As the need for instant access to our music, photos, movies etc grows, so will the demand for wearable technology.
The world of the web is full of jargon and new buzzwords that can confuse all of us. It is important to get to grips with popular terms to keep on track with changing times. Being aware of buzzwords means you can be in the know when you are spending time shopping on the web. Being aware means you will know that the product, company or even the app is the right one for you and you will also see beyond any “loose” uses of the buzzwords. Is the product really innovative? Does the app suit your needs? Making use of the tech words will ensure you get the right product and avoid wasting your money on things that are not what they seem.
Do you know any other tech buzzwords and want to share the meaning? Please comment below or share via @SensibleReview or on our Facebook page.
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