Southport Magazine

Keep up with the times and the language

STORY BY AMI BROWN

As technology moves forward at an ever quickening pace, you have to be right in there, not missing a step  to keep up with not only the technology but how to communicate and understand the latest terminology.  I thought it might be appropriate to help out some of our older readers with some easy explanations of now common techie words and terminology that quite frankly were not even in existence 5 years ago and are now commonplace.  And you are never to old to learn new things!

While I am not an expert by any means, I am pretty computer savvy and can navigate most tech devices today. Here are some very basic terms everyone needs to know naed understand today: Hardware – The parts of a computer you can touch Periphrial Device – A hardware device that is connected to a computer usually by a cable. (Speakers, monitor, etc) Software – The programs that run on a computer and tell the computer what to do. APP – an application, or program within a platform, usually on a mobile device like a smart phone or tablet. Hard drive – The part of a computer where large amounts of permanent information are stored. RAM (Random Access Memory) – It determines the number of programs you can run at once and how fast they will operate Processor or CPU (central processing unit)- It processes instructions, performs calculations, and does what the software programs tell it to do. Motherboard – The main circuit board inside a computer, which contains the RAM, expansion slots, other electronic companies. Sound board – A special card that lets
you use speakers or a microphone with your computer Video card – An expansion card that allows images to be displayed on your screen Virtual memory – way of borrowing memory from the hard drive to increase the amount of RAM Power Supply – A device that supplies power to the internal components of a computer. Flash drive – A USB device for mobile storage purpose. Operating system – The program that manages all the other programs in a computer Bandwidth – A measure of how much information a network can carry Internet browser – A software program that interrupts HTML code and allows people to access the internet. SEO – (Search Engine Optimization) Placing key words on a website so that search engines like Google can find them and send them to the top of the list. If you own a business, then you need to know this is crucial to be found by internet users. Tablet – usually a small touch screen device, made for browsing the internet. Here are some social media terms you need to catch up on: Bio: Short description of who you are.
Not used on Snapchat, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Blogs – A blog is a web content publishing platform that allows a user to post content, commentaries, news or views. Comment: A reaction or response to a user’s post that shows up beneath the post. Follow: The act of subscribing to another user’s updates or adding another user as a friend or connection on the platform. When you follow a user, everything they post will show up on your newsfeed. Follower: Users who subscribe to your posts on social media platforms. Synonymous with Facebook friends, Snapchat friends, and LinkedIn connections. GIF – Acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, which refers to a file format that supports both static and animated images. Only certain social networks support gifs – check out giphy.com to find gifs to share on social media, they’re usually funny. Handle: Your username on a platform, often preceded by “@”. Handles are not used on Snapchat or LinkedIn.
Hashtag (#): A word or phrase (without spaces) preceded by a hash or pound sign to identify a keyword or topic and make it easy to track and locate. Hashtags are most commonly used on Instagram and Twitter; sometimes used on Facebook; not used on Snapchat or LinkedIn. Like: A virtual thumbs up to show a user you liked their post. Not used on Snapchat. Live Streaming – Live broadcasting through social media. Mention (@): The act of tagging another user by placing the @ sign before their username. Mentions are not used on Snapchat. Newsfeed: The “homepage” of the social media platform you’re looking at, and typically the first page you’re directed to. Newsfeeds show a stream of information on social media that your friends or people you follow have posted like links to websites, news, pictures, and videos. Post: Content consisting of links, text, photos, or videos that users put on their profile or news feed (depending on the platform) as a way of providing updates in real time. Profile: Personal information on a social media channel. Other users can view your content and personal information to get a better idea of who you are and what you do. Reply: Similar to a mention, the act of responding to another user’s comment or mention by preceding their username with the @ symbol. This directly notifies them that you are responding to one of their comments. Tag: Links another user to a post or tweet by using the @ sign before their username. Learn how to tag someone on Twitter and Facebook. Troll – A word that is used to describe someone who deliberately tries to offend others on social media, often posting abusive message to a particular individual or group in order to get a reaction (basically a complete loser). Trend/trending: Popular topic based on how many users have posted a topic with a specific hashtag. Username: Your handle on social media accounts such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. How other users can search for you, mention you, or reply to you. Viral Marketing – A marketing technique where information is passed electronically from one internet user to another leading to wide coverage and high interest levels. Vlogger – Someone who creates and broadcasts video blogs. Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past 7 or so years, you know what Facebook is. Here are some specific terms that apply to Facebook: Chat: Communication between users in the messenger window. Facebook Event: Gives the time, location, date, and details of an event a business is holding or participating in. Companies can invite their fans to the Facebook Live: Allows users to post live videos of whatever they’re doing at any given moment. (Live stream) Fans: Facebook users who have “liked” your Facebook page. Share: Taking content from another user and posting it to your news feed for all of your followers to see.
Status Update: Any content that you post, and can include text and media. Timeline: A user’s feed of their posts that is found on their profile. Ther are a few other Social Media platforms (or internet hubs) that you also should know: Instagram – Instagram is the most visual platform available to social media users. Its users can post photos and short videos to their followers.
“WOW, I can do that?!” – 84 year old Ron Pautz
LinkedIn is the social media network for professionals, giving users a profile that serves as an online resume. On LinkedIn, users can connect with work colleagues or other users interested in the same industry. Skype – A voice and video app where you can chat or video chat to someone else, anywhere you have internet. Skype can be used on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Snapchat is a social media platform, that is rapidly growing in popularity, especially among business owners. Twitter- Users typically use Twitter to post links, media or short messages that are up to 140 characters in length. Retweet (RT): When a user re-shares your message with their followers on Twitter. Tweet: A message consisting of up to 140 characters and can include other visual media Periscope – A live video streaming mobile app. Pinterest – A photo sharing site where users create themed image collections around events, interests or pastimes. Users can browse pinboards, add or “re-pin” images to their own pinboards, or “like” photos. Reddit – A popular entertainment, social news and social networking website. Content is submitted or shared by users then voted on by other visitors.
Tumblr – A popular microblogging platform used to broadcast messages. Vimeo – Similar to YouTube, Vimeo is a platform for storing, sharing and uploading video content. Whatsapp – A free to download messenger app for smartphones. WhatsApp uses the internet to send messages, images, audio or video. You can use it like a phone anywhere in the world. I use it to call overseas… free. YouTube – Google owned YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. It is a good platform for placing how to guides, testimonials and information about your products and services. Are you overwhelmed yet? And I haven’t even touched on Text Abbreviations! Here are just a few essential ones you need to know: IDK – Idon’t know. LOL – Laugh Out Loud ROFL – Roll on the Floor Laughing BRB – Be Right Back ISO – In Search Of <3 – It’s a heart on it’s side (love) 🙂 Smiley face ; -) Winking Smiley Face If you really want to take advantage of what new technology can do for you.. there are in home systems that can connect your lights, your TV, your heat/air, almost anything electronic. And from your phone, you can control them. Just imagine.. you can’t remember if you turned of your coffee pot, well, now you can check your phone, instead of running back home. You can open your garage doors, turn on your alarm, you can turn on and off lights when you are out of town – so it looks like someone is home. And for the aging population, this can be a real god send. When I had a chat to 84 year old Ron Pautz of Southport, I realized how important this new technology can be. He recently lost his wife, had a stroke, is losing his eyesight and hearing. He had a hard time just getting out of bed and thought this is it, his quality of life was practically NIL. His son, Jeff, stepped in and introduced him to some pretty amazing technology. Now he is able to use his smart phone – using voice to text. He is able to control his TV, lights and appliance with his tablet. He can just speak into the air and Amazon’s Echo responds, answering his questions. (Alexa is another wireless option). He now has a new lease on life, he’s more independent and he loves to learn. “There are no words to explain how wonderful it feels.” He says. (As I tear up at his sincerity) This project has now turned into a business for Paul, and he wants to help other people become more independent by utilizing technology. He started Easy Tech 8 Consulting, and is setting up shop in Southport. He comes from an IT background and he says this is something that the aging community can really benefit from. More than anything Paul wants to do something meaningful. You can contact Paul at www.easytech8consulting.com or call the old fashioned way (910) 386-1285.