This document provides definitions for 25 common internet terms and acronyms. It explains terms like clickbait, which refers to web content aimed at generating advertising revenue through sensational headlines, as well as cookies, which are small pieces of data saved by browsers to remember user information. It also defines crowdfunding as soliciting donations online from users to support projects, and digital footprint as the trails of information people leave online through their activities and uploads. Finally, it briefly outlines other terms including emoticons, favicons, hashtags, and metadata.

1. 4
25 Internet Terms YSK
That Means “You Should Know,” BTW.
By Katrina Dibbini- ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR
You have Facebook. You tweet.
You understand the general premise
of “going viral.” You feel confident
that you, as a member of Generation
Y, can be called upon to debug your
family PC with ease. But are you
confident in your ability to litigate in
the rapidly growing world of Internet-
related legal issues? Whether you find
yourself working for a technology-
driven company or not, these are
some popular Internet slang terms and
acronyms you need to know.
1. Clickbait: (n.) Web content
that is aimed at generating online
advertising revenue, especially at
the expense of quality or accuracy,
relying on sensationalist headlines
to attract click-throughs and to
encourage sharing of the material
via social networks. Clickbait
headlines typically aim to exploit
the “curiosity gap”, providing just
enough information to make the
reader curious, but not enough to
satisfy their curiosity without clicking
through to the linked content. For an
example, see any Upworthy post from
the past year. “What happened next
will amaze you.”
2. Cookie: (n.) A cookie is a
small amount of data generated by
a website and saved by your web
browser. Its purpose is to remember
information about you. You know
when you click “Remember me on
this computer” and it stores your login
info? That’s the cookies. And while
the option of saving one’s preferences
is a big time saver, you should
periodically delete your cookies
(especially on a shared computer).
#justsaying.
3. Crowdfunding: (n.)(v.)
The act of soliciting donations or
investments from online users who
collectively raise money to support a
cause or to underwrite a project. Ever
heard of Kickstarter? There ya go.
4. Digital Footprint: (n.) The
trails, traces or “footprints” that people
leave online. This is information
transmitted online, such as forum
registration, e-mails and attachments,
uploading videos or digital images
and any other form of transmission
of information — all of which leaves
traces of personal information about
yourself available to others online.
Translation: don’t search stuff at work
that you don’t want your bosses to
see.
5. Emoticon: (n.) A contraction
of the words “emotion” and “icon;”
a group of keyboard characters
such as :-) that typically represents
a facial expression or suggests an
attitude or emotion, used especially in
computerized communications.
6. Favicon: (n.)Acontraction of
the words “favorite” and “icon.” Also
known as a shortcut icon, website
icon, tab icon or bookmark icon, this
is a file containing a small icon, most
commonly 16×16 pixels, associated
with a particular website or web page.
Browsers that provide favicon support
typically display a page’s favicon in
the browser’s address bar (sometimes
in the history as well) and next to the
page’s name in a list of bookmarks. In
lay terms, you know when you type
a website into the address bar and a
little icon appears? That’s a favicon.
7. Handle: (n.) One’s online
alias or nickname, usually pertaining
to social media platforms such as
Twitter and Instagram.
8. IRL: “In Real Life.” See also
“real life,” as life sans Internet is now
unfamiliar.
9. Geotagging: (n.)(v.) The
process of adding location-based
metadata to media such as photos,
video or online maps. Geotagging
can help users find a wide variety
of businesses and services based on
location. It can also help users track
the social happenings of ex’s. See also
“metadata.”
10. GIF: (n.) Cue the on-going
debate pertaining to the pronunciation
of the term “GIF.” Many pronounce
GIF with a hard “g;” many with a soft
“g.” While both are acceptable, the
original creators of the format, Bob
Berry & Steve Wilhite, claim the soft
“g” sound is correct (think “Jiff,” like
the peanut butter brand). GIF stands
for “Graphic Interchange Format,”
and is defined as an image that is
compressed using a lossless data
compressiontechnique,whichreduces
the file size without degrading the
visual quality. The format is actually
so old that all of the relevant patents
have now expired. The moving image
that is called to mind upon hearing
this term is more accurately termed as
an “animated GIF.”
11. Lifecasting: (n.)(v.) An
around-the-clock broadcast of events
in a person’s life, typically transmitted
over the Internet. So basically what
reality television would be were it not
scripted.
12. Listicle: (n.) A contraction
of the words “list” and “article.” An
article structured in the form of a
list, typically having some additional
content relating to each item. You are
currently reading one.
13. Meme: (n.) More accurately
referred to as an “Internet meme,” this
is an activity, concept, catchphrase
or piece of media that spreads, often
as mimicry, from person to person
via the Internet. See meme of the
Notorious RBG, inset.
14. Metadata: (n.) Metadata
refers to information — including
titles, descriptions, tags and captions
— that describes a media item such
as a video, photo or blog post. Some
kinds of metadata — for example,
camera settings such as exposure,
aperture, focal length and ISO speed
— can be captured automatically
from the device without needing a
human to enter the data. THIS IS
TERRIFYING YOU GUYS. Need
an illustration of just how scary
metadata is? Check out the site “I
Know Where Your Cat Lives” (www.
iknowwhereyourcatlives.com), which
proves further that, not only do cats
rule the Internet, but that we are each
exposing ourselves and compromising
our privacy way more than we realize
thanks to our smartphones.
15. NSFW: Stands for “Not Safe
For Work.” A courtesy warning to
view the respective post or article at
home due to inappropriate content,
and also a gentle reminder that you
should probably be doing your job.
16. P2P: Stands for “Peer-to-
Peer,” as in peer-to-peer network. In
its simplest form, a P2P is created
when two or more PCs are connected
and share resources without going
through a separate server computer.
Think music sharing sites (both past
and present. RIP Napster). This is
especially relevant in the copyright
law world.
17. PM: (n.)(v.) Stands for
“Private Message,” as in “PM me
instead of posting your response in
the comment box for the whole world
to see. Thanks.”
18. Phishing: (n.) The act of
trying to obtain financial or other
confidential information from Internet
users, typically by sending an email
that looks as if it is from a legitimate
organization, but contains a link to a
fake website that replicates the real
one.
19. RSS: (n.) Stands for “Really
Simple Syndication.” Also called
web feeds, RSS is a Web standard
for the delivery of content such as
blog entries, news stories, headlines,
images, video, enabling readers to
stay current with favorite publications
or producers without having to browse
from site to site. All blogs, podcasts
and videoblogs contain an RSS feed,
which lets users subscribe to content
automatically and read or listen to the
material on a computer or a portable
device. Most people use an RSS
reader, or news aggregator, to monitor
updates.
20. Scraping: (v.) More
accurately referred to as “content
scraping,” this is the duplication of
website content either manually (by
copying and pasting), or through
running a site scraper program that
picks up the content. Scraping is
usually illegal, as the act involves
stealing original content from a
legitimate website and posting the
stolen content to another site without
the knowledge or permission of the
content’s owner.
21. Spider: (n.) A software
program that travels the Web, locating
and indexing websites for search
engines.Also known as Web crawlers,
these programs constantly browse the
Web, traveling from one hyperlink to
another. All the major search engines
use spiders to constantly build and
update their indexes.
22. TBH: Stands for “To
Be Honest,” as in “I don’t really
remember much from Semi-Formal,
TBH.”
23. Troll: (n.) Someone who
posts controversial, inflammatory,
irrelevant or off-topic messages in an
online community, such as an online
discussion forum, with the primary
intent of provoking other users into
an emotional response or to generally
disrupt normal on-topic discussion.
24. UGC: (n.) Stands for “User-
Generated Content.” Refers to all
forms of user-created materials such
as blog posts, reviews, podcasts,
videos, comments and more. This is
especially relevant for ISP’s (Internet
Service Providers) in the context of
Free Speech and third-party liability
in defamation suits.
25. Vaguebooking: (v.) An
intentionally vague or one-worded
status update, alluding to something
else. This could be an inside joke, or
anything meant for only a few people.
More realistically, it’s a solicitation
for attention. Examples include
“pointless,” “frustrated,” and “I give
up.”
“A democratic civilization will save itself only if it makes the language of the image into a stimulus for critical reflection —
not an invitation for hypnosis.” - Umberto Eco