Gazetteer: Don't be a kitty blogger

Published on Sunday 5 July 2009 21:43

WHEN you're "wilfing" about the web, reading "kitty blogs" and "lifecasting", you have to be careful you don't publish something you shouldn't and find yourself the subject of a "doocing". Confused? Well, put down your "dead tree media" (aka the newspaper) and listen carefully. Glasgow-based social media firm Yomego has created a jargon-busting guide to webspeak to break through the language barrier that has sprung up online.

"Wilfing" about (to wander around the internet without looking for anything in particular) has become more common as people set up blogs (some of them deemed pointless – or "kitty blogs") and trawl the vast amount of "lifecasting" (giving regular updates on your life through sites such as Facebook and Twitter) on offer.

Other definitions include to be "dooced" (after Heather Armstrong – blog name Dooce – who was fired in 2002 for shouting her mouth off about her employer and losing her job) and chicklets, the small, often orange, buttons that link to web feeds such as RSS and Atom.

FACT OF THE DAY

83%

THE rise in sales of fishnet stockings as a result of the recession, according to department store chain Debenhams.

The firm claims couples are being forced into spending more time together as a result of redundancy, spurring them into impulse buys of sexy underwear. The firm reckons suspender sales have grown by 50 per cent, while garters are up 71 per cent and cleavage-boosting bras up 61 per cent. Satin, black, red and animal print garments are proving popular buys.

The store explains its theory behind the rise: "Increased redundancy levels are believed to be behind the trend, with 2.26 million people now out of work, the highest since 1996."

KILLER QUOTE

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we know it's not a train coming"

Andreas Goss, the chief executive of Siemens UK, and board member of the CBI, explains the outlook for UK economy is getting better

GOOD DAY

Borrowers

NORTHERN Rock has begun offering mortgages for the first time since it was nationalised in 2007. Only existing customers of the state-owned institution can borrow from the bank, which is preparing for a possible sale.

BAD DAY

Vasanta

THE office supply company is believed to be in last-ditch talks to stave off collapse and secure vital funding.

The firm, which employs around 1,400 staff, has been hit by the withdrawal of credit insurance to key suppliers.