Oxford English Dictionary pinpoints first usage of technology terms

Does your company have reams of data dating back decades? There might be someone interested in it today, if you can link it back to an individual's life. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has hit on a way of reminding users about a venerable brand, and of reframing archived data to make it current and relevant at the same time.

The company combed its archives to find out what words were added to the dictionary from the 1900s to 2004, and now offers a "birthday word generator" which tells you which words were added to the dictionary the year you were born, complete with explanations, a way to explore the first known usage of the word, and a button to share the discovery on Twitter.

Many of those words are technology-related. The OED says 'crowdsourcing', 'defriend' and 'geocaching' were added to the dictionary in the 2000s, while 'blog', 'auto-complete', 'cyber-cafe' and 'dotcom' were all born in the 1990s.

Those born in 2004, are as old as the OED birthday word 'podcast', the act of making '(a digital recording of a broadcast) available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or personal audio player.'

For 2003, the birthday word is 'flash mob', which refers to 'a large group of people organised by means of the Internet, or mobile phones or other wireless devices, who assemble in public to perform a prearranged action together and then quickly disperse'.

'Hacktivism' entered the dictionary as recently as 1998, describing 'the practice of gaining unauthorised access to computer files or networks in order to propagate a social or political message'.  
And, LOL, 1970 is when 'laugh-out-loud' was noted. The OED says the adjective means 'likely to cause one to laugh out loud; hilarious,' as the acronym still does today.

While the company could have easily updated the words all the way to 2013, it is interesting to note that the archive stops at 2004, maximising brand exposure as children who are too young are not likely to appreciate birthday words.

The birthday word generator can be explored here.