vividcontext.com

You may hear somr new terms being used in marketing meetings these days and not know what they mean. Here is a list I have compiled from various sources that I have been refining over time.

Aggregator: A type of client software that uses a web feed to retrieve syndicated web content that is supplied in the form of a feed and that is published by weblogs, podcasts, vlogs and the major mass media sites.

AJAX: (Asynchronous Java Script and XML) increases a Web page’s interactivity, speed and usability by loading small amounts of data in the background. When a user clicks a button, the functionality and responsiveness seems to be lightning fast because the data is already loaded, which improves the user experience.

Atom: An evolving protocol for syndication and sharing of content; being developed as a successor to RSS and includes support for digital signatures, geographic location of author, possibly security/encryption, licensing etc.

BBS: Bulletin Board System; also referred to as message boards, discussion forums and online forums; an electronic message center.

Blog (weblogs): A digital diary; authors create dated journal entries which can be commented on by other authors.

Blogosphere (also blogsphere): A collective term encompassing all weblogs or blogs as a community or social network. Many weblogs are densely interconnected; bloggers read others’ blogs, link to them, reference them in their own writing, and post comments on each others’ blogs. Since a blog is also a web site; the term “site” and “blog” can sometimes be used interchangeably.

Boards: Also known as discussion sites or message boards; micro-communities where people can interact with one another online. Users join these communities to do research and ask/provide advice.

Citizen journalist: Citizen journalism, also known as “participatory journalism,” refers to citizens (as contrasted with media professionals such as journalists or broadcasters) who play an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating information.

Clouds: A web service that notifies an aggregator of updates to a feed, eliminating the need for periodic pulling.

Communities: Online destinations that users go to for news and information. Generally, online communities are formed around a common topic or interest.

Constituencies: Groups with common interests such as employees, investors, customers, partners.

Consumer-generated content or media: Online content created and shared by consumers such as in blogs, boards or communities. Also known as user-generated media.

Digital channels: Online avenues for communications such as blogs, aggregators, e-communities.

Digital media relations: Outreach to the blogosphere, news sites and communities. Significantly different from traditional media relations in style and tone - less formal, to the point and authentic.

Digital vision: A long-term strategy for a comprehensive online presence.

Directory: Unlike search engines, directories are produced by hand, with people filtering and classifying resources and, in some cases, annotating and rating them. DMOZ, Yahoo and Looksmart are the most important Internet directories.

Dynamic web sites: Database-backed sites with dynamically generated content that changes based on user inputs or behavior - as opposed to static websites.

Enterprise-generated content or media: Online content created by organizations to engage targeted audiences and build relationships and communities with them. Examples include a micro-site to establish industry thought leadership, a podcast series to explain a new suite of services or a white paper to express a point of view on an industry development.

Influencers: Opinion leaders who extend their viewpoints through multiple online channels; trendsetters.

Interactive services: Includes blogs, vlogs, podcasts, videocasts, webcasts, micro-sites, wikis, viral marketing, webisodes, and other interactive vehicles that engage people.

Links: Connections between sites; inbound and outbound links determine influence ranking.

Listserv: Listservs send Internet email to users who sign up for it; they are managed by software that resides on a server. Though users subscribing to a listserv may well engage in communication amongst themselves, listserv is a one-way (push) communication mechanism.

Mainstream media: Traditional media (TV, newspapers, radio) that reaches a wide audience - e.g., The New York Times, Newsweek, CBS, National Public Radio.

Mash-up: A web site or application that combines content from more than one source.

Metadata: Information about data.

Micro-site: A web site developed with a particular focus for a specific target audience.

Natural /organic search: Where a site comes up in a search results page - not paid.

News groups: User-submitted notes on various subjects; each subject is a newsgroup.

News reader: Brings together the latest postings in a single place.

Open source software: Publicly available software that may be able to be copied or modified without license or payment.

P2P file sharing: P2P = peer-to-peer; sharing media files over a network powered by users who act as both client and server.

Paid media: The sponsor pays for the media placement and therefore controls the messaging and when and where it is placed. Examples include advertising, sponsorships, and events.

Paid search: Sponsored links on search engine pages.

Podcast: Online audio that users can download to a device.

Reputation aggregator: A site that provides rankings of content/sites. People use these sites to decide what content they want or need. Reputation aggregators are a key - perhaps the key - gateway for all users to online content. The way in which the ranking is done varies very widely.

Rich media content: Content that incorporates video, audio or animation to engage an audience. Rich media demands high-speed broadband network connections.

RSS: Really Simple Syndication lets users collect and read content feeds. In the typical scenario of web feeds, a content provider puts a feed link on their site which end users can register with an aggregator program running on their own machines; when instructed, the aggregator asks all the servers in its feed list if they have new content; if so, the aggregator either makes a note of the new content or downloads it.

Search engine: A service that finds web content based on user-specified criteria. Examples include Google, MSN, Yahoo or Ask.com. Search engines are also known as reputation aggregators because the results they produce direct users to other web sites. Many organizations work with search engine optimization (SEO) firms to ensure that links to their web sites appear higher up in the search results - increasing the likelihood that users will click on them and go to their sites.

Smart email: An e-newsletter.

SMS: Short Message Service; a service available on most digital phones and other mobile devices that permits the sending of short (text) messages between devices.

Social media: Blogs, communities, wikis, podcasts, forums, etc.

Social network: Member-based communities that enable users to link to one another based on common interests and through invites.

Spheres of influence: A Digital Influence Group term used to describe four major groups of social media that influence public opinion: 1) blogs and online news sites;
2) reputation aggregators (e.g., Google, Yahoo, MSN);
3) e-communities (e.g., ITtoolbox, iVillage);
4) social networks (e.g., Tickle, LinkedIn).

Syndicated web content: Making web feeds available from a site (usually via RSS) in order to provide other people an updated list of content from it.

Tagging: Metadata assigned to items like photos or web pages to facilitate searching and sharing.

TrackBack: A mechanism for communication between blogs; if a blogger writes a new entry commenting on, or referring to, an entry found at another blog, and both blogging tools support the TrackBack protocol, then the commenting blogger can notify the other blog with a “TrackBack ping”; the receiving blog will typically display summaries of, and links to, all the commenting entries below the original entry. This allows for conversations spanning several blogs that readers can easily follow.

Unpaid media: The author does not pay for content creation and placement. Examples include blogs, communities, social networks.

Usenets: Also known as news groups, are user-submitted notes on various subjects. Each subject is a newsgroup. Like boards, they are highly interactive.

Videocast: Online video that users can download to a device.

Viral: Can be used as a noun or adjective. As a noun, content that “catches on” via word of mouth (online and/or offline). Entertains, engages, or entices users such that they want to (and do) share it with others.

Vlog or video blog: A blog which uses video as the primary content.

Web 2.0: The 2nd generation of web services that lets people share information and collaborate online.

Webcast: Uses streaming media technology to take a single content source and distribute it to many simultaneous listeners/viewers - often used for investor relations presentations and e-learning.

Webinar: A seminar conducted over the web; web conferencing; unlike a webcast, a webinar is designed to be interactive.

Webisode: Short film (often in installments) or cartoons used to promote offline events or products.

Wiki: Shared publishing software or site that allows users to edit content. Wikis are increasingly used for collaborative projects.

XML: Extensible Markup Language provides a rich system for sharing complex data structures and documents across multiple platforms.