From Hollywood to Tollywood, social networking is everywhere. Bipasha Basu is on Facebook, Rituparna Sengupta is on Orkut and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are on Twitter. Join in!

FACEBOOK

Wall (noun)

It is: The virtual page of your Facebook profile that friends scribble on.

It isn’t: A blank slate to be defiled by political graffiti — unless our local politicians have become tech savvy all of a sudden!

Wall (verb)

It is: The action of writing something on someone’s wall. For example: I walled you but you didn’t reply!

News Feed

It is: A list of updates about everyone, fed to your Facebook home page.

It isn’t: Breaking news about Rakhi Sawant’s swayamvar.

Mini-Feed

It is: A list of updates that appear in each person’s profile page. Each person’s Mini-Feed shows what has changed recently in their profile and what content (notes, photos, etc.) they’ve added.

It isn’t: The latest fad diet.

Applications

It is: Cool programs that eat up all your time on Facebook.

It isn’t: Application of brains.

Poke

It is: Exactly what it sounds like. A virtual prod — a way of saying that you are thinking about someone, or, “hey, why don’t you ever message me?”

It isn’t: Ouch!

Superpoke

It is: An application that takes the poke to the next level. So when someone neglects to respond to a message or poke, Superpoke allows you to throw sheep or fling a thong at him!

It isn’t: A superhero.

Likeness

It is: An application that shows how alike you and your friends are.

It isn’t: Like, you know, it’s not like… like, all I’m trying to say is like…

Like

It is: Clicking the “like” tab. Giving the thumbs up to a story without elaborating on it.

It isn’t: As complicated as boy likes girl.

Friend request

It is: A request to add you as a friend on FB.

It isn’t: Another way to get the pretty girl down the street to “make friendship” with you.

Status

It is: A way to share what’s on your mind.

It isn’t: About that new house and car you just bought (or sold!).

Home

It is: Your home page. It’s all you want everyone else to know about you.

It isn’t: The place where dad snoozes on the couch while mom cooks in the kitchen, and little Pappu pulls the dog’s tail.

Profile picture

It is: A representation of your online self.

It isn’t: Or shouldn’t be, an opportunity to pass yourself off as Hrithik Roshan/Kareena Kapoor. (Often it is.)

Hits

It is: The number of people who have visited your page.

It isn’t: A blow followed by a black eye.

Tag

It is: A label you add to a photo. You click on a photograph or note and select your friend’s name on a box that pops up. The action alerts them and others who use the “tag” application.

It isn’t: One of the most loved features on Facebook. Suddenly you’re tagged in a photograph with your ex and everyone’s seen it, including your current.

Others:

FB chameleon (someone who changes their profile pic every day); FB bomber (attacking your friend’s walls with requests and invites); overfacial (second by second update to one’s Facebook status).

ORKUT

Scrap (noun)

It is: A message left on the scrapbook of your Orkut profile.

It isn’t: Trash. Wait, maybe it is. It depends.

Scrap (verb)

It is: The action of sending a scrap. Eg. He scraps me everyday, I think he likes me!

Become a fan

It is: Showing your friends that you appreciate them by designating yourself as their fan. Find a person you’d like to be a fan of and click the star to the right of the person’s name. Currently, you can only be a fan of someone you’re friends with.

It isn’t: Being cool.

Testimonial

It is: What you think of your friend. To write a testimonial about someone, you need to be in that person’s network.

It isn’t: Always a tribute! Some friends reveal all the secrets you would want to keep secret.

Communities

It is: A group that shares a common interest, formed by Orkut users.

It isn’t: Racial profiling.

Birthday reminder

It is: Exactly what it sounds like!

Report abuse

It is: Reporting a breach of conduct by someone on Orkut.

It isn’t: A report card on bad language. There is plenty of that around.

Crush list/ hot list

It is: Adding a friend to your crush/ hot list to catch his attention. If you have a change of heart, the virtual action can be undone. We’re not too sure about the consequences in reality.

It isn’t: Foolproof. Someone could add you to your crush list just to see if he is on yours!

Icons

It is: Smiles, hearts and ice cubes. Smiles: Trusty. Hearts: Sexy. Ice Cubes: Cool.

It isn’t: Idolising.

MYSPACE

MySpace (adjective)

For example: I met a guy yesterday but we only said hi and talked for a second. Do you think we’re on MySpace terms yet?

Guestbook

The profile page where friends can sign in and leave comments.

Sign (noun)

It is: Leaving a message in the guestbook.

It isn’t: Anything to do with your zodiac or M. Night Shyamalan.

Moods

It is: Emoticons like smileys that depict the mood you are in.

It isn’t: A condom.

TWITTER

The language of Twitter, generated by adding prefixes, would comprise a Twittonary (dictionary, silly!) if we had to list all of them. Here are a few interesting ones we found online. [Caution: by the end of this, you will feel like Tweety Bird!]

Twitterspeak: The language of Twitter.

Tweeter/Twitterer: Someone who uses Twitter.

Tweets: Short text messages or quick frequent answers (like scraps).

Tweet-ing: The act of posting on Twitter.

Followers: Your friends who are on Twitter. They send you requests to “follow” you so they know what you are doing.

@[username]: A direct tweet sent to another Twitter user.

Nudge: A friendly note sent to a Twitter friend’s phone, reminding them to update your Twitter profile.

Auto-nudge: Scheduling a Twitter nudge because you may not always remember to twitter.

Twadd: To add someone as a follower.

Twaffic: Twitter traffic.

Tweetheart: That special tweeter who makes your heart flutter.

Tweepish: Feeling sheepish or regretful about something you tweeted.

Twexting: Someone who likes to tweet via text.

Twebay: To sell something on Twitter.

Twitterati: The A-list Twitterers everyone follows!

Twitterlooing: Twittering from the bathroom.

Dweet: Tweet sent while drunk!

MisTweet: A tweet one later regrets!

Sweeple: Sweet Twitter people.

Karo Christine Kumar
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