The Devil’s Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. - Abrose Bierce, Author’s Preface

In the century since Ambrose Bierce came out with his humorous dictionary, a number of new terms and phrases have entered the English lexicon.  No doubt the cynic would have tried his hand at some of them as well, but as he is no longer available, I have taken a shot at it.

Here are a trio of other definitions that might be useful.

Framing: frame, v.

The act of displaying information in order to achieve a desired effect.  Amid the artistic fraternity this is effect is aesthetic, amid the criminal fraternity it is a deceptive effect (placing blame where none should exist).

In the contemporary context, framing can refer to any use of words, symbols, and context to evoke culturally ingrained roles in the hopes of making an audience more (or less) likely to associate certain words and concepts with your message.

Framing can be as simple as using the term “H1N1″ instead of “Swine Flu” so that consumers will not associate illness with the pork industry.

Meme: meme, n.

An unproven, indivisible unit of cultural transmission.

Also, any image, phrase, soundbite, or creative product that reflects one of the central elements of an ongoing cultural trend which can be rolled back into and further drawn upon by other followers of the cultural trend.

An interactive fad.

Participating in a meme can bring your contribution to the eyes of thousands, but renders it malleable to the whims of ten times as many.

Social Media: social media, n. pl.

A phrase coined in response to the mistaken belief that previous generations did not consider communication to be a social endeavor.

Refers to any mode of communication which allows for any individual within a tight knit group of 100,000 or more to simultaneously disseminate information to and receive information from every other of the group.

It may also be used by smaller populations within this group so that they may have private conversations that may be witnessed by anyone else within the community.

Considered to be a modern product of the internet, with a prototype in the human voice.

Help Build the Devil’s Dictionary ver. 2.o

One of the defining characteristic of Web 2.0 is the ability of observers to double as participants (Franz Boas would be proud).  Lend your wit to this endeavor and provide us with a clever definition for one of the terms you have encountered in the online marketplace.