Sometimes trendy leaves something to be desired.
After the Oxford University Press named "selfie" it's Word of the Year, Dictionary.com—every English major's go-to site for four straight years—has named its word of 2013. The website's Word of the Year is something that resonates just a little more than "selfie," and is far more meaningful: privacy. After a year of NSA leaks, Google Glass, Snapchat sexts, and Facebook policy changes, "privacy," which means “the state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one’s private life and affairs," seems like fitting choice to be 2013's Word of the Year. In contrast, for 2012's Word of the Year, Dictionary.com chose "bluster," to help describe a prevalence of weather activity around the world. Though "bluster" isn't a word that had a lot of attention in 2012, it does muster up what was happening globally: disasters fueled by weather, one if which was Superstorm Sandy here in New York and New Jersey, which left thousands without food, heat, or power for months. "Privacy" is something that, thanks to the government and tech companies, affects everyone from you, me, to the Chancellor of Germany. In another angle, we saw celebrities flip out on photographers, as Kanye West did against one unlucky paparazzo.
With President Obama meeting with top tech leaders yesterday, we have a feeling "privacy" has a chance to go back-to-back in 2014.
Check out the site's privacy infographic here.
[via Dictionary.com]
