Sunday, June 05, 2005

The Starbucks Effect: Blogging Language

Do you remember your first time ordering at a Starbucks Coffee? The language of ordering a coffee seemed foreign to me - "Tall extra whip non-fat mocha caramel mocha," or " was that a grande or venti - or perhaps no whip but extra shot and iced..." These terms changed the world of ordering a basic cup of coffee. I felt the same anxiety after looking at the words Mobs, Moblogs, MoSoSo, Vlogs, SMS, RSS, MSM. Wow, I never knew there were so many words that related to blogs. I quickly went through each word and dissected its meaning and soon started to feel familiar with the overall word usage. However, I often wonder how many people know the meaning of these words and how long it will take the general public to feel comfortable using them in a daily conversation. In Starbucks case, I believe it took a little while before Saturday Night Live started incorporating their coffee language into their funny skits. By incorporating the coffee language into the skits it grew public attention - it also doesn't hurt that there is a Starbucks on every street corner. But for blogs, where they are located in the deep internet highway and not as visible to the general public, I think it is going to take a much longer time for the average person to understand blogging language and its usefulness.

What do you think? Will a MoSoSo and Vlogs and RSS become words in everyday conversations such as those of Starbuck drinkers?