A change of heart

The Oxford English Dictionary now includes the ♥  symbol, the first graphical symbol to signify a word in the dictionary's 127 year history.

Image via The Hype Machine


'The new sense added to heart v. in this update may be the first English usage to develop via the medium of T-shirts and bumper-stickers [...] From these beginnings, heart v. has gone on to live an existence in more traditional genres of literature as a colloquial synonym for ‘to love’.'
Via OED


This got me thinking about other symbols that could be added to the OED in the next update:

Like

Dislike

The presentation is backed up, right?

More than coffee

Zion

Via Daily Telegraph and The Oxford English Dictionary



Feel free to drop me a line, words, symbols and puns accepted.


Vashti

Maybe he's born with it

Maybe it's moisturizer

Ever wondered how Latino men smoulder? Is there a class at school that everyone else sadly misses? Is there a special guidebook that no one else can get hold of? That we may never know but we're one step closer in understanding Latino looks with the results of a new survey, the aptly named 'Why Latinos Look So Good' by Univision. 


According to the study, Latino men in the US use non-essential items more (often double) than other ethnic groups, such as hair styling products, moisturizers and fragrance. On average, Latino men spend $8 more per month on non-essential grooming items than men of other ethnic groups. 


So there you go, the difference between looking passable/alright and looking so good someone writes a study on how good you look is a mere $8 a month. Doesn't seem like a bad deal. 


Contact concierge
Have you ever arrived at a meeting and realised you know nothing about the person you're meeting up with? Have you sometimes even forgotten his or her name and why you're meeting up? If you recognise this sinking feeling you're not alone. Happily Noteleaf, an information aggregator for Google's Gmail and Calendar has launched a new feature designed for just this scenario.

Via Noteleaf

Noteleaf now sends a text message to the user with a link to relevant contact information 10 or 15 minutes before your meeting.  This included their photo, information from LinkedIn and your most recent email correspondence. Phew!
Via Noteleaf

I imagine Noteleaf and similar services will gain popularity as even if you have done your homework, you've probably done other things in-between doing that and your meeting. For example, you may have thought about what you'd like for lunch and your deadline later and whether denim on denim is ever really a good look and if so could you pull it off and before you know it  you're sitting in a reception racking your brains for who you're meeting and why.


I imagine that some people might test whether you have gained all their personal information through LinkedIn or whether you have genuinely done your research. In a similar way to the secret question when you sign up for bank accounts or email addresses, once people become savvy to these services they may ask a question that only a true fan could answer. 


I'm sure there is a way around that too as a service could give you all of the official information, as Noteleaf does, and then some serendipitous information about their work or lifestyle that requires a greater level of commitment to find, similar to StumbleUpon but for a person.


Via Venture Beat

See you soon,

Vashti

Sign of the Times

iPad platform

A new app called Hollergram by Made By Many turns your iPad into a billboard with which to express your views. This 'physical messaging platform' means you can type in your thoughts and present them to anyone nearby on the screen. 

Image via iTunes

Via Creativity Online

This means that you can use your iPad to apply the same grading and commenting systems used on Facebook to real life situations. As you know, you can already do this in your head by disliking or liking a situation or making a verbal comment to this effect.

However, I think Hollergram is different to these because it is designed to be work simultaneously as a physical and a virtual messaging system. As the iTunes description states:

'Holler Gram turns your iPad into a physical messaging platform – a glowing sign – that you can load with a message and hold up to show the people around you. At the same time, you can also tweet your message, with a hashtag, right from within the app'.

Via iTunes

So Holler Gram is designed to function concurrently as a tool to make real world and digital world statements. It's like a real world tweet but everyone can see it, not just people you're friends with online. 

Via Made By Many

I like the idea of combining the sign and the status update/tweet, you get the best of both worlds in terms of the instant visual impact of a sign on the people around you and also the legacy of a digital statement, which can be easily passed on and which will leave a digital footprint. 

I'll keep an eye out for other examples of communication that is simultaneously visual and virtual, I'd love to know your thoughts. 

See you soon,

Vashti 

Show and Tell

Talking pictures
A new Android  app called Thrutu lets the user share images, video, location and contacts with the person on the end of the line without hanging up.

Via YouTube and VentureBeat

Available for free Android Market, Thrutu has 5 buttons that mean during a call you can take and send a photo, send one from your gallery, find each other on a map, share your contacts and prod the other person's phone to make it shake. 

The last one is probably quite effective if you're angry but can't shout because you're in the library or at church or something like that, instead you could make the other person's phone embody your rage.

Via Android Market

I have been thinking about multifunctional devices overtaking monofunctional devices recently and Thrutu, as an app that increases what you can do during a call, seems to be evidence of this shift. The device that can only do one thing such as the traditional alarm clock is on its way out as technology is developed that can perform an increasing number of tasks. 

This could also apply to ereaders in comparison to paperbacks. The draw of ereaders is that you can chose and change the content they contain whereas the content of a paperback is permanent. 

I find this a bit of a shame as monofunctional devices such as toasters, torches and alarm clocks have a certain charm to them. They have one definite purpose and were built to do it well, they have a fixed function and a fixed place in daily life.

Monofunctional devices know their place

Via StraightShooters

For example, I will only use a toaster in the morning to make toast. I will not think about the toaster at any other time of day or associate it with anything other than making toast.

Let's pretend this is my phone

Via TechDigest 

I will use my phone throughout the day for lots of different reasons for lots of different things, such as texting, making videos, making very important calls, accessing maps, playing games and so on. I do not associate  it with one single task or moment in the day, it is something I use all the time. 

I am interested in whether both objects as well as devices that aren't multifunctional will eventually become redundant. I would also like to see how Thrutu impacts on mobile behaviour and whether other apps will follow where it leads.

Let me know what you think.

Vashti