"404" most popular word of 2013; "Toxic Politics" the Top Phrase, and "Pope Francis" the Top Name of 2013

November 13, 2013

“404” most popular word of 2013

An annual survey by ‘Global Language Monitor’ for the English-speaking world’s “top words” has seen “404” as the most popular word of year 2013.

What is “404”?

404-image ‘404’ or Not Found error message is the the near-universal numeric code for failure on the global Internet.
An HTTP standard response code
Indicates that the client was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested.
Web site hosting server will typically generate a “404 Not Found” web page when a user attempts to follow a broken or dead link
One of the most recognizable errors users can find on the web
Don’t confuse a 404 error with “server not found” or similar errors, in which a connection to the destination server could not be made at all.

What is the difference between a “404” error and a “Server not found” error?

A 404 error indicates that the requested resource may be available again in the future. But it doesn’t guarantee the same content.

What was the Methodology adopted by the ‘Global Language Monitor’ (GLM)?

GLM employs NarrativeTracker technologies for global Internet and social media analysis. The NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 275,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

The Top Words of 2013

Rank / Word / Comments

404 – The near-universal numeric code for failure on the global Internet.
Fail — The single word fail, often used as a complete sentence (Fail!) to signify failure of an effort, project, or endeavor.
Hashtag – The ‘number sign” and ‘pound sign’ reborn as the all-powerful Twitter hashtag.
@Pontifex — The Hashage of the ever-more popular Pope Franciscus (Francis).
The Optic — The ‘optic’ is threatening to overtake ‘the narrative’ as the Narrative overtook rational discourse. Does not bode well for an informed political discussion.
Surveillance — The revelation of the unprecedented extent of spying by the NSA into lives of ordinary citizens to the leaders of the closest allies of the US.
Drones – Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that are piloted remotely or by on-board computers used for killing scores or even hundreds of those considered enemy combatants of the US.
Deficit — Looks like deficit-spending will plague Western democracies for at least the next decade. Note to economists of all stripes: reducing the rate of increase of deficit spending still increases the deficit.
Sequestration – Middle English sequestren, from Old French, from Latin sequestrare, to hide away or isolate or to give up for safekeeping.
Emancipate — Grows in importance as worldwide more women and children are enslaved in various forms of involuntary servitude.
Filibuster — Extended debate in a legislative body to delay or prevent a vote on the matter. Originally used to describe Caribbean pirates (freebooters) from the Spanish, filibustero, and French, flibustier.
Nano — Nano-technology, nano-machines, nano-weapons, some too horrible to contemplate (see Bill Joy’s self-replicating nanobots resulting in a world of ’grey goo’.)
Twerking – A dance mimicking various sexual postures and acts made famous by Miley Cyrus..
Deadlock — A generation ago it was called Checks and Balances, to the founders it was a delicate balancing of powers.
Franken- — Top trending prefix on the list. Expanded in meaning to include any human-instigated activity that inadvertently spins out of control (see nano-).
Meme – Internet Memes can best be conceived as Internet thoughts or ideas that are propagated through all varieties of electronic communications.
Stalemate — Failure of all sides to reach a settlement or agreement. Example: lack of a cease fire in the Syrian Civil War (100,000+ deaths and 1,000,000+ refugees).
The Cloud — Where your data lands after you press <enter> (not to be mistaken for a play by Aristophanes).
Phony — One of President Obama’s favorite criticisms of his opponents, synonymous with bogus, spurious, sham, and fake.
Comet — A ’long-haired’ celestial object. The late ’13 comet was predicted as the brightest in a thousand years (Fail.)

The Top Phrases of 2013

Rank / Phrase / Comment

Toxic Politics — American-style scorch-and-burn political campaigns becoming the norm for democracies worldwide.
Federal Shutdown — To the Founders it was a delicate balancing of powers. A generation ago it was called Checks and Balances, Today we call it Federal Shutdown.
Global Warming/Climate Change – Add ‘anthropogenic’ warming to this fact: the existence of the Bering Land Bridge 20,000 years ago suggests that the Oceans were some 100 meters lower than today.
Federal Deficit – The difference between what the government takes in and what it spends. Ten of the twelve largest global economies are running large deficits. The exceptions? China and Germany.
Tread Lightly — The advice from Walter White of television’ s Breaking Bad, speaks volumes to many in the 21st century.
Boston Strong — Signifying the resilience of Bostonians after the terror of the Marathon Bombing. Perhaps one day we will see Baghdad Strong.
Marathon Bombing — Terrorist bombing at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon resulting in five deaths and 280 additional casualties.
Chemical Weapons — Geneva Convention: any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action.
All Time High — Many see this all-too-prevalent description of many world markets as more of a warning that a cause for celebration.
Rogue nukes — Sources state that Iran can now assemble a bomb in two weeks. This is going from hypothetical to reality. (If true, International Inspection Effort: Fail.)
Near-Earth Asteroid — Admittedly more of a space rock than an asteroid but it did create significant property damage as well as injuries before crashing into a Russian lake.
Arab Spring — A faint reminder … Still no successor term to the Arab Spring.
Solar max — OK, so space scientists now say that 2014 (and not 2013) is the actual peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle.
Big Data – No 1 on the 2013’s Tech List, ushering in a global transformation in how data is processed, analyzed, and transformed into solutions.
Ethical/Sustainable Fashion– A global movement that includes designs from indigenous communities and emerging peoples.

The Top Names of 2013

Rank /Name / Comments

Pope Francis — The former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, born December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires.
ObamaCare – Five years after Obamamania, the president’s name is still in use though not always in a praiseworthy manner.
NSA – The National Security Agency of the US collects intelligence through clandestine means of both foreign and (to the surprise of many) domestic sources.
Ed Snowden – Edward Joseph Snowden, the former NSA contractor and CIA employee, who leaked classified United States, British and Israeli surveillance programs.
Kate Middleton — Officially, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the fashion and style icon, the future Queen of the Realm, wife of the Prince of Wales, and mother of Prince George of Cambridge. 5a. HRH Georgie — Nickname of Prince George of Cambridge, son of ‘Wills and Kate”.
IRS — The Internal Revenue Service, the tax-collecting (or revenue enhancement) body of the US Government, that was in the spotlight for allegedly selectively auditing right-wing targets.
Ted Cruz – Rafael Edward Cruz, the Tea Party supporter and Senator from Texas, who led a filibuster on the floor of the US Senate for 21 hours and nineteen minutes in opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
Chris Christie – Governor of New Jersey who achieved national fame while touring the devastation wreaked on the Jersey Shore by Superstorm Sandy with President Obama.
Tea Party – A Conservative political movement in the US, that takes its name from the Massachusetts protesters dumping tea into Boston Harbor in 1773 to highlight their call for ‘no taxation without representation’
Marathon Bombers – Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the alleged perpetrators of the Terrorist bombing at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon resulting in five deaths and 280 additional casualties.
Malala Yousafzai — The Pakistani girl shot by terrorists for promoting the right to education for girls.
Xi Jinping — Replaces Hu Jintao, under whose administration China has seen a decade of extraordinary growth.
President Obama – ‘Hope and Change’ retreats further into history as Obama seeks to find a better second term fates that his immediate predecessors.
Hassan Rouhani — Newly elected president of Iran and successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian presidency is a largely ceremonial post.
Sochi Olympics — The XXII Olympic Winter Games to take place 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia.