Did you catch that front page headline in yesterday’s The Press Democrat? – “Dictionary’s blessing may be Google’s curse?” This article by L.A. Times writers Dawn Chmielewski and Chris Gaither, reported that “google is officially a verb-. It reached the pages of the dictionary just five years after its first known reference as a verb in a New York Post article. Usually, it takes 10 to 20 years for a word to enter everyday use.”
Remember Bill Soberanes, the world’s foremost peopleologist (a noun) and columnist for our Argus-Courier for 49 years? Bill often made reference in his columns to the fact that he coined two words: peopleologist and peopleology, and hoped that one day they would be a dictionary. This blogger offered to to help him in this quest by drafting the definitions and submitting them to the Oxford English Dictionary for consideration as new words. “Not yet,” was the reply, because the words were not widely used by others, except Bill and his newspaper. Their letter also stated, “We generally look for at least five quotations from different sources, and we assess the term’s potential longevity from the various contexts in which it is used.”
The PD article also stated that the Web has the power to propagate words, and thereby establish their place in the language. Maybe there is hope, yet, to fulfill Bill’s dream by creating a series of activities under his banner for the “Worldwide PeopleMeeters-People Finders Club.” The stated purpose for this club is “to find and do research on fascinating people all over the world from every walk of life. If so desired, meet them, write about them and even have your picture taken with them.”
OK, enough “talk.” Who is ready to “walk the walk” with this idea? Step #1, before this week is over, we will revive a group conference board for a Petaluma-based, People Meeters-People Finders Club. Then we’ll announce future face-to-face get-togethers, in order that we can mingle, as Bill loved to do in his native river town. If you would like to be kept up to date on this “Fascinating World of People” project, please send your name and e-mail address to whammer@petalumanet.org
On Our Radar Screen
Speaking of walking the walk, rather than talking the talk, the next meeting of the Petaluma CyberCity Roundtable has been scheduled for the 4th Tuesday, July 25th, from 10:30 a.m.until noon, at the Petaluma Senior Center, 211 Novak Drive, (No, you do not have to be a Senior Citizen to attend). The agenda will include brainstorming new projects for 2006-2007 that will enhance Petaluma’s ability to keep up to speed with what’s happening in Our Cyberspace. Stay tuned.