She's making a list.

Cool Tech I Love

Dec 15

A list of tech products that are parts of everyday speech.

150 million emails are sent
41.6 million messages are sent
701,389 people login to Facebook
38,194 videos and photos are posted on Instagram

With so much happening in a minute, it is not surprising that many digital brand names are being used as nouns or verbs in everyday speech. We use these as generic words to describe a digital need they solve in our lives, but really they are brand or product names. I am making a list of these commonly used words. Here goes:

1. Google it:

Have you ever counted how many times a day you Google things? On an average, 40,000 searches are made a second. That is a lot of searching...I mean, Googling.

2. Venmo me:

Convenience in an app. Splitting bills or paying someone back for coffee is now easier than ever - all you do is Venmo them. So easy!

3. Get an Uber:

Seems like the days of a taxi are done. We only Uber now. Even a 6-year-old knows that as you can tell from this OverheardLA post.

4. That's photoshopped

Who does not Photoshop!? The thing, though, is we never say "photo edit", we only say "photoshop" - regardless of the app we use. Ever notice that?

5. Shazam it

Can't remember the name of a song you're listening to? Why, "Shazam it"!

6. Order it on Prime:

Oh, the joy of Prime. When was the last time you went into a store to get something you could get on Prime? I don't have a Target nearby so I order everything on Prime - even the smallest things like Swiffer or kitchen towels.

7. Let's get an Airbnb

Airbnb is my go to when I travel for leisure. I Airbnb everywhere I go - from Athens to Santa Fe to Joshua Tree - it's always fun staying at Airbnb's.

8. Are you a Yelper?

Not sure where to eat, or looking for a local beauty salon? Be a Yelper and get some help!

9. Ask Siri

Even though Siri has a hard time with my accent (sometimes), gotta ask Siri. From my phone to my watch, Siri is always there to answer me.

10. FaceTime?

Or FT? In my mind, the best technology by Apple. FaceTime has brought families closer. Sharing moments with someone in another part of the country or world is now so much easier. I feel like I spend my day between FaceTime and Google.

11. Slack me

It took me a while to adapt to Slack, but this precious office tool is now our lifeline. Gone are the days of "Skype me". All we do all day is Slack. The amount of back and forth on email has drastically reduced and we are more efficient at work slacking messages, slacking Google Docs, slacking links, slacking gifs etc.

12. Can you Zoom?

There are times when Slack just doesn't cut it. That is when you Zoom. You can voice or video call with so many people from any part of the world. You can have someone dial in from New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, LA, Beijing, Amsterdam, etc. As a video conferencing tool, that's what makes it a one-up from FaceTime. :)

13. WhatsApp me

WhatsApp seems to be more popular in Europe and definitely in my native India, not as much in the US - but WhatsApp is so convenient for texting. Especially group texting.

14. YouTube it:

You can literally find a video for anything you want to do. A recipe, change a light bulb, fix a car battery, even cute cat videos. If you can think of something to watch, you can YouTube it.

15. Love my Bitmoji

I do. A full-on conversations with ONLY bitmojis is the best part. If you want to say anything over text, there is probably a bitmoji for it.

16. Hold please, I'm snapping

The usage might be "I am totally going to Snapchat that" but "snapping" works as well. Just glad these snaps and stories disappear in 24 hours.

Did I miss something? Can you think of anymore? Add in the comments below.