The 4 most common words in 2009

1.) Tweet



Oprah joined Twitter in 2009 and wrote, “ "HI TWITTERS . THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY.”


Twitter is one of the websites that helped revolutionize the power of social media. People are now able to communicate to their favorite celebrities and to perfect strangers through this online service. So it doesn’t surprise me when one of 2009’s most frequently used words of all time is “ tweet”. CNN covered the Iranian revolution by reading the twitter messages that were written by Iranians during the Green Revolution. Iranians protested against the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, and tweets were sent from Iran describing the heat of the protests and the government’s crackdown on civilians. Iran’s protests were not broadcasted, but it was tweeted.




2.) Friend (used as a verb)



Through social media, the world does seem a little bit smaller, and we don’t seem as distant as the miles that separate us indicate. Facebook is one media website that I am addicted to. Thank God for Mark Zuckerberg and his creation of the site, because I don’t think I would have been able to reconnect with my cousins from London or Asia, if not for facebook. So when I’m on the train, and I hear a girl talk about how a guy in class had “ friended” her on facebook, I can’t help but smile. Because 4 years ago, I was that girl ( and secretly I still am.) I’m still accepting friend requests and using “ friend” as a verb when referring to facebook.




3.) Sexting



Sexting – I learned this next word while watching the Tyra show, and she asked these Middle School girls why they were sexting. I had to turn up the volume and ask, “ what is sexting? Is that the verb form of the S-E-X ? “ Nope. Tyra explains that sexting is when you send naked pictures of yourself to boys or girls via mobile phone. Sexting is also when you write sexually explicit messages through text messages.

Sexting seems to be more popular amongst teenagers. Many teenagers participate in sexting, and it’s a new form of social interaction due to technology. Teenagers are victims to the dangers of sexting- these inappropriate materials are dispersed without the sender’s authority or permission. Sometimes it just doesn’t pertain to pictures- videos are being sent as well.





4.) Palinize


To be Palinized is not a good term. It refers to women who are attacked for being Republican and for having a strong voice. Former Ms. California Carrie Prejean says she was, “ Palinized” by the media for her beliefs on anti-gay marriage.


I think this word may be the most used word of 2008 and 2009, where the media palinized Sarah Palin’s by concentrating more on her looks and personal life rather than listened to her. In November of 2009, Palin accused Newsweek for posting an irrelevant picture of her in running shorts. ( Scroll up- the picture is pasted on the blog.) But who could blame the media? People were easily distracted by Palin- her looks, her accent, her love for Alaska and her remarks. Yes, remarks.


Although I agree that Palin may have been palinized, she mostly palinized herself by fluffing her stories and not stepping up and answering the issues at hand. She went off on tangents, and called Katie Couric, “ the Perky One” then noted Couric as “ the lowest rated news anchor in network television”.


I think Palin is a great woman. She’s a fighter, but she needs to stop victimizing herself and act as the deserving Vice President candidate that McCain had chosen her for in 2008. When she first came on the trail and delivered her speech at the Republican party, she held her own, gave a few political punches and attacked the democrats. She was good. Everyone wanted to know who this Alaskan governor was. She had great drive and she needs to keep going that route without letting herself to be another sexist joke.