New Twitter Terms to Twalk About

Thursday, 19 February 2009

You shout out to your Tweeps, poll Tweeple for advice and scoff at the Twitteratti who live-tweet their every move. You may have even ventured to a TweetUp or two. But have you heard the latest Twitter lingo?

@alisond’s Twitter Vocabulary

I’ve often found myself struggling to find the right word to convey a certain real world/Twitterverse behavior crossover. I couldn’t, so I made up a few of my own, completely original Twitter terms.

Twitch

verb: To complain, gripe or bitch on Twitter
Ex. @alisond is twitching about the MBTA making her late again.

Twenemy

noun: A twitter enemy, similar to a frenemy, whom you secretly despise but try to hide behind online arguments that always appear professional.
Ex. @danzarrella likes to argue with guys that try to talk to his girl. He’s got a few frenemies.

@sshhole

noun: A Twitter user who refuses to respond to @ replies because they believe they are “above” the person addressing them.
Ex. She thinks she’s too cool to answer me because she has more followers. What an @sshole.

Stwalk

verb: To stalk someone on Twitter; more intensive than mere following, it implies scanning all conversations and following up by stwalking those he or she routinely engages with.
Ex. I found my ex on Twitter, so now I’m stwalking him and his silly new PR groupies.

Nit Twit

noun: An annoying Twitter user; may be characterized by excessive misspelling, poor grammar or caps lock abuse.
Ex. I had to unfollow him when he tweeted “YOUR GOING TO LIKE THIS LINK ALOT!!!”

BFOT

noun: An acronym for Best Friends On Twitter, similar to BFF; a designation of the close relationship you may have with some people online who you have never met
Ex. I can’t wait to meet @bitchinmona, one of my BFOT!

Like these? Check out Twictionary for some more commonly accepted Twitter terms. And please leave ideas of your own in the comments; I’m still trying to think of ones for a Twitter couple or a Twitter crush. Bouncing around “attwaction” but it doesn’t really fit.

——UPDATE——

Positwit

verb: To assert a position or propose an explanation on Twitter.
Ex. I positwitted that Facebook is still a lot cooler than Twitter and got quite a few angry responses.

Mackro

noun: A Twitter crush that may or may not exist offline. From the noun “macro” (obvious, visible) and the verb “mack” (to flirt or attract attention).
Ex. I’ve got such a mackro on @danzarrella, I’ll ReTweet anything he says.

Fauxllower

noun: A “fake” Twitter user with an obvious agenda to push who follows people strictly for said agenda. From the adjective “faux” (French for false) and the noun “follower” (here, a Twitter user).
Ex. Plagued by pseudo followers trying to sell him stuff, @ajlozier decided he needed a word for these agenda pushers.

Twyst

noun: A romantic affair with a Twitter acquaintance.

Ex. After talking on Twitter for months, their DMs turned to dinner and what could have been just a twyst soon blossomed into a full romance.

Tweetheart

noun: One’s significant other on Twitter; usually overlaps into “real” (offline) life as well

Ex. I thought everyone already knew that @danzarrella and I are Tweethearts, but some people are still surprised when I tell them.