Programming note
Sorry no “exile” post today, but the URLs are going to be all screwed up over at NBC anyway as they’re doing a platform changeover sometime today. Good news: no more Newsvine and no more “Continue reading this entry” prompt when none is needed. Bad news: as with all changeovers, there is some minor disruption. You can probably still see the stuff I wrote if you click over there, however. I’m particularly happy with the “swagger” thing.
I have a brief meeting to attend and some lunch to grab, but I’ll be back in a bit.
It’s called “swag” now, Craig. Just make sure yours isn’t wack.
I don’t know what’s funnier: what that dude was saying in the comments thread, or that it almost made sense to me.
I always thought swag was that bag of stuff that actors got on awards night, but apparently, according to this credible source (complete with spelling errors), the commenter is correct:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swag
Thanks to a typo on my part in Google Search, I also found the urban dictionary definition for “swager” (not to be confused with “swagger”)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swager
Wait, isn’t the award stuff “schwag?” Or is that just the bad bag of weed you get during a dry spell?
Not that I’d know.
Lupica writes a column. Hilarity ensues. Seems about right……
This is what I think of when I hear the word “swag”:
As anyone from North Jersey knows, “swag” is the stuff that “falls off the truck” and is shared with friends, family and neighbors.
We’re really getting linguistic here today. Swagger and it’s derivative swag have retained their basic meaning for years, really love that Urban Dictionary definition.
Seems like “dude” is about the same as the 70s, with a 20 year hiatus, but “tool” has really moved (see “swag”)
And Adam, you really shouldn’t be revealing the North Jersey language, that’s letting people outside the family know what you’re thinking, so I wouldn’t go on a toll road this PM.
The first rule of North Jersey language is: “You don’t talk about North Jersey language.”
…all this wonderful wordplay, and here I am just happy that the posts at CTB won’t tell you to “continue reading this post” when there isn’t anything else to read in that post.
But why the corporate stance on getting rid of NewsVine, Craig? Less is really more, you’ll love it! Just want to keep the eyes on the Blue Network for a few extra hits, commerce on it’s finest.
Newsvine was a total drag. It’s an MSNBC company, so I understand the impulse of trying to use it for an NBC blog, but it’s not really made for high volume blogging. It’s made to be a social/news hybrid, with little one-sentence links passed between users. The “continue reading” thing is hardwired in the code, because people using Newsvine as it was intended view the reader comments/discussion as part of the story and thus they want you to click through on everything.
Not to kiss corporate butt here, but it would have been really easy for someone over at NBC to just continue using it to make other people at NBC happy. That they listened to the readers (and, um, some of the writers) to throw the platform overboard was a pretty bold move, relatively speaking.
Moveable type should be fully implemented by tomorrow. And not a moment too soon.