Ding Huang demonstrates the art of paper cutting
Laura Reynolds looks at the habits of exam-weary students
James Tompkinson discusses the benefits of using Facebook for revision
Laura Reynolds provides some tips to help you save
NSFW If you are sent a file or a link marked NSFW, this means it is Not Safe For Work. This could mean anything from scantily-clad ladies to a man doing unspeakable things to vegetables. Either way, not something you want to be seen ogling at by your boss.
OK Go dance When the band OK Go released their single Here It Goes Again accompanied by a nifty dance on treadmills, it took the Internet by storm, spawning numerous copy-cats and injured knees.
Popcap The intriguingly filthy-sounding name is actually a cover-up for the most addictive games site on the Internet. Many an hour can be wasted playing Peggle, Bejewelled or Insaniquarium. Who knew one could have so much fun feeding virtual fish? If you’re not on Pornhub, you’re on Popcap.
QWERTY Not strictly an Internet phenomenon but an essential part of it nonetheless. Consisting of the first five letters on the keyboard, it is often used to express rage or frustration, e.g. qwertywhd nhjdbfeffefjoieo. Also the lazy person’s password of choice.
Rickroll Sometimes the Internet makes heroes of the unlikeliest people. In this case it’s Rick Astley, who features in the most successful Internet craze of all time. The idea is to trick someone into clicking onto Rick Astley’s 1987 single, Never Gonna Give You Up. It’s as annoying as it sounds.
Salad fingers The creation of David Firth, possibly the most disturbed man on the Internet. If you can make it past the second episode without being mentally scarred then I applaud you. The very definition of so-creepy-I-can’t-look-away.
Twitter Like Facebook but with all the emphasis on meeting friends removed and focused on vanity. Gives people the chance to pretend that they’re a celebrity with legions of adoring fans who are fascinated by their every movement. If you come across your favourite celebrity with Twitter, do not read it. Chances are you will become disillusioned as to how ordinary and mind-blowingly dull/vain/annoying they are.
Urban Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary’s bastard child. Your first point of call if you don’t understand Internet slang. Amusingly you can also get your favourite definitions on a mug or t-shirt. Try explaining a ‘wizard’s sleeve’ mouse-mat to your mum.
(A) Very Potter Musical Shouldn’t be good but is. Shouldn’t take up two hours of your life but it does. Shouldn’t give you the urge to watch it over and over again but it will.
Will it blend? Does what it says on the tin. For all those who can’t sleep until they know if an iPhone blends.
Xbox Live If shooting people isn’t enough for you anymore, then shoot people with OTHER PEOPLE. Or just shoot everyone. Your call.
YouTube is the backbone of the Internet. Up there with the big guns like Google and Facebook, YouTube receives millions of hits everyday and has passed into popular culture. Even Gordon Brown uses it. Whether it’s people falling over, video diaries that no-one cares about, weird conspiracy theory videos or your favourite TV show illegally split into several parts, YouTube is here to stay.
ZOMG Like Oh My God but with more passion. No-one is entirely sure what the Z stands for. Say with a high-pitched nasally whine.
Now you should be ready to explore the Internet for yourself. Grab a lolcat and get surfing.
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