"anonymish" (WOTY contender?)

[Ben Zimmer]

"Anonymish" has been floating around Twitter for a few years, but it's
really taken off over the last few months on tech blogs to describe
not-quite-anonymous social apps like Secret, Wut, and Whisper. A
sampling:

"I'm at an odd life stage: folks back in Pittsburgh no longer need to
care about me but folks here in Baltimore don't know me yet.
Anonymish."
Justin Kownacki, Twitter, July 23, 2009
https://twitter.com/JustinKownacki/status/2805949433

"Henceforth, I will refer to 'anonymish' personal data, since true
anonymity is so elusive."
Eve Maler, Twitter, Apr. 7, 2010
https://twitter.com/xmlgrrl/status/11790144869

"If I blog without putting my name out there, but I'll freely tell you
my name if you ask, does that mean that I am 'anonymish'?"
Jeff O'Neal, Twitter, June 6, 2011
https://twitter.com/readingape/status/77734311184437248

"Today's Word: Anonymish (adj.) - Ostensibly, but not really
anonymous: We kinda-sorta value your privacy.  All feedback is
anonymish."
Leo Burr, Twitter, Dec. 5, 2012
https://twitter.com/LeoBurr/status/276460976616898560

"'Anonymish' - supposedly anonymous but traceable by unique ID or
details you have to to fill in on location/job/etc #newword"
Air Adam, Twitter, May 13, 2013
https://twitter.com/airadam13/status/333875724387758080

"Ephemeral And 'Anonymish', Wut Is About Mass-Texting Friends Without
Revealing Your Identity"
Kim-Mai Cutler, TechCrunch, Feb. 7, 2014
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/07/wut/

"The secrets have all been posted by your friends, though you'll never
know which friend: Secret is 'anonymish.'"
Casey Newton, The Verge, Feb. 17, 2014
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/17/5419814/open-secret-how-two-google-refugees-built-the-next-big-thing-in

"Secret tries to add a layer of accountability to anonymous posts by
showing users' secrets to their friends and allowing only friends, or
friends of friends, to comment on each shared post. Bader-Wechseler is
quick to point out that the app is not exactly anonymous. Anonymish,
maybe."
Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press, Mar. 24, 2014
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/whispers-secrets-and-lies-anonymity-apps-rise

"Following the popularity of the anonymish apps Secret and Whisper,
Facebook is exploring anonymity features. So it's not a surprise that
some would ask: will facebook buy Secret?"
Scott Monty, This Week in Digital, Apr. 11, 2014
http://www.scottmonty.com/2014/04/this-week-in-digital-april-9-2014.html

"But while startups like Whisper and Secret are generating buzz off of
offering anonymous -- or 'anonymish' -- communications, Twitter is busy
focusing on the more mainstream habit of photo-sharing as the engine
that (it hopes) will drive its business."
Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch, May 9, 2014
http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/09/twitter-makes-like-instagram/

"Mr. Mundkur doesn't mean innovation in the areas of same-day delivery
or 'anonymish' social networks that seem to have more novelty value
than staying power."
Christopher Mims, Wall St. Journal, July 6, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/articles/is-silicon-valley-investing-in-the-wrong-stuff-1404688048

--bgz


-- 
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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