"anonymish" (WOTY contender?)

[Laurence Horn]

Likely influenced, I'm guessing, by Dan Savage's innovation of "monogamish" a few years back…

LH

On Jul 15, 2014, at 6:08 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:

> "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/
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org