"The Google" and Other Gaffes
[The following post was inspired by Seth Godin, who recently used his bloggy pulpit to teach people "how to sound smart when talking about the Internet."]
It's tough to keep abreast of tech jargon—after all, everything in the digital realm changes so quickly. Everyone deserves some slack now and then. But after a point, certain mistakes—particularly renaming something by giving it a definite article—will make you look dumb.
For example, you should know that you nevereverever search the web with "the Google," watch a video on "the YouTube," or set up a page on "the Facebook." You also don't congratulate a friend on writing a nice blog, unless you intend to offer a general compliment. If her last entry was a good one, you could say, "I read your blog the other day; nice post on annuities," but never, "Nice blog on annuities."
Also, while not technically an error, "the net," used occasionally as a synonym for the internet, is sort of irksome, mainly because it reminds me of the bad Sandra Bullock movie from 1995.
