BUZZWORD COMPLIANT DICTIONARY
W

WASP: Move over, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. You’re being replaced by wireless application service providers.

walled garden: A restricted area within a Web site where only "members" may go. Widely used by sites ranging from nytimes.com to porn sites. The sites generally have some free content, but to get the "good stuff" you must either register or pay a fee.
Nominated by John Rodstrom

wallet share, share of wallet: At some point, trying to increase market share gets expensive. So, companies go after a bigger share of your wallet. Example: Since you can only consume so many colas a day, a soft drink company will try to increase its share of your wallet by selling you peanuts or chips produced by another division of its company.

wanding: The process of being searched at airport security stations with a metal-detection wand.
Nominated by Kathy Felong

warchalking: Symbols used by wireless hackers, usually drawn on walls or sidewalks, to mark nearby wireless networking nodes that can be tapped into for free. Reminiscent of the symbols hobos once used to mark safe places to sleep or where they could get a free meal.
Nominated by Mark Worden

warm-chair attrition: The drop in productivity that begins when an unhappy worker checks out mentally and ends when he or she finally finds a new job and quits.

war normal: What passes for normal under the conditions of a nation at war against terrorism: heightened security everywhere, a stagnant economy, layoffs, increased anxiety, etc.
Nominated by Richard Curtis

warspying: Video "eavesdropping." Electronic "peeping toms," armed with mobile video receivers in their cars, ride around town scanning for wireless video cameras to tap into. Also known as video sniffing.
Nominated by Mark Worden

watercooler effect: Buzz created by news or an event (generally non-work related) that sweeps through an office, distracting the employees and bringing all work to a crawl.
Nominated by Anil Gangs

wave rat: Describes someone who tried to turn the tsunami tragedy into a quick buck.

weaponized: To turn into a weapon. Used recently to refer to anthrax, smallpox and North Korea's nuclear program. "We're not certain it's been weaponized yet, since they haven't conducted any nuclear tests."
Nominated by Michael Troiano

Web bugs: They're watching you! Just because you haven't seen them, doesn't mean they're not there. Web bugs are invisible images. They were first used on Web pages and now in HTML e-mail, They allow marketers and others to gather data about you. In HTML e-mail, they're used to detect whether you have opened the e-mail. Generally, they are one pixel by one pixel images that are impossible to spot. Why? They don't want you to know you're being tracked. But, in truth, any visible image would serve the same purpose.

Web-enabled: Ducks are web-enabled. But it seems now if you use the Web to do business, you’re Web-enabled. That means you’ve been telephone-enabled, stapler-enabled and spreadsheet-enabled for years.

webinar: A seminar conducted through the Web. Materials are online and the speakers use a chat room to talk with the attendees. Some webinars even employ Web cameras and video to complete the experience.
Nominated by Judy Vorfeld

webisode: Shows created and produced for the Web -- from cartoons to movies. Frequently used by marketers to promote an offline event or product.
Nominated by Marko Bon

weblift: Cosmetic surgery comes to the Net. A weblift describes the process of redesigning a Web site to give it a new look and feel. If you’re using a consultant, it’s a lot more expensive than a facelift.
Nominated by Brian Goodwin

webliography: A collection of URLs or Web site links that provide easy access to information related to a given subject. Aren't you glad the BuzzMasters didn’t name it urliography?
Nominated by Susan Walton

Web rage: When Net frustration turns into violence. Most harmless form: A computer monitor gets whacked. Most serious: A cubicle mate gets whacked. Chief causes: Slow-loading Web sites and unhelpful help buttons.
Nominated by Steve Hannaford

Welchism: A business management fad. Based on the writings of Chairman Jack (former GE exec Jack Welch), it's become the latest cure-all for American execs.
Nominated by Teresa Henderson

wet signature: An original signature. The old-fashioned kind, written in ink on a real paper document -- not one that's been faxed, photocopied or scribbled electronically with a stylus.
Nominated by Ron Hatcher and Scott Haddon

wetware: There's hardware, software, vaporware, etc., but behind it all is wetware. It's literally the brains behind it all – the human brain. Can also be used to refer to the human beings (programmers, operators, managers, etc) who actually run computers. "Our mainframe would be nothing without our wetware."
Nominated by Ian Cameron

whacking: Short for wireless hacking. Targets: Your digital phone, personal digital assistants, wireless computers, etc.

whale tail: The top rear strap of a woman’s thong, which closely resembles a whale’s tail rising from the water whenever the wearer bends over or squats.
Nominated by Mark Worden

wheel estate: Generally a derisive term for mobile homes, but may also be used to describe RVs (recreational vehicles).
Nominated by Paul Nelson

WFH: Abbreviation for "Working From Home." Generally spotted in e-mail subject lines from colleagues who've decided at the last minute they're going to "work from home" (wink, wink) that day.
Nominated by Lynne Fiero

whiteboard: The act of brainstorming by listing ideas on a large write-on/wipe-off board. "Let's whiteboard the new product launch in the conference room at 10 a.m."
Nominated by Chris Rock

white box: A generic personal computer assembled and sold by small "mom and pop" manufacturers. The PC casings are generally cream white and are often packed in unlabeled white boxes. "We're so cheap we could only afford to buy white boxes."
Nominated by Jennifer Regelman

white collar spam: Unsolicited e-mail sent by legitimate companies that think they have a relationship with you even if you’re sure they don’t.

whitelisting: Opposite of blacklisting. Creating a list of people or companies you’ll accept e-mail from. To reduce spam, people are using Internet whitelisting services to filter their e-mail.

white space: The unmet needs of a customer. The space that is filled by no other product or service. In other words, if you want to make a million as an entrepreneur all you have to do is find the white space – and fill it.
Nominated by Nancy Wells

whortal: An Internet portal that liberally trades Web page real-estate and traffic for revenue, without long-term concern for user experience. Imagine that! A company prostituting itself for short-term gains.

Wi-Fi: The wireless standard that enables laptops to connect to the Internet without being "wired." Why Wi-Fi? Who knows, but it's a far cry better than the real standard's name: IEEE 802.11b.
Nominated by Joeth Barlas

wigglespace: The 21st  century update of "wiggle room." "We built in some wigglespace to make sure we wouldn't miss the deadline."
Nominated by Will Dixon

wikiality: User-created reality -- where something becomes "true" if you can get enough people to believe it. Thanks to the growing number of wiki sites, such as Wikipedia.

wire frame: A rough draft or idea. "Once we get the wire frame, we'll develop the rest of the plan."
Nominated by Bruce Watermeyer

wire-fu: The secrets of the ninja are finally exposed. It's the use of wires and pulleys in martial arts films allowing actors to run up walls and soar across rooftops.

WISP: While it sounds like the call letters for a soft rock radio station, it's also the acronym for Wireless Internet Service Providers.
Nominated by Mark Worden

without clients: Phrase used by consultants to put a positive spin on the fact that they're currently unemployed.
Nominated by Keath Montgomery

WOCAS: The operating philosophy that made Amazon the great customer service success  it is. Stands for: What Our Customers Are Saying

wombat: Someone or something that's a "Waste of Money, Bandwidth and Time." Mug, shirts available

word-of-mouse: Here’s a real down-to-earth term for viral marketing. See the "Tell a Friend" button at the top of a Web page? Click it, fill in your friends’ names and you’ll be committing "word-of-mouse."
Nominated by John Trefry

workflower: Someone who blends into the background at work. Example: After two years you suddenly notice that the mousey blonde you keep passing in the hall works with you.
Nominated by Dror Eyal

working off the side of your desk: To be so overloaded with work there’s no more room left on your desktop. "I'd like to help you out with that project, but I'm already working off the side of my desk."
Nominated by Banning Cohen

Workplace Services: Trendy name that's replacing "Human Resources Department," which was the trendy name that replaced the "Personnel Office."
Nominated by James Gould

works as designed: A common rejoinder, often used by engineers and programmers, to a flawed product. "Can't help you. It works as designed." Of course, the Titanic worked as designed, too. Designed to stay afloat if two compartments were flooded, it sank when three were breached. T-shirt, mug available
Nominated by David Miller

work spasm: The initial spurt of energy you pour into work after returning from vacation or a relaxing weekend. It generally wears off by lunch on Monday.
Nominated by Susan Rayburn

world-first technology: Marketing hype used to make a new advancement in technology seem even more significant. The new marketing favorite replaces phrases such as “leading edge” and “cutting edge.”
Nominated by Esther Smith

WYGIWYG: What You Get Is What You Get or What You Got Is What You Get. A take-off on WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get
Nominated by Mark Spencer

WYSITWIRL: Instant messaging-speak for What You See Is Totally Worthless In Real Life. T-shirt, mug available