Techie Terms Part One
I had a great conversation with someone last week and she made me realize that not everyone knows these common “IT” terms. So here is the first part of a two-part blog post on IT Terms, enjoy!
Affiliates – Website affiliates are what drive Internet Marketing. Companies run affiliate programs to generate leads and sales from other Websites.
API – An application programming interface (API) is a protocol intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other.
Archive – is a single file that contains multiple files and/or folders. Archives may be created by several different file archiving utilities and can be saved in one of several different formats.
Autoresponder – an email message that is sent based on a trigger; i.e. a purchase is completed, a user signs up for an offer, etc.
Backup – a backup, or the process of backing up, refers to the copying and archiving of computer data so it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.
Bandwidth – the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second). This kind of bandwidth is usually expressed in bits (of data) per second (bps).
Blog – short for “Web Log,” this term refers to a list of journal entries posted on a Web page.
Broadband – refers to high-speed data transmission in which a single cable can carry a large amount of data at once. The most common types of Internet broadband connections are cable modems (which use the same connection as cable TV) and DSL modems (which use your existing phone line).
Buffer – contains data that is stored for a short amount of time, typically in the computer’s memory (RAM). The purpose of a buffer is to hold data right before it is used.
Cache – stores recently-used information in a place where it can be accessed extremely fast. For example, a Web browser like Chrome uses a cache to store the pages, images, and URLs of recently visited websites on your hard drive.
Captcha – is a program used to verify that a human, rather than a computer, is entering data.
Cloud Computing – refers to applications and services offered over the Internet. These services are offered from data centers all over the world, which collectively are referred to as the “cloud.”
CSS – stands for “Cascading Style Sheet.” Cascading style sheets are used to format the layout of Web pages.
Data Transfer Rate – commonly used to measure how fast data is transferred from one location to another.
Database – a data structure that stores organized information. Most databases contain multiple tables, which may include several different fields. For example, a company database may include tables for products, employees, and financial records.
Disk Space (Storage Space) is the total amount of bytes that a disk drive or disc is capable of holding.
Domain Name a specific name that you apply to your website. Once you apply it, users can reach your website by typing this domain name into the browser’s address bar.
Domain Name Registrar is an organization that manages the reservation of Internet domain names.
E-Commerce – (electronic-commerce) refers to business over the Internet.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a common method of transferring files via the Internet from one computer to another.
Firewall limits the data that can pass through it and protects a networked server or client machine from damage by unauthorized users.
Flash Drive is a small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB connection.
GUI stands for “Graphical User Interface,” and is pronounced “gooey.” It refers to the graphical interface of a computer that allows users to click and drag objects with a mouse instead of entering text at a command line.
Hashtag is a number symbol (#) used to label keywords in a tweet.
Host a computer that acts as a server for other computers on a network.
HTML stands for “Hyper-Text Markup Language.” This is the language that Web pages are written in.
Interface can refer to either a hardware connection or a user interface.
IMAP stands for “Internet Message Access Protocol” and is pronounced “eye-map.” It is a method of accessing e-mail messages on a server without having to download them to your local hard drive.
IP Address also known as an “IP number” or simply an “IP,” this is a code made up of numbers separated by three dots that identifies a particular computer on the Internet.
ISP stands for “Internet Service Provider.” In order to connect to the Internet, you need an ISP.
Be sure to check out Techie Terms Part 2.
I’d love to hear your comments. Please take a moment to leave me a comment and share your thoughts.
Please share if you know someone who might benefit from this information. The share buttons are below the post.
If you’re looking for more details on how to start or scale your VA business including how to specialize by learning in-demand skills, join my FREE VA Training Vault. You’ll get instant access to how-to video training for Virtual Assistants that want to create a successful business.
Thanks for reading!
Enjoy your day – Susan
I’m Susan Mershon and I started The Techie Mentor ™ in 2013 to teach Virtual Assistants my no fluff approach to the systems and skills they need to build + run a successful business. My focus is on teaching you the high end skills clients want and the systems to take those skills and offer them as a service professional.
Good one… cant wait for the next batch.
PS you forgot “DOS”. 😉
Great reference list. It’s so easy as an IT person to forget that a lot of people don’t know/haven’t heard these words before. As I make my way into the health and wellness world, I am thankful to have my IT background every day.
Great idea for all of us non techies types. Wish I had seen a list like this years ago.
Suzanne
http://www.reikichicktraining.com
http://www.natural-pet-health.info
Thanks for the resource. I shared it on FB, Twitter and Pinned it for my clients.
Thanks for this! I will be sure to send my newbie clients here as well.
Great list and reference! I don’t know if I’m proud or ashamed to say I knew all of them on the list. My knowledge is definitely a barrier to getting the VA and tech help I need! Hard to turn it over when I know what I’m doing, but it’s not enough to know. I don’t have passion for it and am fine with things working 95{118470d0f4f3718dfdd0f3eeb2eb014ae26d46ca78c59b6a979d3ffc612de011} which can be a problem!
Very good list:) i have many clients who are starting a business and don’t know these terms until we start going over them.
I hope everyone pins this to their pinterest boards this is a great tool to hang onto.
Pam McCall
Time Engagement Expert and
Women’s Small Business Resource
http://www.pammccall.com
I find that I believe that if I know it, everyone else does too…and then I’m surprised that they don’t. Great job getting your knowledge out to us lay-people 🙂
Thanks Jen!
As I reading the list, I was thinking about terms I was wondering about a few days ago. I can’t remember, but saved your link so I know where to go to find out.
Thanks Cathy!
Finally — all the techie words I’ve always wanted to know what they meant but was afraid to ask!! This one is going straight to the printer 🙂
Lisa
Too many half-done passion projects in your life? Free ebook “How to Accomplish ANYTHING in an Hour a Day”
http://gifts.davincidilemma.com/houraday
Lisa – love your enthusiasm 🙂
This is a very helpful list, thank you for sharing!
My pleasure Stacy!
I consider myself to be pretty techie, but I have to admit I always wondered about API.
Great list!
Thanks Chris!
Very nice list!
“Backup” — what I should’ve done more recently before updating my WP site. “Crash” — what I’m afraid I did.
A helpful list and I may share it. Nicely done site!
Thank you Jennifer – sorry to hear about your website! I know that is now fun. I hope everything is fixed.
Love it Susan! I’ve been enjoying your tips so much on LinkedIn, but really find this a great resource. There were a few there that I didn’t realize. Yikes!
So look forward to connecting more.
Diana Ennen
Author / Speaker / Coach / Publicist
Sign up for our free PR informational Package at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com
Thank you Diana!
This is so helpful Susan! I need to print it and post it on my bulletin board for those times when I’m scratching my head trying to figure out what’s going on! Thank you!
Karen
http://www.karenwyattmd.com/apps/blog/show/24509829-heal-yourself-and-heal-the-world
Great idea to put it on the bulletin board, Karen. Thank you!
Great job, Susan. 🙂
Like you, I hadn’t thought of creating a list of terms either. This is a good reference to send people to.
Peggy Lusk
Financial Coach – The Geek with a CPA
http://Abundance-by-Design.com
Thank you Peggy 🙂
What a great idea to share these! I was a computer program/business analyst in my past life so I forget some people don’t get all this. And I forget how lucky I am that it really helps me in this fun world of internet marketing.
I have another site http://www.writeyourbookgrowyourbiz.com/ and would love to feature this as a guest post!
Trudy – I have that same problem – I forget not everyone worked in IT and need to understand terms we “techie” use constantly.
I’d love to be a guest – I’ll reach out to you for more details.
This is a great list. Wonderful resource for so many who don’t know these terms!
Great work!
Janelle Alex – Co-Founder of Sexy Challenges
http://www.sexychallenges.com
Thank you Janelle, glad it is helpful!
Great information. Many of them I know, but there were a few I hadn’t heard of!
Thanks Candy!
Very helpful, Susan! I’ve wondered for years about some of these! Thanks, great post!
Thank you Beth, so glad you’ve found it informative.
What a great resource – I’ll be sharing this with my Twitter followers! Even when a company outsources to an expert to handle the tech issues, it’s important that everyone speaks the same language.
Amen Marlys I agree 100{118470d0f4f3718dfdd0f3eeb2eb014ae26d46ca78c59b6a979d3ffc612de011}.
This is very helpful. As a non-techie, it’s good to have a cheat sheet like this.
Fern Weis, Parent Coach
http://www.yourfamilymatterscoach.com
Love the idea of cheat sheet Fern!
Thanks for the list, as a techie I am often looking for ways to explain something and this will help.
Megan
Founder
Photorelli – Mobile Phone Photography Tips
http://photorelli.com/
My pleasure Megan 🙂
Susan-
Thanks for sharing this! Even with it defined, I have a hard time getting my mind around some of these terms! The more that I read what they mean, the better!
Kathleen
>Family Nurse Practitioner, Health Coach and Yoga Instructor
>www.kathleenloucks.com
>www.facebook.com/KathleenLoucksWellness
>www.twitter.com/kaloucks
Great – so happy it’s helpful Kathleen!
Great idea Susan!
It’s important that clients understand some of the basic terms (especially if they’re asking for them!) although it’s equally important that web designers and internet professionals take the time to explain what they’re doing with as little jargon as possible.
My clients absolutely love me for that and it makes the whole process much easier on both parties.
Heather – so true!
It’s a great exercise to think about what’s jargon and what’s understandable to most people. We techies get messy with language so often. One of my favorite tech conferences has a jargon policy that demands minimizing the use of jargon AND asking for definitions when jargon does get used. This is a nice list to help folks when we aren’t communicating clearly.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such a simple accessible way. It really helps solo-preneurs like myself.
—
Mara Jeffress, Ph.D.
Career Coach | Life Coach | Business Coach | Consultant
Fulfillment Life Coaching
Are you ready to lead a fulfilling life?
http://fulfillmentlifecoaching.com
Wow, thanks Susan. Really appreciate the “101” as I did not know what most of the terms meant and need to if I want to make use of the internet for business.
My pleasure Tracy!
Thanks for this straightforward and simple explanation. As a solo-prenuer, I do all my own tech work and appreciate your straightforward style. Thanks for sharing!
—
Mara Jeffress, Ph.D.
Career Coach | Life Coach | Business Coach | Consultant
Fulfillment Life Coaching
Are you ready to lead a fulfilling life?
http://fulfillmentlifecoaching.com
My pleasure Mara glad it is helpful!
What a great resource for the techie-challenged!
Lisa – thank you!
I love the idea of a list of techie terms. I have a blogging glossary and one for internet marketing terms but never dreamed of a techie list. Love it!
Thank you Sarah, being from the IT world I was reminded by a friend that not everyone knows these “techie terms”
Thanks for sharing – for me as a non-techi this is really valuable info!! Thanks again!
Bobbi
Thank you Bobbi!
uh..hello! This is awesome. Thank you for putting this comprehensive list together. So many terms that I’ve used (incorrectly) before 🙂
Krista Martin, Business Strategist + Coach
http://www.kristamartin.com
Thank you Krista – love your enthusiasm!
Hi there, I enjoy reading all of your post.
I like to write a little comment to support you.
Thank you!
Good idea! I have clients that ask for the techie terms to be explained when I meet with them.
Thanks Joann!
Posting this list was a great idea, Susan! So many clients and average computer users don’t understand a lot of these techie terms.
Thanks Ellen! I had a call with someone last week and she helped me realize that most people don’t know these terms….and I thought great blog topics!