It’s Virtually Done (IVD) Blog

Spring is here, and that means all kinds of possibilities for new life in the garden, and on … the baseball diamond. Yep, I admit it: I’m a baseball nut. And despite the fact that my team, the Seattle Mariners, have had some bad seasons of late (an oft used expression in baseball meaning lately), my rally cap is on and I expect better results this year.

Baseball, like curling, another quirky passion of mine, has its own lingo. Unless you are in the know, you may not realize that a “suicide squeeze” is a bold manager maneuver to bring home the third base runner by having the batter bunt down the first base line.

Baseball language is rich and entertaining, (e.g., putting the whammy on, can of corn, blooper), and that got me thinking. Is there language used in the virtual working world (VAs, coaches, and countless others) that others might not know and find strange?

I know people who don’t use computers much, or at all, and they are not quite sure what a blog is. Whereas it’s comprised of the joining of the two words web and log, couldn’t it just as easily be the two words big and log. And believe me folks; we have a lot of big logs here in the Pacific Northwest.

In my line of work, I get asked if I know how to operate a shopping cart. I know that they mean that they want to sell products online and are looking for a web based mechanism for doing that, but might not others think that I’m a candidate for spot under a bridge with all of my belongings?

If I tell a client that I posted their question to the forum, might not someone else think that I sent a letter to Rome? That person wouldn’t know that a forum is a web space for like minded individuals to cheer and jeer others. Hey, maybe it’s not that different than the coliseum after all.

It’s not uncommon for my clients or colleagues to ask me to “PDF” something for them. It wouldn’t be surprising for someone to think that society had taken another turn toward the profane, by substituting the “Q” in PDQ, would it? Who even remembers what the initials PDF mean anymore; just make the document so that I can open it in Adobe, not the Native American house color, but the software.

Who in the 60’s could imagine that Groove would be a web based collaborative work space for virtual work partners to meet and coordinate. At least one thing remains the same, “getting your groove on,” is still a good thing; it’s just a different thing, less fun and more work oriented.

We virtual workers love our autoresponders, and we try to explain that it automatically responds to people’s email queries. Those unfamiliar with the concept don’t understand why something like that isn’t available for other life situations. For example, unexpected visitors arrive at your front door, and your household autoresponder says, “I’m currently on vacation. I’ll be back on Monday. Till then!” as you hide in the basement.

So like baseball and other avocations, those of us who work virtually have our own lingo. It sets us apart, makes us feel special, and confuses outsiders. Pardon me: I want to finish this blog and then PDF it to a friend. Afterwards, I need to post to the forum that my Groove’s not working, and then I need to edit my autoresponder in my shopping cart. I can’t dawdle because the Mariners are on at 4 pm!