In tidying up our newsroom, one of the reporters mentioned that he'd found a dictionary from 1942. Another reporter commented that words don't really change that much. Don't they?
Back then, the terms soulpatch, drama queen or polyamory weren't even imagined.
Another word that falls into that new category is slacktivism. It's the idea that signing a petition, putting a flower on a facebook photo or retweeting something they feel is important, by doing so, people believe they are contributing to the cause.
But a flower doesn't end cancer, nor does a hashtag help anyone's plight.
The most prominent example of this is the Kony 2012 campaign.
Jason Russell is the founder of Invisible Children, the organization created to help the children in Uganda who are forced to sleep in giant mobs to avoid being snatched by the Lord's Resistance Army and its psychotic leader, Joseph Kony.
Within a week on releasing the 30-minute film, it became that most watched YouTube video ever.
So far, the campaign has resulted in a resolution by the United States Senate and contributed to the decision to send troops by the African Union.
When the film was first released, it was a sensation.
It was slick, well-done, powerful and informative. All those things are essential when you are trying to get people to watch a 30-minute video, in this age of quick hits and truncated communication.
The video started off receiving positive feedback, but then the tides quickly turned.
A counter-movement was started called Visible Children, aimed at poking holes at the Kony campaign, and it started gaining traction.
The site (run by an unidentified university student), criticizes Invisible Children's finances, offers responses from Ugandans to the film and what journalists are experiencing as a result of the film and campaign.
The campaign's insane popularity proved to be too much for Russell, who was found on a busy southern Californian street ranting and raving, naked. In a recent interview, he admits that he went crazy. He ended up spending a month in a hospital, following the episode.
So, the guy who was responsible for the most watched Youtube video, ends up on Youtube, acting like a lunatic.
It's a cruel twist.
In attempt to curb the slacktivism Kony 2012 may have caused, Invisible Children has released a new movie, called Move.
Move being the opposite of slacktivism.
There will always be criticism when something new and flashy is presented to the world, but the point has always been the same for Invisible Children.
No child should ever be forced to become a soldier.
No child deserves to not have a childhood.
That's the message, maybe it's become lost in all the sensation, but isn't that something that we can all agree on?
Russell and his organization aren't claiming to bring an end to all of the problems in Africa.
It's about one man, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
In a world so reliant on technology and access of information, is social media the 21st century's version of a sit-in?
Some claim that Twitter and Facebook were essential in the uprising called Arab Spring. When the thousands of demonstrators took to Tahrir Square, some savvy merchants were renting plugs on power bars, because everyone was using their phones, laptops and tablets to upload the latest video, tweet or blog post about what was happening.
The point is, Rosa Parks had no way of knowing that sitting at the front of a bus would change the social tapestry of North America, students who participated in the lunch counter sit-ins, didn't know if their silent protests would work. But it did work.
So who is to say that by tweeting, Facebooking and sharing information about a warlord is a waste of time?To watch the video, click here: http://bit.ly/TjsTFP
