Friday, November 07, 2008

The, The

A polite librarian should always insert a the before proper names of Internet name brands. Demonstrating your familiarity with the Google, the Facebook, or the Twitter, is a good way to establish some internet-cred with the kids.

25 comments:

Moviegirl20 said...

I love it. I have a tendency to put "the" in front of things. My parents were the parents, my husband is now the Josh. :-}

Anonymous said...

Bonus points if the service sounds like an old-time disease: "I've got a touch of The Google"

Anonymous said...

I got FB laughs with the construct "I'm a librarian; I know how to use the Google."

Anonymous said...

extra credit if you also make it plural. the twitterS.

Julia Gulia said...

I do this all the time! Mostly with the Google and the Facebook. Not so much when I'm working at the library though...

Anonymous said...

I was just at a library related workshop today where someone mentioned "Tweeter". The only way to improve that would be to slam a "The" on the front of it.

Anonymous said...

We've got a patron who regularly complains that "Googles" isn't working. Just wait until I tell him that it's "THE Googles" that doesn't work!

the.effing.librarian said...

I love saying, "the googly," and then convincing people it has a long e sound like Tony Toni Tone.

Anonymous said...

Get the heck out, as they say. I blogged about that a while in proving our Dr. Campus Prez is as clueless as they come. He knows that you "can use THE Google to get to THE YouTube." And that is a direct quote from the speech he gave faculty and staff during convocation this year. I am so reassured our prez is at the cutting edge.

Anonymous said...

Thought you were as old as me for a second...
The The

Kate said...

Some of us remember when the web address for facebook WAS thefacebook.com. And some of us tend to continue to use this address, refusing to adapt to the shorter more efficient url...

Anonymous said...

I know someone who does this all the time with the phrase "the email" -- as in, "Time to check the email." I'm not sure if she's trying to be ironic (i.e. mimic "Time to make the donuts"), but she's a bit too consistent for it to be a joke. Either way, it's annoying.

Anonymous said...

oh i so love surfing the internets.

Sabrina said...

I do that. And i do it as a Librarian. The kids just think i'm weird.

Monster Librarian said...

I had a boss who used to do this, however only in conjuncture with the town groccery store!

Susanne said...

Ha! Lots of staff at my library refer to our public PCs as "the internets".

Anonymous said...

I believe the expression should be "the interwebs" - really just a series of tubes.

Anonymous said...

Gee..."the interwebs?" I just couldn't find that term on "the wikipedias"...

Leglib said...

'The' definite article. Almost pooped myself reading your 'definite' witticism. Brilliant delivery.

How about pronouncing URL as "earl"?

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interweb

preferably: teh interwebz, with a picture of a cat. as in
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/04/27/funny-pictures-2-go-bak-on-teh-interwebs/

see also http://loloogle.com/index.php

Anonymous said...

This just made me realize that, without meaning to, I've been spreading the misuse of proper web terminology by using slang such as "The Interwebs" in front of mostly-adult n00bs who haven't yet received the memo about Internet basics.

Epic, unwitting FAIL!

Sam said...

This is hilarious.

Anonymous said...

Be sure to tell them that you're on "the" email if they need further assistance...

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who uses the phrase "the rock & the roll" when she's trying to prove her hip-ness.

Anonymous said...

On 10/8/2004 in St. Louis at a Presidential debate George W. Bush said "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." Subsequent use started as a way to make fun of that. Sorta describing the internet at "a series of tubes" as former Senator Ted Stevens [R-AK]