digitalization
Digitalization or digitalisation may refer to:
* Digital transformation, the increasing adoption of digital tools to market your product.
* Digitization, the conversion of non-digital or analog information into a digital format.
* Medical use of D ...
,
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
,
content marketing
Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used by businesses in order to achieve the following goals: attract attention and generate leads, exp ...
,
computer industry
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...
and
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...
communities. The word is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsdigital" and "
literati
Literati may refer to:
*Intellectuals or those who love, read, and comment on literature
*The scholar-official or ''literati'' of imperial/medieval China
**Literati painting, also known as the southern school of painting, developed by Chinese liter ...
", and reminiscent of the earlier coinage ''glitterati'' (glitter and literati). Famous computer scientists, tech magazine writers, digital consultants with multi-year experiences and well-known bloggers are included among the digerati.
The word is used in several related but different ways. It can mean:
*Opinion leaders who, through their writings, promoted a vision of digital technology and the Internet as a transformational element in society;
*People regarded as celebrities within the
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Count ...
computer subculture, particularly during the dot-com boom years;
*Anyone regarded as influential within the digital technology community.
Term history
The first mention of the word ''Digerati'' on
USENET
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
occurred in 1992 by Arthur Wang, and referred to an article by George Gilder in ''Upside'' magazine. According to the March 1, 1992 "On Language" column by
William Safire
William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He ...
in ''The New York Times Magazine'', the term was coined by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' editor Tim Race in a January 1992 ''New York Times'' article. In Race's words:
:''Actually the first use of "digerati" was in a January 29, 1992 New York Times article, "Pools of Memory, Waves of Dispute", by John Markoff, into which I edited the term. The article was about a controversy engendered by a George Gilder article that had recently appeared in Upside magazine. In a March 1, 1992 "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine, William Safire noted the coinage and gave me the honor of defining it, which we did like so:''
::''Digerati, n.pl. – people highly skilled in the processing and manipulation of digital information; wealthy or scholarly techno-geeks.''