UNFRIEND is the New Oxford American Word of the Year

How many times have I uttered the words “it’s a good thing there is Friendster / Facebook”? A few too many! =) Well, I AM thankful for these social networking sites. For an introvert like me, it’s a great way to stay in touch with long lost friends… without having to actually commit to awkward “catching up” conversations. You can stay privy to their latest activities just by simply peeking into the latest pics they uploaded to their account or reading their shout out or status. Do you know of anyone who doesn’t have an account? In our office there are only a handful of people left… they are the only ones who can’t relate to what the rest of our group is talking about (Farmville, pet society, café world, typing maniac etc.)

The fact that Unfriend —as in deleting someone as a friend on a social network such as Facebook, was even chosen as the word of the year is proof enough how widely these social networking sites are used worldwide. Just say it and everybody understands. Sure there were other contenders for the honor of being the word of the year. According to a Oxford University Press USA blog post, words like netbook and sexting were in the running, but in the end, Unfriend won hands down. Haha!

There, I just had to share that factoid. Ok, gotta go, I’ve got a list of people that I gotta unfriend. *wink*