Algospeak was not what I expected at all.
I expected a deep dive into how social media has changed the words we use as well as changed the language itself. While the book does start there, it tends to go off in tangents down 4chan, incels and beauty influencers’ paths. It flits around clickbait, rage-bait and trend-bait posts too.
The one path I found the most interesting was how influencers use trending words to increase their chances to go viral. I have noticed that the topics tend to mimic other viral videos but not individual words. The author explains why “Fetch” in Mean Girls never caught on, with The Plastics, or in real life. He suggests that using humor, and/or songs, is the best way to make a new phrase, and a post about it, go viral. But warns that you never want to caricature, aka flanderize, yourself for views. Anyone just starting posting online would find this part of the book very instructive.
When Algospeak sticks to etymology, I found it fascinating. Who knew that “okay” was a meme from Boston newspapers in the mid-nineteenth century meaning “all correct”? Or that “slang” used to be a term that implied you were from the lower classes and didn’t know the correct term for something?
This book does have a bit of everything thrown in it. While that broadens its audience, it also means readers may find themselves skimming information not that compelling to them. Still, it is an interesting read. 3.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an advanced review copy.