Where do “i.e.” and “e.g” come from?

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Walk me through... | 1 Comment

I stumbled upon this post explaining what i.e. and e.g. stand for which really tickled my fancy as I have often wondered. In case you have too…

Copyblogger says

i.e. vs. e.g.
Ah, Latin… you’ve just gotta love it. As antiquated as they might seem, these two little Latin abbreviations are pretty handy in modern writing, but only if you use them correctly.

The Latin phrase id est means “that is,” so i.e. is a way of saying “in other words.” It’s designed to make something clearer by providing a definition or saying it in a more common way.

Copyblogger has jumped the shark, i.e., gone downhill in quality, because Brian has broken most of his New Year’s resolutions.

The Latin phrase exempli gratia means “for example”, so e.g. is used before giving specific examples that support your assertion.

Copyblogger has jumped the shark because Brian has broken most of his New Year’s resolutions, e.g., promising not to say “Web 2.0,” “linkbait,” or “jumped the shark” on the blog in 2007.

Tags: e.g., explanation, i.e.

RSS explained in simple terms

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Walk me through... | No Comments

If you are anything like me, you may have wondered or maybe still are wondering what this RSS thing is all about and how it affects you. Like many other recent new technologies, once I understood it I feel in love and couldn’t keep away. I came across this cute and very easy to understand video that explains what RSS is and how you can harness its fabulousness. These guys at Common Craft make understanding stuff simple!

RSS explained – Common Craft

Now the only thing to figure out is what RSS stands for. I always thought it was “Really Simple Syndication” though half the information online suggests that it’s “Rich Site Summary” or “RDF Site Summary” – (I think using an acronym (RDF) in an acronym (RSS) is taking it a bit far!)

Tags: explanation, rss