Five Digital Terms You Need to Know

New terms are added to our digital vocabularies all of the time. Here are five/six terms you should know.

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of devices that feature an IP address for internet connectivity, allowing them to communicate with each other and other Internet-connected devices. The IoT may include security systems and cameras, thermostats, cars, appliances, lights, vending machines and more.

Metadata is “data about data.”  Metadata for a document may include such elements as file size, date created, author name, etc. that help to identify and locate data. You might think of it like a library card catalog for data files.

A geotag is metadata that contains geographic information. For example, photo geotags may include latitude, longitude, altitude, compass bearing and other attributes. Smartphones and many cameras automatically geotag photos, or tags may be added manually.

BitTorrent is a protocol that makes downloading large files faster on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks.  Downloading a large file from one source can be very slow, so the BitTorrent system will locate multiple computers with the same file and download it in parts from several computers at once.

Emoji are small digital images or icons used to express an idea or emotion, typically used in text messages. You can see many popular emojis and their meanings at Emojipedia.org.