The Lexicon of New Media Terms

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Note: These entries have been loosely complied from hundreds of online and print sources. Make independent confirmation and proper citation before using any of this material for professional or academic purposes.

Terms beginning with "S"

• scaleability: The ability for a computer system or network to grow as greater demands or traffic are put on it.
• script: A list of executable commands which run either on a user's browser or a Web server when triggered.
• scripting language: Any simple programming language used to write scripts; examples include JavaScript for Web browsers or Lingo for Macromedia's Director.
• search engine: A program or Web site which catalogs online content and allows users to search for information across the World Wide Web.
• security: Protecting data from unauthorized access.
• segmentation: Marketing speak for breaking an audience down into definable subcategories such as "frequent site visitors" or "Midwest users."
• serif/sans serif: Serif typefaces like "Times" use small decorative marks on characters, making them easier to read; sans serif typefaces like "Helvetica" do not.
• service provider: A company that offers access to the Internet; same as Internet Service Provider, or ISP.
• SGML: Standard Generalized Markup Language, the broader method of publishing codes from which HTML was created.
• shareware: Software which is made available online either for use over a limited time (30 days) and/or for use at a low cost.
• sharpen: Increasing the focus of an image.
• shell: A program that provides a user interface for UNIX.
• shell account: A dial-up account to a UNIX-based service provider's computer.
• Shockwave: Macromedia's brand of Web-friendly multimedia, specifically files created using the Flash or Director application programs.
• shovelware: Content originally designed for use in print which is then also put on a Web site without changes to better fit the medium.
• signature: A short message or attachment which an e-mail program adds to the bottom of an outgoing message.
• sitemaps: Any diagram which shows or explains the heirarchy of a Web site.
• SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol, a standard for using a phone line and modem to connect to the Internet. SLIP is gradually being replaced by PPP.
• smart quotes: Non-ASCII quotation mark characters which "point" toward the in-between text being quoted.
• smiley: A group of ASCII characters that are meant to suggest a type of face; also called a emoticon.
• SMIL: Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language, a DTD for multimedia such as RealNetwork's streaming feeds.
• SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a standard method for handling e-mail through the Internet.
• software: Computer programs, either applications like Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop or operating systems like Mac OSX.
• spam: Unsoliciated and unwanted e-mail messages, usually containing advertising.
• spot color: A printing term for using typically just one to three shades of ink.
• SQL: Structured Query Language, a programming language for sending queries to databases. Properly pronounced as "S-Q-L," though many say it like the word "sequel."
• SSI: Server-side includes, code which tells a Web server in insert code from another file such as "put company site navigation links here."
• stack: A layered view of network operations where each layer is controlled by a specific protocol.
• stand alone applications: Software programs which don't require specific other programs to function; these application still need to run in an operating system, however.
• statement: Sentences of expressions in JavaScript code.
• sticky content: Marketing-speak for anything which holds a user's attention and keeps users from leaving a Web site.
• streaming media: Any digital content such as sound, video or animations which can begin playing before the entire piece of content is finished transferring to the user's computer.
• stylesheets: Presentation rules kept separate from a document's content in order to more easily change that document's presentation.
• subscriptions: Requested access to content, usually for a renewable fee.
• Sun Microsystems: Software developer which created the Java programming language.
• spoofing (1): Converting an IP address into a different one to avoid tracing Internet activity back to a connected computer.
• spoofing (2): Parody or satire of a well-known media product such as a movie, television show, advertisment, or publication.
• skins: A small software template which replaces the default look-and-feel of an application or operation system's graphic user interface.
• SWOT: Stengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a product or idea compared to all its possible rivals in a marketplace.
• Symantec: Software company known mostly for its maintenance software to repair broken systems or damaged disks.
• synchronous: Process of sending data communications at a fixed rate.
• synergy: A popular business and technology buzzword refering to cooperation or integration between things.
• sysop: System Operator, the person responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or network resource.

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Note: These entries have been loosely complied from hundreds of online and print sources. Make independent confirmation and proper citation before using any of this material for professional or academic purposes.