Glossary Of Popular Terms
Short definitions of many of the words we use during the creation, development and ongoing execution of strategic, transformation and business planning programs.
Frameworks:
The Strategic Framework - Typically used to define the strategic session outcome we conducted used Group Partners' Strategic Frameworks—a logical suite of conversations (through a series of modules) designed to answer the ‘exam question’.
Structured Visual Thinking™ - A methodology that uses visual tools and techniques to create outcomes based on real meaning and clarity. It fosters alignment and reduces risk in leadership teams developing strategy and plans. The power of logical and structured thinking results in the creation of frameworks, which emerge from an extensive appreciation of the context and then calculating what mechanism will help answer the challenge.
Framework Science™ - The techniques and process of curating and collecting the content needed to make the tough choices for strategy. Frameworks are potent tools for forcing the right debate. They create the arcs for strategic narratives, help build business cases, and make the wisest decisions. Understanding the insights and patterns within the information is at the core of Framework Science™.
The Exam Question - In Structured Visual Thinking™ describes the started challenge or opportunity as an open question ((not answering it in any way). It’s, therefore a powerful tool for initiating and guiding conversations. It can be completely open or very specific. The choice of the Exam Question is crucial as it influences how we prepare and consider the context we develop through our exploration activity. It sets the stage for strategic development and transformation, prompting the team to consider all relevant factors and potential scenarios.
The Business Equation™ - The formula we apply that allows for rational decisions and achieves a strategy that works. In simple terms, To answer a given challenge, you need a clear outcome, the signs of achieving that outcome, and an understanding of the context and dynamics, which are the challenges that need to be overcome. These things are interdependent alongside achieving the vision needed for the future we want, the critical success factors, and the operational blueprint that includes technologies, culture, capability, processes, systems, and the roadmap to get there.
The Expert Network™ - A feature of Group Partners that has been in place for over 22 years. It is a network of outstanding individuals/businesses who bring their expertise and resources. Group Partners introduced this network to continue to provide valuable, objective work without creating a dependency. Group Partners has no financial incentive for referrals within this network.
More Definition:
Framework - A rational, logical and proven structure to help understand complex issues or organize knowledge to develop clear choices and decisions.
Framework Integrity - The quality of being true to the result of the strategic framework over time and understanding natural changes but at every stage be inclusive, honest, ethical, and consistent in principle.
Structural Clarity - The quality of being easy to understand for all key stakeholders through clear, concise language and visualisation.
Framework Simplicity - The quality of being uncomplicated in design and straightforward in function. This is mission-critical for communication and engagement.
Framework Flexibility - The quality of being adaptable to different contexts or situations.
Framework Robustness - The quality of being sturdy, resilient, and able to withstand challenges.
Framework Transparency - The quality of being open, honest, and revealing of the internal workings - system thinking and interconnectedness.
Ethics - Moral principles that govern how frameworks are developed and used.
Structured Methodology - The system of methods we use (Structured Visual Thinking™ and Framework Science™) to perform a task or study a problem.
Data - Facts, statistics, or items of information gathered and used in frameworks and housed in a structured set of tools for the benefit of the program.
Peer Review - The evaluation of work by experts in the same field.
Blueprints:
Operational Blueprint (Strategy) - An operational blueprint is a comprehensive and focused plan that outlines how an organization aligns its teams and operations to achieve the strategy. Specifically a new vision, mission, and objectives. It details the roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities required to support the strategic vision. The blueprint also highlights any gaps that need to be addressed. The ‘blueprint’ is a core component in a valid strategy and is another framework within Framework Science™.
Types Of Strategies:
Marketing Strategy - An overview of a comprehensive marketing strategy's main components, tactical plans, and guiding principles. Provides structure and alignment.
Campaign Strategy - An outline of the key elements and actions needed to execute an individual marketing campaign focused on specific goals, including media plan and budget allocations.
Growth Strategy - Actions taken to increase sales, market share, user base, brand awareness or other growth metrics. Requires aligning marketing with business goals.
Brand Strategy - A plan for defining brand identity and guiding efforts to build brand awareness, affinity, and loyalty over time.
Blue Ocean Strategy - Creating uncontested market space by developing products and services without prior competition.
Digital/Technology Strategy - The plan for transforming (often) legacy systems or leveraging new technologies, techniques and tools to accelerate towards the strategic outcomes.
Business Strategies - Business Plans Glossary:
Business Strategy - An organisation's long-term plan to achieve its objectives and grow the business. Examples are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategy.
Competitive Advantage - What gives a company an edge over rivals in its industry. It can be based on lower costs, differentiation, faster speed, etc.
The Value Proposition - The unique value and key benefits a company promises customers to differentiate from competitors.
Target Market - The specific customer segment a business aims to serve and sell to. Defined by demographics, behaviours, and needs.
Marketing Strategy - Activities to promote and sell products/services to target markets and achieve business goals.
Sales Strategy - The plan and process for selling products/services to reach revenue objectives.
Distribution Strategy - How a company delivers, sells and makes products available to customers. It may include retail, online, and direct sales.
Growth Strategy - The strategic plans to grow the business through increasing market share, new products, new markets, and acquisitions.
Exit Strategy - The plan to liquidate or sell a company to provide a return to owners and investors.
Milestones - Key dates for achieving objectives outlined in a business plan. Used as a timeline for execution.
Capital Requirements - The amount of equity and debt financing estimated to be required to fund business operations and growth plans.
Breakeven Analysis - Assessing the revenue needed to cover fixed and variable costs so the business reaches net profitability.
Pitch Deck - A presentation used to persuade investors or partners to fund or support a business venture. Outlines the business plan visually.
SWOT Analysis - An organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to inform strategic planning.
PEST Analysis - A technique for assessing the macro-environmental factors (political, economic, social, technological) that may impact an organization.
Value Chain - The activities that create and build value at every step of bringing a product or service to market.
Core Competencies - Activities or capabilities a company does exceptionally well that form its strategic foundation.
Business Plan - A written document detailing a company's objectives and how they will be achieved. Includes products/services, target markets, operations, marketing, finances, etc.
Executive Summary - An overview section of a business plan summarising its key points for readers. Typically, the first section.
Market Analysis - A business plan section analyzing the industry, target customers, competitors, market size and trends. Assesses opportunities and risks.
Competitor Analysis - A detailed assessment of rival companies' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Financial Projections - Forward-looking predictions of revenues, expenses, cash flows and other financial metrics for a business plan.
Structured Visual Thinking™ Glossary:
Structured Visual Thinking™ (SVT™) - A strategic approach that translates complex business challenges (through dialogues) into visual blueprints, facilitating clearer understanding and ownership of vision, planning, organizational/cultural strategy, transformation and change.
Group Partners - The organization or team behind the SVT™ approach. They specialize in business performance and leadership by being truly objective and facilitating and driving the conversations that shape the visual blueprints of a business's future.
Framework Science™ - The methodological backbone of SVT, ensuring that the visual representations are not just creative but are based on sound principles and logical sequences.
The Blueprint - A tangible, visual representation of an organisation's collective understanding, decisions, and strategies. Serves as a guide for future action and decision-making.
Ownership Principle - The idea is that when teams help create a strategy (by actively participating in its formulation), they are more likely to own, understand, and effectively execute it.
Strategic Dialogue - Structured and sequential conversations that act as the building blocks for the visual blueprints. They are designed to extract the leadership team's insights, knowledge, and decisions.
Engagement Model - How SVT™ fosters deeper involvement and commitment from the leadership team, leading to more effective strategy implementation.
Business Destiny - The envisioned future of an organization, formed through collective input and visualized through SVT.
Innovation Mapping - Using SVT™ to chart out pathways for innovation, identifying opportunities, challenges, and necessary resources.
Adaptive Strategy - A strategy formulated using SVT, known for its flexibility and ability to evolve in response to changing business environments.
Visual Logic Sequence - The process by which conversations are organized and translated into visual components, ensuring that the resulting blueprint is both coherent and actionable.
Collaborative Creation - The participative approach of SVT, where insights and decisions are drawn collectively from the team, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose.
Destiny Design - The act of proactively and collaboratively crafting the future trajectory of a business rather than passively reacting to external factors.
Business Model/Model - A representation or outline of a system or structure. Models provide a simplified view of complex ideas.
Contextual Mapping - Illustrating the relationships between concepts through links and connections within a framework context.
Facilitation - Leading a group discussion or workshop using techniques to encourage engagement, inclusion, understanding, and productive outcomes.
Visual Facilitation - Using visual thinking techniques as part of the facilitation - the discovery and honouring of the discussion to capture, organize and share information visually in real-time.
Other Popular Terms:
Diagram - A visual display representing information through symbols, shapes, and labels. Diagrams depict relationships. It is often used in a Group Partners session to create clarity.
Flowchart/Journey - A diagram with boxes, arrows, and symbols to show a process or workflow. Often used as a device within SVT™ to show value chains and customer or supply side journeys,
Taxonomy - A scheme of classification that orders concepts into hierarchical groups or categories.
Matrix - A grid-like structure that organizes data into rows and columns, allowing analysis. We will create such devices within parts of the frameworks where such a display improves understanding.
Deliverable Visual Tools/Aids - Any graphic component, module or complete framework or blueprint that emerges from our work. In some cases, it could be a chart or image that facilitates understanding the outcomes of assignments and simplifies complex information.
Strategic Layout - The structured arrangement of text, shapes, and symbols within a visual representation. It is a term primarily used in the briefing and design phases of the work.
Handwriting/Typography - The style and appearance of printed text, numbers, and legends frequently used in structured frameworks.
Alphanumeric/Colour-coding - Using numbers and colour to classify, link, or distinguish elements. They are used to refer people to parts of a structured framework.
Not Structured Visual Thinking™
Graphic Recording - This is NOT the work of Group Partners - creating large-scale hand-drawn visual notes of meetings, workshops, and conferences in real-time, translating discussions into graphics. No matter what the value of the information.
Sketchnoting - This is NOT the work of Group Partners - combining text, doodles, illustrations, and shapes on a page to summarize and share information from speeches, lectures, and meetings.
Mind Mapping - This is NOT the work of Group Partners and is very different to Structured Visual Thinking™ - it is more of a connected box and line diagram that links ideas and concepts together radially around a central topic.
Operational/Transformation Change Glossary:
Change Management - The process of guiding an organisation and its people through strategy, structure, processes, technology, or culture changes.
Transformation - Fundamental, radical restructuring and reorientation of an organisation's strategy, operations, systems or culture.
Change Agent - Individuals who lead and champion change initiatives. They motivate and inspire adoption.
Change Advocacy - Actively promoting the need, reasons, and benefits of a change initiative throughout an organization.
Barriers/Resistance - Behaviours that slow or hinder organisational change, driven by fear, uncertainty, or disagreement with the change.
Change Impact Analysis - Assessing how proposed changes affect processes, technology, employees, customers and other stakeholders.
Change Readiness - The organizational and employee capacity and mindset to successfully make required changes.
Implementation Plan - Detailed plan and timeline for rolling out and adopting changes to processes, systems, and organisational structures.
Training - Developing employee skillsets and knowledge to adjust to process or technology changes.
Pilot Program - Implementing a change with a small group first to test it before full rollout. Allows testing and course correction.
Post-Implementation Review - Assessing results after a change to identify improvements and lessons learned for future initiatives.
Opportunities Glossary:
Innovation - Developing new or improved products, services, processes, business models, or marketing methods to create value and gain competitive advantage.
Disruptive Innovation - Breakthrough innovations that displace established technologies, products, or entire markets by being simpler, more accessible, and gaining adoption rapidly.
Incremental Innovation - Smaller scale, continual improvements to existing products, services, processes, or business models.
Product Innovation - Introducing new products or features to meet emerging customer needs or trends.
Business Model Innovation - Developing new ways of creating, delivering or capturing more value, such as subscriptions vs purchases.
First Mover Advantage - Businesses that are first to market with innovation may gain customers ahead of rivals.
SWOT Analysis - Assessing internal strengths & weaknesses and external opportunities & threats to uncover new prospects for innovation and growth.
Competitor Analysis - Identifying opportunities by closely monitoring competitors' offerings, strategies, and weaknesses.
Market Research - Gathering input and insights from customers and industry stakeholders to identify unmet needs and innovation opportunities.
Marketing Strategies Glossary:
Competitive Strategy - A plan to achieve a competitive advantage by differentiation, cost leadership, niche focus, or other means. Positions brands in the marketplace.
Growth Strategy - Approaches to increase sales and expand market share, such as market penetration, product development, and diversification.
Segmentation Strategy - Dividing a broad market into meaningful consumer segments with everyday needs/behaviours to target effectively.
Brand Strategy - A plan to build awareness, shape perceptions, and drive affinity and loyalty over time. Develops the brand promise.
Integrated Marketing Strategy - A unified approach coordinating initiatives across media, messaging, experiences, and channels. Aligns for impact.
Product Strategy - A plan for optimizing a product or service's price, features, aesthetics, and innovations over its lifecycle.
Pricing Strategy - The methodology for setting optimal price points based on costs, customer willingness, and competitor pricing.
Distribution Strategy - The methods used to deliver products and services to customers when and where desired. Impacts accessibility.
Customer Retention Strategy - Actions taken to satisfy customers, build loyalty, and prevent churn or switching to competitors. Focuses on lifetime value.
Thought Leadership Strategy - Establishing expertise and credibility by consistently creating and sharing valuable insights and perspectives. Attracts attention.
Market Dynamics Glossary:
Market Trends - Patterns of emerging behaviours, attitudes, and preferences among target consumers. Important to monitor and respond to.
Market Growth - Expansion of a market driven by new customers and increased spending. Supports marketing investment.
Market Share - The percentage of total sales in a market captured by a brand or product. Market share growth is often a key objective.
Market Segments - Distinct market groups of customers with everyday needs and respond similarly to marketing. Useful for targeting.
Market Saturation - The stage at which market demand is met, and sales growth slows. Requires a shift in strategy.
Market Decline - When a market decreases in value or sales volume over time. Requires reducing spending or exiting the market.
Customer Churn - The rate customers stop using or purchasing from a company. Winning market share means minimizing churn.
Market Disruptors - Significant innovations, technologies, or entrants that threaten incumbents by radically changing customer expectations, needs or industry dynamics. Require an agile response.
Commoditization - When products or services become seen as indistinct, forcing competitors to lower prices and reduce costs to remain competitive. Brand differentiation is key.
Vision, Mission, Purpose Glossary:
Vision Statement - An aspirational description of the future an organization aims to create through its work. Provides direction.
Mission Statement - Explains the purpose of a brand or company and how it serves its customers. States fundamental goals and philosophies.
Brand Purpose - The reason a brand exists beyond making profits. Connects to customer needs and provides social/environmental benefits. Guides all branding and marketing.
Vision Statement Glossary:
Aspirational - Describes the ideal future state the organization is working towards.
Inspiring - Energizes and motivates teams and stakeholders.
Strategic - It sets direction aligned with purpose and values.
Concise - It communicates the vision in a brief, memorable way.
Timeless - A bold vision that stands the test of time.
Mission Statement Glossary:
Purpose - Outlines the company's reason for existing.
Value Proposition - Summarizes the need the company aims to fulfil.
Differentiation - Establishes how the company stands apart from competitors.
Customer Focus - Zeros in on who the company serves.
Action-oriented - Uses active, dynamic verbs to describe what the company does.
Authentic - Aligns with the true priorities and character of the organization.
Memorable - Uses clear, simple language that resonates.
Distinctive - Avoids generic, overused phrases.
Branding Glossary:
Brand Identity - The visible elements of a brand, such as a name, logo, colour palette, fonts, etc., that identify and distinguish the brand.
Brand Image - The perceptions and associations customers and others have about a brand. Formed by marketing, customer experiences, public relations, etc.
Brand Positioning - Defining where a brand sits in the marketplace and how it is differentiated from competitors. Usually, it includes defining the target audience, frame of reference, point of difference, and reason to believe.
Brand Equity - The value of a brand. Involves brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand associations.
Brand Architecture - The structure of brands within an organizational entity. Includes brand extensions, sub-brands, endorsed brands, etc.
Brand Promise - An organisation's commitment to consistently deliver specific features, benefits, services and experiences to targeted customers.
Brand Loyalty - When customers consistently choose the same brand over competitors. Driven by satisfaction, trust and perceived value.
Brand Awareness - The extent customers can recall or recognize a brand. Increased by advertising, marketing, and word-of-mouth.
Brand Association - Any idea, belief or image connected to a brand in the customer's mind. Builds brand image and equity.
Rebranding - The process of changing the identity and image of an established brand to move in a new direction. Often driven by changing market dynamics, new leadership or mergers/acquisitions.
Marketing Glossary:
Target Market - A specific group of consumers a company aims to reach with its products, services and marketing messages. Defined by demographics, psychographics, behaviours and needs.
Marketing Strategy - An overall plan for reaching target markets through strategic decisions on the marketing mix elements of product, price, place, and promotion.
Marketing Mix - The controllable elements a company combines to satisfy its target market. Includes the 4 Ps of product, price, place, and promotion.
Segmentation - Dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers with common needs, behaviours, and attributes to create groups with similar product/service needs and buying behaviours.
Positioning - Establishing and communicating the distinctive benefit and unique value proposition of a product, service, or brand about the competition.
Competitive Advantage - An attribute that allows a company to outperform its competitors, such as superior product quality, distribution, pricing, or brand image.
Marketing Communications - Various strategies, tactics and channels used to deliver messages and connect with an audience to promote a product, service or brand. Includes advertising, PR, direct marketing, etc.
Advertising - Paid, non-personal communication transmitted through media to promote a product, service, brand or idea.
Public Relations - Managing the spread of information between an organization and the public to promote a positive brand image and relationships. May include press releases, events, sponsorships, etc.
Omnichannel - Integrated marketing communications - A strategic approach coordinating messaging and communications across multiple channels to create clarity, consistency and impact.
Governance:
Policies - Documented guidelines that outline expected marketing practices and processes. Provide guidance and parameters.
Standards - Established specifications and protocols that ensure consistency and quality of marketing programs.
Processes - Defined sequences of marketing activities with clear inputs, workflows and outputs. Streamline operations.
Guidelines - Recommended approaches, methods and best practices to inform marketing decision-making. Allow flexibility.
Compliance - Following laws, regulations, policies, and ethical codes that apply to marketing, advertising, data use, etc. Ensures legal and reputational risk management.
Authorization - Required approvals from management to initiate proposed marketing strategies and allocate resources. Provides oversight.
Performance Metrics - Quantitative indicators used to measure and evaluate the impact of marketing programs. Enable data-driven decisions.
Audits - Periodic assessment of marketing practices, spending, workflows, tools, and documentation to identify issues. Supports continuous improvement.
Transparency - Open communication and reporting on marketing operations, decision logic, budgets, and results. Drives alignment.
Documentation - Creating records of marketing activities, protocols, creative assets, and results. Enables knowledge sharing.
Business Metrics Glossary:
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - Quantitative metrics used to track progress towards critical organizational objectives.
Benchmarking - Comparing a company's performance metrics and processes to an established standard or competitors. Identifies improvement opportunities.
Balanced Scorecard - A strategy tool that tracks KPIs across four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning and growth.
SWOT Analysis - Assessing internal strengths and weaknesses, external opportunities and threats. Identifies strategic issues.
Financial Ratios - Metrics used to assess financial health and performance, like profit margin, return on assets, and debt-to-equity ratio.
Customer Metrics - KPIs that track customer-focused measures like satisfaction, retention, lifetime value, and acquisition costs.
Process Metrics - Indicators that measure the efficiency, cycle time, and productivity of business processes and operations.
Employee Metrics - Leading and lagging indicators of employee performance, satisfaction, turnover, and development.
Sales Metrics - Quantifiable measures related to sales performance, like revenue, leads generated, conversion rates, and sales cycle length.
Marketing Metrics - KPIs that track marketing campaign performance, including ROI, traffic, conversions, and social reach/engagement.
Website Traffic - Measures the number of visitors to a website over a period of time. Key metrics are unique visitors, page views, and sessions.
Bounce Rate - Percentage of website visitors that leave the site after viewing only one page. High bounce rates indicate a lack of engagement.
Conversion Rate - Percentage of website visitors that complete a desired action like registering, downloading, or purchasing. Higher is better.
Page Load Speed - How long it takes for a webpage to load fully. Faster speeds improve user experience and SEO.
Session Duration - The average time users actively engage on a website. Longer is better.
Engagement Rate - Proportion of visitors that interact with content by clicking, sharing, commenting or other actions. Shows content resonance.
Search Engine Ranking - The position of a webpage in organic search engine results for target keywords. Higher positions equal more traffic.
Social Media Reach - Total number of unique users that view social media content from posts, ads or mentions. Increased awareness.
Sales Conversion Funnel - Model that shows the percentage of prospects that flow through stages from lead to close. Identifies bottlenecks.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) - The cost to acquire a new customer through marketing and sales efforts. Lower is more efficient.
Digital Transformation And IT Change Glossary:
Digital Transformation - Strategic changes to operations, culture and customer experiences by adopting digital technologies like cloud, mobile, AI, IoT, and automation.
Digital Maturity - The extent to which an organization has adopted digital technologies, capabilities and ways of working.
Digital Strategy - An integrated plan to transform products, processes, customer experiences and business models through digital capabilities.
Digital Disruption - New digital innovations, technologies or competitors that threaten established organizations' traditional models. Requires agile response.
IT Infrastructure - Foundational technology like networks, hardware, data centres, cloud platforms that enable digital capabilities. It may require upgrades or replacement.
Legacy Systems - Outdated IT systems that create barriers to transformation. It may need modernizing or replacing.
Agile Methodology - Iterative approach to technology development and project management that enables flexibility and responsiveness to change. Useful in digital projects.
Customer Experience (CX) - Creating positive customer interactions and journeys before, during and after purchase. Digital enhances CX.
Omnichannel - Providing customers a seamless, integrated shopping experience across all channels, online and offline. Requires digital integration.
Media Glossary:
Media Plan - An outline of the media channels, costs, timing, and frequency of ads to achieve marketing campaign goals and reach a target audience.
Media Mix - The combination of media channels used in advertising and marketing communications to reach a target audience, such as TV, radio, print, digital, outdoor, etc.
Media Buy - Purchasing advertising space or time on a media platform to place an ad. Involves negotiating costs based on reach, frequencies, placements, etc.
Media Planning - The strategic process of selecting the right media platforms, placements, timing, and inventory to achieve marketing campaign goals and reach a target audience.
Media Mix - The specific combination of media types used in a campaign, such as TV, radio, out-of-home, print, digital, etc. Determined based on budget, reach, and targeting capabilities.
Impressions - The number of times an ad is displayed. Media plans aim to maximize impressions within a given budget.
Reach - The percentage of a target audience exposed at least once to a media schedule over a given period.
Frequency - How many times, on average, a target audience is exposed to a media schedule over a period of time.
Gross Rating Points (GRPs) - A measure of the total impressions delivered by a media schedule, calculated by reach multiplied by frequency.
Cost Per Point (CPP) - The cost of reaching 1% of the target audience, measured by taking the total budget divided by gross rating points.
Demographics - Audience characteristics such as age, gender, income used to define target audiences and select appropriate media.
Psychographics - Audiences defined by psychological characteristics like attitudes, values, interests. Help match messaging to media users.
Daypart - A block of time in a day during which media is scheduled to reach a target audience based on their habits. Examples: primetime, drive time.
Creativity Glossary:
Creative Brief - A document that provides key information about the goals, target audience, tone, and other details to guide creative work development and ensure alignment with strategy.
Originality - Bringing fresh, novel ideas and perspectives generates more interest and engagement. We value imagination and outside-the-box thinking.
Innovation - Pushing creative boundaries drives growth and positions brands as leaders. For example - we aim to pioneer new approaches in our industry.
Storytelling - Compelling narratives and rich content are more memorable and relatable. Storytelling helps us connect on an emotional level.
Visuals - Striking images and visual components make creativity more vivid and impactful. For example - our visuals can immediately capture attention.
Relevance - Creative should resonate with target audiences by speaking to their needs and interests. We craft relevant messages that speak to our customers' priorities.
Personality - Infusing brands with human traits and voices build stronger connections. "Our creatives showcase the unique personality of our brand."
Consistency - Creatives maintain brand recognition when aligned to positioning and style. Our campaigns maintain our signature look and feel.
Agility - Adapting quickly to cultural trends and current events keeps brands timely. We rapidly respond to the latest trends and happenings.
Creative Development - The ideation, conceptualization and execution process to develop innovative ideas and compelling creative that resonates with a target audience.
Creative Testing - Research done with a sample of the target audience before launch to gauge the effectiveness and reception of creative concepts.
Social Media Glossary:
Influencer Marketing - Leveraging an individual with influence over potential buyers to promote products, services or ideas through sponsored content.
Engagement - Interactions that customers and followers have with a brand and its content on social media, including likes, shares, comments, clicks, etc.
Social Listening - Monitoring conversations and mentions about a brand, product, service, or topic happening online across social networks to gain insights.
Social Media Strategy - An integrated plan to achieve marketing goals using social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.
Social Advertising - Paid ads on social platforms targeted to relevant audiences using demographic, interest, and behavioural data.
Social Commerce - Enabling customers to view and purchase products directly on social platforms or from social content.
Social Amplification - Leveraging influencers or followers to increase the reach and visibility of owned social content.
Social Advocacy - Converting satisfied customers into brand advocates who promote and defend the brand online.
Social Listening Tools - Software platforms that monitor, analyze, and provide insights from online social conversations.
Social Media Management Tools - Products like Buffer and Hootsuite that help schedule, publish, track and report on social media efforts.
SEO and Data/Digital Glossary:
Analytics - Collecting and analyzing data and metrics to make informed marketing decisions and measure strategy effectiveness.
A/B Testing - Comparing two versions of something (e.g. ad creative, web page, offer) to determine which one performs better.
Return On Investment (ROI) - A measure of profit or cost-savings generated by an investment. Used to evaluate marketing performance.
SEO - Search Engine Optimization. Improve a website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant searches.
Keywords - Relevant words and phrases that users search for in search engines. SEO helps match website content to high-volume keywords.
Backlinks - Hyperlinks from other websites that point back to your site. Quality backlinks help build domain authority and improve SEO rankings.
Anchor Text - The visible, clickable text that links to another page, used in backlinks. Optimized anchor text uses relevant keywords.
Ranking - A website's position in SERP listings for a keyword or search query. The higher the position, the better the ranking.
Indexing - The process by which search engines scan, crawl and add web pages into their indexing database to be returned in results.
Crawl Budget - The amount of pages search engines can crawl on a website within a certain time frame without overloading servers.
Title Tags - HTML elements that specify the title of a web page. Important for SEO to include targeted keywords.
Meta Description - A (short) summary of a page's content designed to convince users to click. Another key SEO element.
Schema Markup - Code that adds descriptive data to help search engines understand a page's content and display it prominently.
Local SEO - Optimizing a website and online listings to improve search visibility within a geographic area.
Culture Glossary:
Shared Values - Having consistent guiding principles unites teams and provides direction. "We make decisions informed by our core values."
Collaboration - Cooperating across teams and departments enables seamless integration. "Our culture encourages working together towards unified goals."
Inclusivity - Embracing diverse voices and perspectives generates fuller insights. "We promote an atmosphere of openness and belonging."
Agility - Adapting rapidly to new opportunities leads to innovation. "Our culture embraces calculated risks and fast learning."
Empowerment - Giving teams autonomy and ownership drives greater commitment. "We believe in entrusting our people and enabling creativity."
Transparency - Open communication ensures alignment and builds trust. "Information is freely shared across all levels of our organization."
Growth Mindset - Nurturing talent development means continuously evolving. "Our teams are given opportunities to stretch their abilities."
Customer Focus - Centering decisions on customer needs increases satisfaction. "We foster organization-wide customer empathy."
Broader Definitions And Interests That Emerge Through Our Work
3D Printing - a process for making a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, typically by laying down many successive thin layers of material.
Abolitionism - an ethical ideology based upon a perceived obligation to use technology to eliminate involuntary suffering and maximise happiness in all sentient life.
Accelerating Change - a perceived increase in the rate of technological (and sometimes social and cultural) progress throughout history, which may suggest a faster and more profound change in the future.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - the intelligence of a (hypothetical) machine that could successfully perform any intellectual task that a human being can. It is a primary goal of artificial intelligence research and an essential topic for science fiction writers and futurists.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) - the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.
Artificial Life - the production or action of computer programs or computerised systems that simulate living organisms' behaviour, population dynamics, or other characteristics.
Algorithm - a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.
Android - Not the OS but a robot with a human appearance.
Astronomy - the branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe.
Astrophysics - the branch of astronomy concerned with the physical nature of stars and other celestial bodies and the application of the laws and theories of physics to the interpretation of astronomical observations.
Augmented Reality - a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.
Automation - the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, such as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
Autonomous Vehicle - a motor vehicle that uses artificial intelligence, sensors and global positioning system coordinates to drive itself without the active intervention of a human operator.
Basic Income/UBI - a proposed social security system in which all citizens or residents of a country regularly receive an unconditional sum of money from a government or some other public institution, in addition to any income from elsewhere.
Behavioural Science - the scientific study of human and animal behaviour.
Big Data - a blanket term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing applications.
Biohacking - the activity of exploiting genetic material experimentally without regard to accepted ethical standards or for criminal purposes.
Bioinformatics - the science of collecting and analysing complex biochemical and biological data using mathematics and computer science, as in the study of genomes.
Bioprinting - the three-dimensional printing of biological tissue and organs by layering living cells.
Biotechnology - the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other purposes, especially the genetic manipulation of microorganisms to produce antibiotics, hormones, etc.
Blockchain - a decentralised, free-to-access, unchangeable public record.
Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) - also known as the mind-machine interface (MMI), direct neural interface (DNI), or brain–machine interface (BMI), is a system that allows signals from the brain to direct some external computer or other electronic devices. See
Carbon Nanotube - large molecules of pure carbon that are long and thin and shaped like tubes, about 1-3 nanometers (1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter) in diameter and hundreds to thousands of nanometers long.
Claytronics - an abstract concept that combines nanoscale robotics and computer science to create individual nanometer-scale computers called claytronic atoms, or catoms, which can interact to form tangible 3D objects that a user can interact with.
Cloud Computing - using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.
Cognitive Computing - the simulation of human thought processes in a computerised model. Cognitive computing involves self-learning systems that use data mining, pattern recognition and natural language processing to mimic how the human brain works.
Cognitive Liberty - (or the “right to mental self-determination”) is the freedom of an individual to control his or her mental processes, cognition and consciousness.
Cognitive Science - the study of thought, learning, and mental organisation- draws on aspects of psychology, linguistics, philosophy, and computer modelling.
Computational Biology - developing and applying data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modelling and computational simulation techniques to study biological, behavioural, and social systems.
Computer Vision - a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world to produce numerical or symbolic information.
Connectome - a comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain, and may be thought of as its "wiring diagram". More broadly, a connectome would include mapping all neural connections within an organism's nervous system.
Cosmology - the science of the origin and development of the universe. Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory, which combines observational astronomy and particle physics.
CRISPR - an RNA-guided gene-editing platform that uses a bacterially derived protein (Cas9) and a synthetic guide RNA to introduce a double-strand break at a specific location within the genome.
Crowdsourcing - the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers.
Cryonics - the low-temperature preservation of humans who cannot be sustained by contemporary medicine, hoping that healing and resuscitation may be possible. (In the future)
Cryptocurrency - a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of currency units and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.
Cybernetics - the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things.
Cyborg - a person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body.
Data Science - the extraction of knowledge from large volumes of structured or unstructured data- a continuation of the field of data mining and predictive analytics, also known as knowledge discovery and data mining.
Deep Learning - a machine learning algorithm that attempts to model high-level abstractions in data using architectures composed of multiple non-linear transformations.
Digital Currency - an internet-based form of currency or medium of exchange (i.e., distinct from physical, such as banknotes and coins) that exhibits properties similar to physical currencies; however, it allows for instantaneous transactions and borderless transfer of ownership.
Digital Health - the convergence of the digital and genetics revolutions with health and healthcare to reduce inefficiencies in healthcare delivery, improve access, reduce costs, increase quality, and make medicine more personalised and precise.
Digital Immortality - (or "virtual immortality" or "immortality in silico") is storing a person's personality in a more durable media, i.e., a computer, and allowing it to communicate with people in the future.
Digital Native - a person born or brought up during digital technology and therefore familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age.
Disruptive Technology - any enhanced or completely new technology that helps create a new market and value network that eventually disrupts the traditional business methods and practices, rendering it obsolete.
Electronic Sports (esports) - organised multiplayer video game competitions. The most common video game genres associated with electronic sports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter, and multiplayer online battle arena.
Existential Risk - a hypothetical future event with the potential to inflict serious damage to human well-being on a global scale.
Exoplanet - a planet that orbits a star outside the solar system.
Exponential Growth - growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing total number or size.
Extropianism - an evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition. Extropians believe that advances in science and technology will someday let people live indefinitely.
Fermi(s) Paradox - the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilisation and humanity's lack of contact with, or evidence for, such civilisations.
Friendly Artificial Intelligence (friendly AI) - a hypothetical artificial general intelligence (AGI) that would positively rather than negatively affect humanity.
(Nuclear) Fusion - a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.
Future Shock - physical and psychological distress or disorientation caused by a person's inability to cope with rapid social and technological change.
Futurology - systematic forecasting of the future, especially from present trends or developments in science, technology, political or social structure, etc.
Genetic Engineering - the manipulation of DNA to produce new types of organisms, usually by inserting or deleting genes.
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) - any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods and are also widely used in scientific research to produce goods other than food.
Genomics - the branch of molecular biology concerned with genomes' structure, function, evolution, and mapping.
Genome - the complete set of genes or genetic material in a cell or organism.
Genome Sequencing - a laboratory process that determines the complete DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a single time.
Geoengineering - the deliberate large-scale manipulation of an environmental process that affects the earth's climate to counteract the effects of global warming.
Gerontology - the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of ageing.
Global Brain - a conceptualisation of the worldwide network formed by everyone and the information and communication technologies that connect them into an intelligent, self-organising system.
Graphene - an allotrope of carbon in the form of a two-dimensional, atomic-scale, hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex.
Grey Goo - a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario called ecophagy ("eating the environment").
Heat Death - (of the universe) a state of uniform energy distribution within a physical system toward a state of maximum entropy, especially viewed as a possible fate of the universe. It is a corollary of the second law of thermodynamics.
Human Augmentation - the application of technology to overcome physical or mental limitations of the body, resulting in the temporary or permanent augmentation of a person's abilities and features.
Hyperconnected - the increasing digital interconnection of people (and things) characterised by the widespread or habitual use of Internet connectivity devices.
Information Age - (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age) a period in human history characterised by the shift from traditional industry that the Industrial Revolution brought through industrialisation to an economy based on information computerisation.
Information Technology (IT) - the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data.
Intelligence Amplification (IA) - (also called cognitive augmentation and machine-augmented intelligence) refers to the effective use of information technology in augmenting human intelligence.
Internet of Things (IoT) - a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.
In Vitro - (of a process) performed in a test tube, culture dish, or elsewhere outside a living organism.
Kardashev Scale - a method of measuring a civilisation's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy a civilisation can utilise. The scale has three categories: Type I, II, and III.
Life Extension Science is the study of slowing down or reversing ageing processes to extend the maximum and average lifespan.
Machine Learning - a branch of artificial intelligence- concerns constructing and studying systems that can learn from data.
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) - a free Web-based distance learning program designed for the participation of large numbers of geographically dispersed students.
Materials Science - an interdisciplinary field which deals with the study of matter and its properties, as well as the discovery and design of new materials.
Memristor - a type of resistor in which the flow of electrical current in an electronic circuit is determined by the amount of charge that has previously flowed through it.
Metamaterial - a synthetic composite material with a structure that exhibits properties not usually found in natural materials, especially a negative refractive index.
Metaverse - a collective virtual shared space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet.
Molecular Biology - the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. It chiefly concerns understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between the different types of DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis, as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.
Molecular Manufacturing - a branch of nanotechnology that uses nanoscale (extremely small) tools and non-biological processes to build structures, devices, and systems at the molecular level.
Moore's Law - the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years. This has also been used to suggest exponential increases in "total computing power", "calculations per second" or "calculations per watt of power".
Morphological Freedom - a proposed civil right of a person to either maintain or modify their own body, on their terms, through informed, consensual recourse to, or refusal of, available therapeutic or enabling medical technology.
Nano Factory - a proposed compact molecular manufacturing system that could build a diverse selection of large-scale atomically precise diamondoid products, possibly small enough to sit on a desktop.
Nanotechnology - the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale.
Neural Network - a computer system modelled on the human brain and nervous system.
Neural Prosthesis - any electronic and/or mechanical device that connects with the nervous system and supplements or replaces functions lost by disease or injury.
Neuroscience - any or all of the sciences, such as neurochemistry and experimental psychology, which deal with the structure or function of the nervous system and brain.
Noosphere - a postulated sphere or stage of evolutionary development dominated by consciousness, the mind, and interpersonal relationships.
Nootropics - also known as smart drugs, memory enhancers, neuroenhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that purportedly improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration.
Open-source - denoting software for which the source code is freely available and may be redistributed and modified.
Optical Computer - a device that uses the photons in visible light or infrared beams, rather than electric current, to perform digital computations.
Optogenetics - the combination of genetics and optics to control well-defined events within specific cells of living tissue.
Particle Physics - the branch of physics that studies the nature of the particles that constitute matter (particles with mass) and radiation (massless particles).
Personalized Medicine - a medical model that proposes the customisation of healthcare using molecular analysis - with medical decisions, practices, and/or products tailored to the individual patient.
Post-human is a concept originating in science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists beyond being human.
Post-scarcity - an alternative form of economics or social engineering in which goods, services and information are universally accessible.
Powered Exoskeleton - (also known as powered armour, exoframe, or exosuit) is a mobile machine consisting primarily of an outer framework worn by a person and powered by a system of motors or hydraulics that delivers at least part of the energy for limb movement.
Programmable Matter - matter that can change its physical properties (shape, density, moduli, conductivity, optical properties, etc.) in a programmable fashion based on user input or autonomous sensing.
Quantified Self - a movement to incorporate technology into data acquisition on aspects of a person's daily life in terms of inputs (e.g. food consumed, quality of surrounding air), states (e.g. mood, arousal, blood oxygen levels), and performance (mental and physical).
Quantum Computer - a type of computer that exploits the quantum mechanical properties of subatomic particles to allow a single operation to perform many different computations simultaneously on a large amount of data.
Quantum Mechanics - the branch of mechanics that deals with the mathematical description of the motion and interaction of subatomic particles, incorporating the concepts of quantisation of energy, wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle, and the correspondence principle.
Regenerative Medicine - deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function".
Robotics - the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots and computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing.
Roko's Basilisk - a proposition that says an all-powerful artificial intelligence from the future may retroactively punish those who did not assist in bringing about its existence.
Seasteading - the concept of creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outside the territory claimed by the government of any standing nation.
Semantic Web - an extension of the existing World Wide Web. It provides a standardised way of expressing the relationships between web pages to allow machines to understand the meaning of hyperlinked information.
Simulated Reality - the hypothesis that reality could be simulated—for example, by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds that may or may not be fully aware that they live in a simulation.
Singularitarianism - a social movement defined by the belief that a technological singularity—the creation of superintelligence—will likely happen in the medium future and that deliberate action ought to be taken to ensure that the Singularity benefits humans.
Singularity - the technological singularity, is a hypothetical moment when artificial intelligence will have progressed to a greater-than-human intelligence, radically changing civilisation and perhaps human nature.
Smart Dust - a collection of microelectromechanical systems forming a simple computer in a container light enough to remain suspended in air, used mainly for information gathering in environments that are hostile to life.
Space Elevator - a proposed type of space transportation system conceived as a cable fixed to the equator and reaching into space. A counterweight at the upper end keeps the centre of mass well above the geostationary orbit level.
Stem Cell - an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cells arise by differentiation.
String Theory - a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings.
Supercomputer - a potent data processing (mainframe) computer.
Synthetic Biology - designing and constructing biological devices and systems for useful purposes. It is an area of biological research and technology that combines biology and engineering, thus often overlapping with bioengineering and biomedical engineering. It encompasses various approaches, methodologies, and disciplines focusing on engineering, biology and biotechnology.
Technocracy - a term used to describe an organisational structure or system of governance where decision-makers are selected based on technological knowledge.
Technogaianism - (a portmanteau word combining "techno-" for technology and "Gaian" for Gaia philosophy) is an environmentalist stance of active support for the research, development and use of emerging and future technologies to help restore Earth's environment.
Technological Unemployment - unemployment primarily caused by technological change. Since technological change generally increases productivity, it is a tenet held in economics since the 19th century that technological change. However, it disrupts the careers of individuals and the health of particular firms and produces opportunities for creating new, unrelated jobs.
Telemedicine - the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients using telecommunications technology.
Telepresence - the use of virtual reality technology, especially for remote machinery control or apparent participation in distant events.
Terraforming - (especially in science fiction) transform (a planet) so as to resemble the earth, especially so that it can support human life.
Transhumanism - (abbreviated as H+ or h+) is an international cultural and intellectual movement with an eventual goal of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities greatly.
Turing Test - a test for intelligence in a computer, requiring that a human being should be unable to distinguish the machine from another human being by using the replies to questions put to both.
Uncanny Valley - used for the phenomenon whereby a computer-generated figure or humanoid robot bearing a near-identical resemblance to a human being arouses a sense of unease or revulsion in the person viewing it.
Vertical Farming - cultivating plant or animal life within a skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces. The modern idea of vertical farming uses techniques similar to glass houses, where natural sunlight can be augmented with artificial lighting.
Virtual Reality (VR) - sometimes called immersive multimedia- is a computer-simulated environment that can simulate physical presence in real or imagined places. Virtual reality could recreate sensory experiences, including virtual taste, sight, smell, sound, touch, etc.
Wearable Technology - a category of technology devices worn by consumers often includes tracking information related to health and fitness.
Wetware - human brain cells or thought processes regarded as analogous to, or in contrast with, computer systems.
Whole Brain Emulation - the hypothetical process of copying mental content (including long-term memory and "self") from a particular brain substrate and copying it to another computational device, such as a digital, analogue, quantum-based or software-based artificial neural network.
A Glossary Of Web3 And Immersive World Related Terms
Augmented reality (AR) - Augmented reality is a technology that adds digital components to a real-life view, such as through a Snapchat filter.
Blockchain - A digitized database for keeping records of transactions, which are stored as data units in groups called “blocks.” In contrast to a commercial bank, the database is decentralized (thus, even-handed), publicly viewable (thus, transparent) and anonymous (thus, privacy-forward). Blockchains are also practically immutable, which makes them secure from attacks.
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC): An NFT project dropped in 2021 that is one of the most popular, identifiable and expensive in the space. The project’s main collection consists of 10,000 unique art pieces depicting cartoon apes. Other collections are Mutant Apes and the Bored Ape Kennel Club. Together, these NFTs have amassed over $2.9 billion in secondary market trading, and their owners include CEOs, brands and celebrities.
Consensus Mechanism - The process by which transactions are verified and new blocks/coins are added to a blockchain’s ecosystem. Examples include proof of work and proof of stake.
Cryptocurrency - A type of digital currency that is secured through a system of code-based processes called cryptography. Crypto typically exists in the form of “coins” on a respective blockchain, and is therefore decentralized in the way that it is created and distributed. Examples of cryptocurrencies include bitcoin, ether, litecoin and dogecoin.
CryptoPunks - Another popular NFT project, CryptoPunks was originally dropped in 2017, and has since skyrocketed in value due to it being one of the first NFT art projects. The 10,000 NFTs depict unique pixel avatars of varying rarity, some of which are being sold for millions of dollars. CryptoPunks, along with BAYC, is considered highly influential in the NFT boom of 2021.
Decentralized - A framework in which functions are decided upon and carried out by an entire network of participants instead of one or a few arbiters. The reason for decentralization is to prevent power from being overly concentrated in a small number of hands.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) - A decentralized autonomous organization is a group of people that uses smart contracts to deploy money in a concentrated way. A DAO is decentralized because each member gets a vote in how the money is used and autonomous via the self-executing code of the underlying smart contract. Use cases of DAOs are still incipient but their value could feasibly handle the operations of charities, investor groups and art collectives, among other entities.
Discord - A social chat room platform that serves a popular homebase for Web3 communities, such as members of an NFT collection or a DAO. The platform has roughly 6.7 million different groups, called servers, at the time of writing.
Drop - Another word for releasing an NFT or NFT collection on a marketplace.
Ethereum - The most popular blockchain for NFTs, accounting for roughly 80% of the market share, per a JPMorgan study cited by CoinDesk. Ether is the platform’s cryptocurrency, which is the second-most popular crypto behind only bitcoin. Different from the Bitcoin blockchain, however, is that Ethereum is more than a platform for sending and receiving digital currency, namely via its ability to support smart contracts and thus NFTs, DeFi and more.
FOMO - An acronym for “fear of missing out,” the crypto community has co-opted FOMO to describe the pressure one feels toward investing in an asset (i.e. coin, NFT, etc.) that could accrue value over time.
FUD - An acronym for “Fear, uncertainty and doubt,” FUD is a term that encapsulates negative sentiment or pessimism toward an activity. In crypto, the word is typically used dismissively to characterize non-believers or such feelings toward a project. For example, a member of a specific NFT community may accuse someone of showing FUD if they don’t believe in that NFT collection’s potential to accrue value.
Gas Fees - Transaction fees for any function that is carried out on the Ethereum blockchain, such as buying NFTs. The price of gas depends on the level of activity on the network, ranging anywhere from a few dollars during times of low activity to as much as several hundred dollars during times of intense congestion. The average gas fee of an Ethereum transaction at the time of writing is $11.14, per Cointelegraph.
Gas War - A situation on the Ethereum blockchain in which heightened demand for transactions congests the network, creating a bottleneck effect where users struggle to get their transactions authorized. Gas fees will also surge immensely, hence the term “gas war.”
Interoperability - The capacity for a user to seamlessly move between platforms with their owned assets.
Metaverse - Sadly, a term wildly misused by Facebook and a company called Meta. The term metaverse was coined in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, where humans, as programmable avatars, interact with each other and software agents in a three-dimensional virtual space that uses the metaphor of the real world. No longer the exciting idea it originally was. Part gaming ecosystem, part virtual lifestyle platform, the metaverse is a collection of digital worlds that are interoperable, in which users can create content and interact with others as avatars or digital versions of themselves.
Mint - To publish an NFT on a blockchain.
Non-fungible token (NFT) - A non-fungible token is a certificate proving the authenticity and uniqueness of a digital asset. It is not the asset itself, but rather a unit of data that proves ownership of the asset and is ideally stored on a blockchain to ensure that data is incorruptible.
OpenSea - The most popular marketplace for NFTs, accounting for over 60% of the market share. OpenSea currently supports three chains: Ethereum, Polygon (which is built on top of Ethereum) and Klatyn.
Open source - When software is available to the public for collaboration and transparency. Blockchain-based platforms often make their code open source to build trust with users, while also inviting them to help strengthen the code through debugging.
Proof of attendance protocol (POAP): Contrary to the name, a POAP is not a consensus mechanism but rather an NFT that proves the holder attended a respective physical or virtual event. POAPs are created via a special smart contract (the protocol), and are typically collected to preserve memories of experiences. They must include an image, description, date and time of the event in question.
Proof of stake (PoS) - Proof of stake is a consensus mechanism that relies on staking, wherein computers (known as validators) set aside an amount of crypto as collateral to receive a chance to add blocks/coins to the ecosystem, after which they are also rewarded. This method requires far less energy to create new blocks and coins, and is currently used by less popular but growing chains like Tezos, Solana and Cardano. Ethereum is also planning to switch to PoS sometime this summer, after which it will be known as Ethereum 2.0.
Proof of work (PoW) - Proof of work is a consensus mechanism that relies on mining, wherein computers (known as miners) compete to solve a cryptographic math puzzle. The first miner to correctly solve the puzzle gets to add the new block/coins and earns a crypto reward. PoW is used by the top two blockchains, Bitcoin and Ethereum, but despite its level of experience, is known for being exceptionally energy-intensive.
Smart contract - A smart contract is the mechanism by which NFTs are minted and transferred. It is a computer program that when run, executes a function without the need for third parties, and has use in areas outside of NFTs as well, such as DeFi (decentralized finance).
Virtual goods - Assets that exist in virtual platforms and are owned and used by avatars, typically in the form of NFTs. These goods often mirror real-world assets, such as clothes (known as wearables) and furniture. They are considered essential pieces of the metaverse economy.
Virtual land - Parcels of real estate that are formatted as NFTs and exist in virtual platforms, such as The Sandbox and Decentraland. Owners can buy or rent their land on primary and secondary marketplaces and develop it however they want, from building stores that sell virtual goods to creating music festivals with performances on the platform. Like real estate, the parcels are acquired as fixed plots and cost real money (the average for the smallest plots is roughly $11,000), though transactions are made using platform-native cryptocurrencies.
Virtual Reality (VR) - Virtual reality is a technology that immerses the viewer in a wholly digital experience instead of only partially through AR. An example of a VR tool is Meta’s Oculus headset.
Web3 - A vision for the next iteration of the internet. Unlike the current system (Web2), controlled by walled gardens like Google and Facebook, Web3 emphasizes user ownership—of data, content and assets—through metaverse platforms' interoperability and blockchain technology's decentralised nature. It has been complicated as a term by the advent of AI.