August 6, 2018 – Hacks is now the word for tips and tricks?

         Obviously, I have been living under a rock.  That is my usual phrase when something that has been around for some length of time hasn’t jumped up and “bit me in the ass”. 

         I sound a bit perturbed, now don’t I?  Why do we suddenly have to change the meaning of words?  What was wrong with the words: tips, tricks, clever ideas, or, sleight of hand?

     Suddenly they are not good enough for anyone searching on the internet?  So, now I have to look for “tips for sassy styles for short hair” as well as look for “hacks for sassy styles for short hair”?  Perhaps the tips will be old fashioned and not suited for millennials and the hacks will be suited for millennials and no one else?  Do you think??

         So, I tested it, yes, ‘12 Hair Hacks for short-haired girls’.  Girls?  I resent being called a girl.   Women politicians do this all the time.  Who are they talking to?  Not me. I have a D cup bra and am certainly not a girl.  Call me a woman, a lady, even a bi__h before you call me a “girl”.

         And, next year hacks will be passé and I’ll have to figure out what the new word is?  When I search – are all hacks also cross-referenced with tips?  And, are all tips cross reference with hacks?  I doubt it.

         Then people wonder how us “retired folks” get along these days.  Obviously slower if we have to notice the actual usage of words are changing and spend valuable time sorting out a new word usage for a well-established word that still actually means “hacking into computer systems.”

         It is not as if it is a new word – selfie for instance or sexting.  Those were new words – with new meanings.

         I had to search the internet to get a handle on this new word to add to my vocabulary.  Below is what I found – just in case hack or hacks used in this sense is new to you.  You might as well take advantage of my research.

         Now, life hack?  [Life hack refers to any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increase productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life.  Wikipedia]

Don’t you just love how expanded that definition is, all walks of life.  Now all my skills are life hack – gosh I wish I had a job to apply to so that I could add that to my resume.  Lah de da!

The urban dictionary indicates the use as:  Frank was life hacking his fridge to make it more efficient.

Does that mean when I clean out the dryer lint catcher that I am life hacking to improve the efficiency of my dryer?  No, I don't think so.  It means common sense - clean out the lint catcher so that your laundry dries quicker or if you don't the dryer vent could possibly clog and you could have yourself a fire.  I guess I can be called a safety hacker now - yes, no?  Am I getting this completely wrong?  Sure sounds like I am. 

          What sort of language usage is life hack or hacks anyway?  Is it a verb, now, or what?  Interchangeable?  So far, I have seen it used in stilted sentences.

         I also found Quora who gave me a bit more information:

https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-use-of-hack-in-everyday-non-programming-contexts-mean-Specifically-Im-referring-to-the-use-of-the-word-hack-that-is-common-on-Quora-that-vaguely-approximates-to-the-word-workaround

"The word came out of MIT and the hacker culture there, so the best pseudo-primary source would be the Jargon File.  Here are some references, distilled to the relevant points."

·       hack - Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well. 

·       The Meaning of ‘Hack’ - ‘an appropriate application of ingenuity’.

·       neat hack - A clever technique

Does it replace the old phrase Gerry-rigged? Or the phrase – ‘must have been a gov’ment job’?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_hack 

Life hack (or life hacking) refers to any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life.  The term was primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a playful curiosity in the ways they can accelerate their workflow in ways other than programming.

And finally, after an extended prowl around the internet, I found The New Yorker reporting in 2014 that 'hack' was overused, and, giving one a history:

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/a-short-history-of-hack

“The Web site Lifehacker offers tips on “how to install a laundry chute,” “make a DIY rapid-fire mouse button,” . . .

         And, I also find a weblog called “Lifehacker” [launched in 2005] where you can learn tips and tricks for everything from computers to brewing coffee from the team at Lifehacker. Oh my gosh, they used "tips and tricks" how dare they?

         It was that simple – in order to get traffic to their blog they just created a new word or two to force the issue – then sent their merchandizing and advertising team out to use hack and hacks and life hack and lifehacker to become so well known that Wikipedia lists them.

         I guess I will just add “hacks” to all my blog labels – it might increase my visits . . . .ha, ha, ha.