Feudalism, Capitalism,...X-ism

May 1, 2007 5:40 AM

Help me coin a new word for…

I’m writing a book about online mass collaboration (Match.com, eBay, Craigslist, Flickr, MySpace, Wikipedia, MathSciNet, etc.). I need a catchy name that describes the thing itself and the behaviors characteristic of it. I want it to be an “–ism,” like “feudalism” or “capitalism.” Ideally, the term would bring to mind some essential trait of online mass collaboration, like the fact that it happens at a distance (is mediated). Here are some neologisms I’ve come up with: mediism, virtualism, wikiism, interism [from the Latin for “between”], apostism [from the Greek for “distance”], proculism [from the Latin for “at a distance.”]

Vote or suggest something. No “Web 2.0” or derivatives please. Thanks.

posted by MarshallPoe to computers & internet (28 comments total)

Hiveism, hivism?
posted by JJ86 at 5:48 AM on May 1, 2007

Collaborism.

Collaboristic.

Don't coin a pseudo-latin/greek phrase. Those days are over.
posted by humblepigeon at 5:50 AM on May 1, 2007

e-mergent?
posted by sonofslim at 5:50 AM on May 1, 2007

e-mergent is pretty sweet...
posted by sunshinesky at 6:03 AM on May 1, 2007

massocollaborism

massocollaboration

I do like humblepigion's collaborism
posted by Kevin S at 6:04 AM on May 1, 2007

I kind of like humblepigion's collaborism, too.

What about kathedism, from the greek for all(or everyone) here?
posted by Jakey at 6:17 AM on May 1, 2007

You may be having trouble because there's already a word for it: communism. The only difference from traditional communism is that the community lacks a center in meatspace. The center exists, just in bitspace. Think "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
posted by kc0dxh at 7:02 AM on May 1, 2007

coincidism
collusionism
amalgamism
consolidism

And not a one in the firefox spellcheck dictionary, so that's a good sign, I guess.
posted by cortex at 7:13 AM on May 1, 2007

MetaFilter: Bitspace Communism
posted by theiconoclast31 at 7:14 AM on May 1, 2007

WriteYourOwnBookism.
posted by mkultra at 7:23 AM on May 1, 2007

Communitism - like Communism, but different!
posted by lowlife at 7:32 AM on May 1, 2007

Groupery.
Clusterness.
BentoBoxism.
Sardinery.

I got nothing.
posted by Dizzy at 7:38 AM on May 1, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

SoupAndSaladism.
Blenderiffic.
Poolishness.
Stewy.

Still nothing.
posted by Dizzy at 7:41 AM on May 1, 2007

Irritatingneologism.

Or "Jism" for short.
posted by genghis at 7:44 AM on May 1, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

dotcommunism
antischism
interschism
wwwism
wwwebism
posted by iamkimiam at 7:46 AM on May 1, 2007

Hodgepodgery.
Smorgasbordery.
Melanginess.
Pasticharama.

Yikes.
posted by Dizzy at 7:48 AM on May 1, 2007

I'm thinking about writing another book just so I can use some of Dizzy's great new terms...
posted by MarshallPoe at 8:02 AM on May 1, 2007

I thought it was just online collectivism? Info-collectivism?
posted by rush at 9:02 AM on May 1, 2007

I like dotcommunism, but it's probably a little too cute. Truth be told, wiki-ism is probably best, because it's the only one that seems right and immediately brings to mind its meaning.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:22 AM on May 1, 2007

Frankism
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 9:30 AM on May 1, 2007

Mmolaborism
posted by Aquaman at 9:34 AM on May 1, 2007

The phrase that I think of when I think of the stuff mentioned here is "participatory culture," althoug that's not an ism, and doesn't fit precisely with the intended meaning. Although it's mostly used in reference to the online world, it doesn't explicitly reference that, and I'm not sure that stuff like match.com or ebay amount to participatory culture, though flickr and wikipedia do.

Communism and collectivism don't quite work to my mind, even apart from the baggage those words have acquired. "Online communalism" might work.

Disintermediation is used sometimes to describe the way the network allows individuals direct access to one another, without going through gatekeepers like television/newspapers/retailers, and that's an element of this, but not all of it.
posted by adamrice at 9:44 AM on May 1, 2007

It's not communism, but communalism. Disintermediation allows it to flourish.

Match.com is collaborative?
posted by rhizome at 12:02 PM on May 1, 2007

Remolaboration
posted by parallax7d at 1:58 PM on May 1, 2007

epluribism
symbiotics
tholianism
futilism
posted by rob511 at 3:48 PM on May 1, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

A quick few:

discorporatism (you know, because it puts power in the hands of the people and because we're disembodied out on the web)
mutualism (which already is a word, but you could whack an e- on the front, I suppose)
e-volution (stick an -ism on the end if you must, I guess)
elaborism (break off the e- for bonus points, labore = work from latin, hints at 'collaboration' from same root, and also to 'elaborate' or explain, not euphonius, though)

I could do this all day -- I love making up words -- but I gotta run for now.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:17 PM on May 1, 2007

Choose anything that starts with an e and a hyphen and you will live to (r)e-gret it.
posted by poweredbybeard at 7:18 PM on May 1, 2007

Synergism and mutualism already exist.

Unanimi-ism? :P

Cooperatism, harmonism.

Conglomerism, combinism.

OK, space..

Speckleism or stippleism (would have liked to use strew, but it sounds terrible). Commodism :P

Diffusism, diffusionism, scatterism.

Aha! Dispersivism, or dispersalism..
posted by Chuckles at 7:41 PM on May 1, 2007