The creative folks at Cramer-Krasselt were kind enough to assemble the words for 2009’s Cultural Dictionary. There are nine sections of cultural lexicon to learn, and here are some highlights to give you a sip of today’s culture.

POLITICS
Sheeple (n) – Submissive citizens.
Slacktivism (n) – Activism without all the activity.

ETHICS
Spitzer’d (v) – Getting caught in an amazingly epic feat of hypocrisy. Such as being a married government official who publicly champions family values and anti-corruption reforms while simultaneously spending ridiculous sums of money on prostitutes.

THE ECONOMY
201(k) (n) – What’s left of a 401(k) after a recession.
Cashtration (n) – A person who is cash poor, possession rich, but not wanting to sell those possessions until their value returns in the market place.

ENVIRONMENT
Ecoflation (n) – The increased cost of doing business due to the rising concerns over eco-consciousness.

TECHNOLOGY
Blackburied (adj) – The feeling of being overwhelmed by the constant flood of emails and work from your mobile device.

SOCIAL NETWORKING
BlackBerry prayer (n) – The hunched over posture common amongst those absorbed in mobile device usage, reminiscent of the pose of one deep in prayer.

PERSONALITIES & RELATIONSHIPS
Framily (n) – One’s circle of close friends who feel like family.

STRESS & LIFE
Retox (v) – To consciously go back on your promises to quit drinking or smoking.

STREET SLANG / OTHERS
Commit suey (v) – To eat way too much Chinese food that results in a queasy feeling.

Learn how to speak the rest of 2009 by reading the complete dictionary.

Back in 1964, 75% of U.S. adults read the Sunday newspaper. Forty-three years later (2007) only 55% of adults read the Sunday newspaper. According to The New York Times, daily newspaper subscriptions dropped 31% from 63.3 million to 43.7 million during 1984 to 2006.

More people are going online for news. And this trend is causing industry leaders to reconsider how they do business. Arthur Sulzberger, owner of The New York Times, has even gone as far to say,

I really don’t know whether we’ll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don’t care either. The Internet is a wonderful place to be, and we’re leading there. (source)

The Newspaper Association of America reports Internet ad revenue grew 18.8% for newspapers in 2007. But despite this online success, total advertising revenue (including online revenue) still decreased 7.9% in 2007.

The newspaper recession is a good reminder that when culture and economies change, industries may have to change their methods, as well.

[via Editor & Publisher & TechCrunch]

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I enjoy helping organizations become more effective and successful. There is no niche that holds all the answers, but I will be focusing most of my posts on the areas of design, leadership, management, marketing, technology, and culture.