Addictionary: social word coinage

And yet another post on collective dictionaries? Sort of. Addictionary is a website enginet* in which people can add their own words and definitions, i.e. coin new words. I have already analyzed several apps with a similar aim, so when compared to those, this is how Addictionary rates:

• Sign-up required in order to submit your word.
• The add-a-word tab/window offers more customization than Leximo’s, for instance. However, I still miss the sound file / Forvo-like option for pronunciation.

• “Social flavor”: users can add comments, tags, pictures (I have a couple of suggestions around the following question: why just uploading?), synonyms, etc. not only to their own contributions but also to others’.
• Sharing options: Limited, the only possibility is to email the word (no twitter, friendfeed, etc.)
• Personal lexicon options: Non-existent or very limited (just bookmarking???)…
• More missing features: bookmarklet (or more advanced components related to an integrative media ecosystem, browser add-ons, APIs…)
• There’s a section called “There Oughta Be a Word for…”, where you can leave your suggestion/question and wait for replies (or suggest yours). There are also contests on words.
• Addictionary seems to be also leveraging the code component by offering ad hoc solutions to other sites, and that’s why we can find The Tennis Addictionary or The Political Addictionary.
• Just like with other sites such as the Urban Dictionary, there’s the possibility to subscribe to their Word of the Day (or to get a widget for your own blog).

So far, so good…Yes, I must admit that the design is also important, and they got a slick product here. But nobody and nothing is perfect I’m afraid. So wake up and smell the coffee: Their TOS…AGAIN! Ok, once again, this is a service based upon that vague and distorting notion of crowdsourcing: users generating the content that will drive more traffic and critical mass. And that’s money, too. Especially, if you get the best definitions (just like they did with Urban Dictionary) and publish a book with them…That’s money too.

Read:

Basically, doesn’t it mean “the risk is yours, the rights are ours?”…I don’t know the reasons why they opted for this solution (instead of opting for Creative Commons, for instance)…but I think that’s a big mistake, for many reasons, and a constraint.

As you can see there’s a huge market out there, especially the wide niche market of language learning. This trend of  mushrooming initiatives is not surprising at all.  It helps me get a better picture of what a great online social dictionary could be, getting the best traits from those initiatives and working and filling on their blanks (taking into account several perspectives such as: the user-experience analysis (including design aspects), the linguist perspective, the learner/tutor needs and the openness and shareability perspectives). Of course, the first thing I did after tinkering with it was to search if they‘re offering vacancies, but unfortunately they aren’t…;)

*What’s an enginet?: An engine of engagement.

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