Facebook wants to be the coolest and most relevant social network on the web.
According to a recently published patent filing, the social networking company is working on technology that would search Facebook posts to find new and unusual sayings to build a dictionary of up and coming slang words.
The patent – which was granted in February – describes an algorithm that would crawl through posts on the social media site for new expressions used by people who share similar attributes on the site, including location, gender and age.
The system would determine whether or not the new slang is being used widely and add it to the so-called glossary alongside a definition based on the user posts.
According to the patent, users would be able to weigh in on the definition and ask Facebook to remove the terms if they are no longer being used. Users would also be able to vote on terms that should be added to the dictionary.
A patent filing does not necessarily mean that Facebook will release a slang dictionary, but many are already comparing the possible feature to Urban Dictionary – a crowdsourced online dictionary dedicated to the Internet’s slang words.
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It’s unclear what purpose a feature like this might serve on Facebook; however, the patent reads, “Information related to one or more textual terms in the glossary is provided to enhance auto-correction, provide predictive test input suggestions, or augment social graph data.”
Does that mean my smartphone will finally recognise “on fleek” as a real word?
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