Comments on: What’s in a name? http://www.jambo.net/2005/04/29/whats-in-a-name/ Wireless Hello - Meet People Nearby Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:07:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Danny http://www.jambo.net/2005/04/29/whats-in-a-name/#comment-70 Danny Tue, 03 May 2005 16:19:42 +0000 http://www.jambo.net/wordpress/?p=83#comment-70 I like the fact that an early suggestion for answering the phone was "Ahoy", which made sense because it was used to hail unknown ships at sea. If you watch the Simpsons on TV, you'll find one of the characters carrying on this otherwise short-lived idea. I think I'll start using Ahoy to begin instant message conversations, in that tentative first volley when you're checking to see if the person is actually sitting at their computer. Checking my trusty encyclopedia of word origins reveals that perhaps the earliest ancestor of hello is "hallo-er," Old French for "to pursue crying or shouting." Perhaps not the best way to do networking, but a useful approach in certain desperate situations. :-) Now your homework is to learn the history of the word "Jambo," and how they answer the phone in Kenya. I like the fact that an early suggestion for answering the phone was “Ahoy”, which made sense because it was used to hail unknown ships at sea. If you watch the Simpsons on TV, you’ll find one of the characters carrying on this otherwise short-lived idea.

I think I’ll start using Ahoy to begin instant message conversations, in that tentative first volley when you’re checking to see if the person is actually sitting at their computer.

Checking my trusty encyclopedia of word origins reveals that perhaps the earliest ancestor of hello is “hallo-er,” Old French for “to pursue crying or shouting.” Perhaps not the best way to do networking, but a useful approach in certain desperate situations. :-)

Now your homework is to learn the history of the word “Jambo,” and how they answer the phone in Kenya.

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