The tech industry is full of acronyms and other terms that sound foreign to those who aren’t considering things like customer acquisition cost (CAC) or monthly recurring revenue (MRR) every day.  

While some terms have already become part of our shared tech vernacular, new terms rise to popularity all the time based on current events and industry trends. These terms are important. Understanding, and in turn using, them can give your brand a voice within industry conversations at large — whether those are conversations at industry events (like Powderkeg) or with members of the media.  

At BLASTmedia, inserting B2B technology companies into the larger conversation is part of what we do every day. As a result, we’re always keeping an eye out rising tech terms. So, what tech terms are trending right now? Here are seven tech terms we’re seeing get a lot of buzz early in 2018:

1. Artificial intelligence (AI) – Artificial intelligence, first defined by John McCarty in the 1950s as every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it,” is commonly understood as the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior. While the concept is nothing new, discussion surrounding the topic has increased sharply since mid-2017. With that discussion comes a whole host of related terms, including machine learning and sentient robotics.

2. Account-based marketing (ABM) – Also known as key account marketing, account-based marketing is a strategic approach to marketing and sales based on account awareness in which an organization concentrates resources on a clearly defined set of target accounts within a market and employes personalized campaigns. ABM is not only gaining traction as an alternative to B2B marketing, but is also a popular topic of conversation within the martech industry — making it twice as important for marketing technology companies to add to their vernacular.  

3. Blockchain – Blockchain is a global online database that was first developed to power Bitcoin when the cryptocurrency launched in 2008. Today it is used for a variety of transactions and is seen as a public ledger of these tractions. There’s a lot of buzz around blockchain and there are nearly as many metaphors being used to explain it. For those looking to dig into “what is blockchain?”, I’d recommend starting with Jacob Kleinman’s piece for Lifehacker.

4. General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) – Most commonly known to GDPR US-audiences as GDPR or GDPR compliance, General Data Protection Regulations are a policy enacted by the European Union that go into effect May 25. GDPR will introduce new accountability obligations, stronger rights and restrictions on international data flows that will impact tech businesses, even outside of the EU.

5. Initial coin offering (ICO) – Commonly abbreviated as “ICO,” an initial coin offering refers to the practice of offering investors units of a new cryptocurrency or crypto-token in exchange for other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, or legal tender. Although ICOs are the main means by which cryptocurrency startups acquire funding, this method is unregulated and has drawn attention for failed ICOs and scams.

6. Technology acceptance model (TAM) – The technology acceptance model, also known as TAM, is a information systems theory that models how users come to accept, as well as use technology. TAM states that user acceptance is highly influenced by the perceived usefulness of the system, which can create a major barrier to IT adoption.

7. Total addressable market (TAM) – Total addressable market, sometimes referred to as total available market — and not to be confused with technology acceptance model — is used to reference the revenue opportunity available for a product or service. This metric is important to founders as they create products. It’s also a way that investors look at what the product is and what the market looks like for that product.   

While this list certainly doesn’t encompass every trending term or new buzzword in the tech world, developing a solid understanding of not only these terms, but why they’re gaining momentum, can help better inform your tech company’s communication strategy.

About the Author

Anna Julow Roolf is a VP at BLASTmedia, a national B2B technology PR agency specializing in media relations, content creation and thought leadership.