We've shifted from writing letters to posting on Facebook (pictures and words) to posting on Instagram (pictures of words). We've replaced words with emojis and soon we may communicate with grunts and signals only.
I can complain about that until I'm red in the face (and have), or I can join the revolution.
Today I'm doing that. Today, I'm proposing the Five-Word Encyclopedia.
This is where Wikipedia meets Twitter, then shaves it down. A lot.
You know Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia where people contribute information on everything.
You probably know Twitter and here's where it fits. Twitter was originally a "micro-blog," a place where people would post thoughts using 140 characters (including spaces!) or less. Then it adjusted the length to 280 spaces.
I'm going the other way. In a world where everything is online and brevity is valued, I today provide a new idea: Five-Word Encyclopedia (FWE).
Five words. About everything.
When you need to know enough to say something brief about any topic, you can go to the FWE.
You want to know about Greenland, but don't need to read through the history of the country? Come to my site, which tells you, "Part of Denmark. Not Iceland."
You want to know about John Denver, but don't need a list of his songs? Come to my site, which tells you, "Singer of 'Rocky Mountain High."
Five words. Exactly five words!
Like the hitchhiker character in "Something About Mary" who insisted his "Seven-Minute Abs" were going to revolutionize the fitness industry, I believe my idea will change everything.
Here are some examples of movie descriptions on FWE:
"The Godfather." Son takes over mob empire.
"Casablanca." "Play it again Sam" flick.
"Wizard of Oz." Girl leaves, returns to Kansas.
"Forrest Gump." Low-IQ man does everything.
"Star Wars." Kirk and Spock visit worlds.*
(* Some definitions haven't been vetted for accuracy.)
You see the value of this. You don't always need the thousands-of-words description of the Civil War found in Wikipedia. If you want a quick description, come to the FWE and get this description of the Civil War: North defeats South, ends slavery.
Five-word descriptions. It's ingenious!
There are plenty of areas that this is helpful. You need to talk about an actor?
Tom Cruise: Versatile actor, aging slowly, Scientologist.
Johnny Depp: Willie Wonka, 21 Jump Street.
Kate Winslet: Academy Award Winner (also: Titanic).
Will Smith: Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Sports is another area where the FWE will help.
Instead of Googling "Oakland Raiders" and sifting through the team's website, history, current roster and more, you can come to this proposed site and get the five-word description: Three titles; twice abandoned Oakland.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Haven't won championship since '88.
1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team: Do you believe in miracles?
You don't need hundreds of words to describe most things. You just need a sentence.
With the FWE, you can have a knowledge base that's a mile wide and five-words deep. Go to a cocktail party and someone mentions Boris Johnson, the prime minister of England. You quickly check FWE and have something to say: "England's version of Donald Trump."
Bingo, bango!
(Bingo: Game involving cards, beans, numbers.)
This changes everything. Years from now, people will routinely mention FWE and when they think about where the idea started, they can look up my name in FWE.
Brad Stanhope: Inventor of Five-Word Encyclopedia.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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