By TERRY AHNER

tahner@tnonline.comIt's funny how terminology that used to mean one thing now stands for something entirely different.Perhaps no where is that more evident than in the lingo that is commonly associated with the Information Age.Also commonly known as the Computer Age, or Information Era, the Information Age has certainly changed the way we communicate.Look no further than how our society interacts on a daily basis, where technology terminology has become the unofficial language of this generation.Not so long ago, the word cell typically referred to an organism when applied in science, or a prison to hold convicted criminals.Today, as we all know, the word cell has become popularized as a shortened way to refer to a cell phone.Aside from the computer equipped with Internet capability, there likely isn't a more in-demand form of technology at present.Which leads me to wonder what we ever did in the days before cell phones became the rule rather than the exception.Though it may seem hard to believe for those under the age of 20, there was a time when most calls were either made from home or at pay phones.Along those same lines, the term text used to be short for the word textbook used at either the high school or collegiate level.Nowadays, the word is a more fashionable way to indicate that a text message has either been sent or received from, you guessed it, a cell.Go ahead and listen in on nearly any conversation, and chances are the word text will be uttered countless times within a matter of minutes.In today's world, the term "you've got mail" is the trendy way to say we've received or sent email via the computer.It used to be that when we were told "you've got mail", that meant the mailman dropped off envelopes in our mailboxes.I must say the benefits derived from email in the workplace are tenfold, as many would surely attest.Back in the day, the word tweet was often used to describe a pet bird.That isn't so much the case today, when, instead, we are asked whether or not we Twitter.For the record, I have never tweeted.The final example that comes to mind is the social network service known as Facebook.With more than 600 million active users, the communications tool has become an integral part of many people's daily lives.In my youth, anytime the words face and book were used in the same sentence meant we were expected to put our face in our book so that to study for school.Thanks to the rapid advancements in technology, there's no doubt the pace in today's world has quickened by leaps and bounds.It makes one wonder what is yet to come in this technology juggernaut of a world we live in.