There is some very refreshing news today for those who live outside the rarified atmosphere of the internet world, and indeed for many of us struggling for breath within it - most people don't have a bloody clue what net buzzwords mean but can evidently function perfectly well in society despite this handicap.

Indeed, a survey of taxi drivers, pub landlords and hairdressers ("often seen as barometers of popular trends" according to Reuters, though God alone knows when hairdressers became barometers of anything), by ad outfit DDB London showed that 90 per cent of barometers have not the foggiest idea what a podcast is, and an impressive 70 per cent live in blissful ignorance of blogging.

The barometers did rather better on "happy slapping", although 44 per cent still don't realise that the very fabric of our society is being threatened by young ne'er-do-wells armed with mobile phones.

A shaken DDB London planning director, Sarah Carter, admitted: "Our research not only shows that there is no buzz about blogging and podcasting outside of our media industry bubble, but also that people have no understanding of what the words mean. It's a real wake-up call."

Yes it is, and the moral is this: when speaking to London cabbies, restrict yerself to Her Maj's Queen's English, know what I mean? I'll tell yer something, though, I had that effing Ballmer bloke in the back of the cab last week... ®

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