"'Unfriend' has real lex-appeal."
-- Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for the Oxford University Press's U.S. dictionary program. Today The New Oxford American Dictionary revealed that 'unfriend' is the 2009 word of the year. If you've got a Facebook profile, you've likely unfriended some annoying person in your network. Someone may have even (gasp) unfriended you!
There were lots of tech-isms in the running this year--paywall, netbook, sexting. One tech trend actually spawned its own mini-lexicon, but no news about the official acceptance of those terms outside the Tweetaholics and Twitterati! --Jessica Shambora
by Jessica Shambora
Are there green shoots of profitability in the land of social networking?
Last week Twitter announced deals with Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) to make its posts available on the Bing and Google search engines--and this could be a reliable source of future revenue. Though as Adam Lashinsky writes in the current issue of Fortune, Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone are still less focused on making MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Oct 29, 2009 1:11 PM ET
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In a funny and candid interview, Google VP Marissa Mayer explains how she got to the top. Watch
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns shares how she once accepted a job with Dell but ended up staying with Xerox. Watch
Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
