'boranj' is a study in the spread of ideas; an experiment in cultural evolution and idea (or meme) penetration. We want to see if and how a word can spread from nothing into ubiquitous acceptance, so we created 'boranj.' This was based on the idea that 'whatever the next big thing is, it should rhyme with orange,' since orange is commonly the first word native English speakers think of as rhyme-less. While at it, it aims to be the first common English word to end with a 'j.'

While boranj clearly has a gimmick to help it spread, in order for it to catch on, it must also be meaningful. We initially had trouble defining boranj - it's an awkward word, and realized that maybe someone will come up with a better definition later. But this is true of any idea: whatever the current best is, will be eventually replaced by something else. Nothing is ever done; we are part of a continuing process of evolution. This became our definition.

As a lifestyle it is freeing: boranj makes it easier to release ideas before they are perfect, by reminding us that they never will be. We hope to watch boranj grow in use slowly over time, and have built data tracking (shown below) to track the specific spread of the meme of boranj. It is the first word where every single use on the internet is tracked and analyzed in time and space, yielding a true etymological history. The goal is acceptance of boranj into a mainstream dictionary. Will boranj catch on, or will boranj fade away?

Boranj is the realization that nothing is the best, it is just good enough for now. Use 'boranj' in your blog. Sign your emails with 'boranj.' Please spread the word, literally!

boranj,
Plebian Design

ps - for more details, visit the project reference page.

The visitor data on this page was created by accessing google analytics data using the google analytics data export api with php and cURL, creating tables charting different metrics, and using javascript to read the tables and create graphs with the google visualization api. Sample files to do this are here.

In analytics_visualizer.js, replace your_google_analytics_account and your_google_analytics_password with your own account info. This allows visitors to your site to see the visualizations without requiring them to have their own google analytics account and login.

You can customize the data extracted from analytics and the visualizations by modifying index.php and analytics_visualizer.js according to the google analytics data export api and the google visualization api. Also see the documentation for GAPI, the user-contributed php interface library.