Zeqr

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Kizmet, Sep 4, 2017.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    How "new" is it? Looks like another aggregator / marketing system. Helps would-be instructors with SEO etc. They say so.
    And how helpful? From the page : "To promote the online learning on its platform and outreach, Zeqr is promoting with two $1,000 scholarships that can be used to purchase appropriate programs in the community. You can apply on the official website for the scholarship..."

    TWO whole scholarships this year - a total of $2,000 in tuition up for grabs! Holy Cow! It's like those old "raisin-broker" cereal ads - "One scoop is terrific! A scoop and three-quarters will make your head spin! But TWO scoops..."

    Two scholarships -- Wow! better than none, I guess, but...

    I note the same firm, wonderfulengineering-dot-com sells gadgets. There was a pop-up for some kind of knife. I disregarded it. Got a Ginsu already, thanks. :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 5, 2017
  3. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    And I'm guessing that "Zeqr" is Hipsterese or maybe Txt-speak for "seeker." And we're told "Xpert" is "teacher" in the same lingo. Hmmm - much like many hip cats wore "zoots" in the 1940s. The phrase "zoot suit" was a redundancy - an explanatory term added by -um, "squares," I believe they were called.

    Nil sub sole novum.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  4. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Whoa, clever, I didn't even think of that. I was guessing that they found any four letter domain name that was still available and went with it.
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Oh - like Yeeply and Twago, you mean? :smile: Oops, they're more than 4 letters...

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    @SteveFoerster This seems to be a common linguistic quirk, Steve. Yes - the less-pleasant acronyms, like "f*qr" and "wanqr" appear on the ol' "Interweb," as Canuck comedian Brent Butt (his real name) called it.

    Less-offensive varieties abound too, like "worqr" as in this site: worQRin - The Ultimate Timesheet And I just found "Maqr" for "maker" here: http://maqr.riverdale.edu/

    Lingo changes daily - or almost so. That's the fun of it. At 75, it's sometimes a stretch to keep up, but I try.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    PS - I'm guessing all this --from Zeqr to Maqr - has something to do with the widespread popularity (and utility) of QR codes.

    J.
     
  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Continuing on the "z-neologism" front, there is, of course, the new non-gender-specific pronoun, "zhe." (Sounds oddly Chinese.) Also, the "zoot" is back from the 40s, only this time it's often spelled "zuit" and can also refer to modern garments that don't look so odd. Google 'zuit' and you'll see.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2017
  9. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    Depends on who "they" are. What Kizmet posted was a magazine article, seemingly a rewrite of Zeqr's promotional materials.

    This is Zeqr's website:

    https://www.zeqr.com/

    It looks to me to be an attempt to start an educational analogue to Uber. It brings people who would like to teach something together with people who would like to learn that material, and provides them with a platform to do it.

    I like the underlying idea. I'm not sure how good the execution will be.

    And yes, they say themselves that 'zeqr' means "seeker". I don't know if it is 'hipsterese' so much as phonetic. And as Steve F. suggests, seeker.com was already taken (by what looks like a science news website that might be interesting in its own right).
     
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I thought hipsterese, as there are so many similar "trendy" sounding acronyms like MAQR, WORQR etc. It may well be that we're both right. Perhaps the trend started, as heirophant suggests, because domains with usual spelling were already taken. I know there are several "make/maker" sites - I get around to most of them.

    Perhaps the process continued from there, enabled by "ths dam txtrs." After all, we live in the age of acronyms - like LL Cool J's GOAT - Greatest of All Time. LL Cool J - the artist's chosen name is an acronym! (Ladies love cool James.)

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2017
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    dup. deleted
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2017
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    (1) No it wasn't a magazine article. Look again. It was a page from "wonderful-engineering.com" that may/may not be a parent of zeqr, for all I know. The company sells gadgets (I got a pop up for a knife) and publishes articles on its website re: several areas of technology.

    (2) When I said "they" I was referring to the ZEQR people. Not others.

    J.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Example of Zeqr product - $75 Intro to Python 3 programming course. Not a bad price at all - but I wonder how it stacks up to the FREE MIT course. I downloaded those FREE lectures (around 14 IIRC) the other day and it doesn't get much better than MIT!

    J.
     
  14. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 10, 2017
  16. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Ginsu

    The combination of "Ginsu" and "pop-up ad" took me back thirty years...in the original Bloom County comic strip, the complete shyster lawyer, Steve Dallas, undertook to represent accused ax murderess "Mrs. Whacker", mostly for the television coverage and book rights. The TV coverage was brought to us by Ginsu Cutlery. I thought that was a nice touch. :veryhappy:
     
  17. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I realize a lot of what I write is very dated, nosborne. The price of getting old. However, I did spare you "Popeil University" and "K-Tel College," both of which came to mind when the knife ad appeared.

    ...Spared until now, that is. :smile:

    J.
     
  18. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Ginsu knives are an interesting product. They tend to refer to "surgical stainless steel" which is interesting because there isn't a single type of steel that is "surgical" and there are a very large number of varieties of steel that are "stainless." Ginsu knives always start out quite sharp and will stay that way for longer than usual. This is because the steel has a very high carbon content as welll as chromium, sometimes vanadium. This makes the steel vey hard. They spend a little extra time and energy putting an above average edge on the knives, something that's easy to understand if you've ever sharpened a knife on a whetstone. The combination of the hardness of the steel and the original fine edge will make it last a good while, especially if you treat it well. However, once it gets dull the average person, with no real knife sharpening skills or equipment, will be unable to bring them back to usefulness. They'll still be usable, to an extent, but never like new. People would do well to learn how to sharpen knives. Even a basic stone from Harbor Freight will make a knife like new after only a few minutes work. A Ginsu might take a little more work due to the hardness but you can make a knife last a lifetime with proper use and sharpening. A Popeil's Pocket Fisherman, on the other hand, will likely break the first time you use it.
     
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I enjoy television and the archives of television such as are found on youtube and other places. American culture and history.
     
  20. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Ginsu knives ... this is getting scary!

    I thought of this real "Mrs Whacker" from roughly the same era. Wonder if she had a Ginsu? Owwwch! :shock:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2017

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