--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I knew about the word cyberspace when…" description: "\"All I knew about the word cyberspace when I coined it, was that it seemed like an effective buzzword. It seemed evocative and essentially meaningless. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/william-gibson-642_cyberspace_all-i-knew-about-the-word-cyberspace-whe_2931315.png" --- # All I knew about the word cyberspace when I coined it, was… ![“All I knew about the word cyberspace when I coined it, was that it seemed like an effective buzzword. It seemed evocative and essentially meaningless. It was suggestive of something, but had no real semantic meaning, even for me, as I saw it emerge on the page.” quote by William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/william-gibson-642_cyberspace_all-i-knew-about-the-word-cyberspace-whe_2931315.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/william-gibson-642_cyberspace_all-i-knew-about-the-word-cyberspace-whe_2931315.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/william-gibson-642_cyberspace_all-i-knew-about-the-word-cyberspace-whe_2931315.png) > “All I knew about the word cyberspace when I coined it, was that it seemed like an effective buzzword. It seemed evocative and essentially meaningless. It was suggestive of something, but had no real semantic meaning, even for me, as I saw it emerge on the page.” [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “cyberspace” was coined as a catchy but vague buzzword lacking precise meaning. **In simple terms:** Cyberspace sounded cool but was empty of meaning. Key Takeaway Use language that conveys clear meaning. Themes language technology semantics Mood critical analytical Type philosophical informational When to use this quote - tech writing - branding - communication - critical thinking Key Concepts buzzwords meaningmaking Questions to Reflect On - Why do buzzwords persist? - How can we give substance to new terms? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cyberspace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyberspace/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) ## Related quotes > [5G is no longer just a buzzword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/borje-ekholm/5g-is-no-longer-just-a-buzzword/) [Borje Ekholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/borje-ekholm/) > [In the United States these days, 'diversity' is a big word and a buzzword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/in-the-united-states-these-days-diversity-is-a-big-word-and-a-buzzword/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [Big data is indeed a buzzword but it is one that is frankly under-hyped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginni-rometty/big-data-is-indeed-a-buzzword-but-it-is-one-that-is-frankly-under/) [Ginni Rometty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginni-rometty/) > [Diversity is more than just a buzzword to me. It's my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dae-kim/diversity-is-more-than-just-a-buzzword-to-me-it-s-my-life/) [Daniel Dae Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dae-kim/) > [Cyberspace is colonising what we used to think of as the real world. I think that our grandchildren will probably regard the distinction we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-is-colonising-what-we-used-to-think-of-as-the-real-world-i/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Cyberspace is where you are when you're on the telephone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-is-where-you-are-when-you-re-on-the-telephone/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“The Matrix has its roots in primitive arcade games,' said the voice-over, 'in early graphics programs and military experimentation with cranial jacks.' On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/the-matrix-has-its-roots-in-primitive-arcade-games-said-the-voice/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > ["Cyberspace is everting." It's interpenetrating our everyday reality to the point that on-line is our normal waking state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-is-everting-it-s-interpenetrating-our-everyday-reality-to/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > ['Cyberspace' as a term is sort of over. It's over in the way that, after a certain time, people stopped using the suffix '-electro'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-as-a-term-is-sort-of-over-it-s-over-in-the-way-that-after/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-a-consensual-hallucination/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Her fingers found a random second stud and she was catapulted through the static wall, into cluttered vastness, the notional void of cyberspace, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/her-fingers-found-a-random-second-stud-and-she-was-catapulted-through/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-a-consensual-hallucination-experienced-daily-by-billions-2/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-a-consensual-hallucination-experienced-daily-by-billions/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“He was like a kid who’d grown up beside an ocean, taking it as much for granted as he took the sky, but knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/he-was-like-a-kid-who-d-grown-up-beside-an-ocean-taking-it-as-much/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts . . . A graphic representation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/cyberspace-a-consensual-hallucination-experienced-daily-by-billions-3/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More by William Gibson > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“No," said Blackwell, "she won't, because that would be a violation of the very personal terms I will have established in our conversation. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/no-said-blackwell-she-won-t-because-that-would-be-a-violation-of-the/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Music was strange that way though; there were people into any damned thing, it seemed like, and if you got enough of them together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/music-was-strange-that-way-though-there-were-people-into-any-damned/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Fiction is an illusion wrought with many small, conventionally symbolic marks, triggering visions in the minds of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/fiction-is-an-illusion-wrought-with-many-small-conventionally/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [The experience of celebrity is gradually being democratized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/the-experience-of-celebrity-is-gradually-being-democratized/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [I don't generate a storyline and then fill it out in the course of writing. The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“What happened to your arm?" she asked me one night in the Gentleman Loser, the three of us drinking at a small table in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/what-happened-to-your-arm-she-asked-me-one-night-in-the-gentleman/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/in-heathrow-a-vast-chunk-of-memory-detached-itself-from-a-blank-bowl/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/and-for-an-instant-she-stared-directly-into-those-soft-blue-eyes-and/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [ \[When\] Johnny Mnemonic was coming out and I realized that all the kids that worked in 7-11 knew more - or thought they knew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-johnny-mnemonic-was-coming-out-and-i-realized-that-all-the-kids/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Andrea maintained that men like Alain lied so constantly, so passionately, that some basic distinction had been lost. They were artists in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/andrea-maintained-that-men-like-alain-lied-so-constantly-so/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/because-he-had-a-good-agent-he-had-a-good-contract-because-he-had-a/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) [Explore all 430 William Gibson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More Cyberspace quotes > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Galloping advances in technology mean important changes in the work we do to keep the United States secure not just through air, land and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/galloping-advances-in-technology-mean-important-changes-in-the-work/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [Instead of mindlessly tossing billions at or taking billions from the Net as such, investors should be spending their time making sure that it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/instead-of-mindlessly-tossing-billions-at-or-taking-billions-from-the/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [As we now know, cyberspace did not liberate human society from pre-existing socioeconomic hierarchies and power structures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/as-we-now-know-cyberspace-did-not-liberate-human-society-from-pre/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [We need to wage this war against ISIS from the air, on the ground, and online, in cyberspace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-wage-this-war-against-isis-from-the-air-on-the-ground-and/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The simulator is the stage in-between television and virtual reality, a moment, a phase. The simulator is a moment that leads to cyberspace, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-simulator-is-the-stage-in-between-television-and-virtual-reality/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Human rights in cyberspace are really no different from rights in the physical world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/human-rights-in-cyberspace-are-really-no-different-from-rights-in-the/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [There actually are buildings that existed in cyberspace before they built it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/there-actually-are-buildings-that-existed-in-cyberspace-before-they/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [I think that in an age where so much information is flying through cyberspace, we all have to be aware of the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-that-in-an-age-where-so-much-information-is-flying-through/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Everything will come true in cyberspace. That's the whole idea. What cyberspace is, on one level, it's simply the human imagination vivified, hardwired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/everything-will-come-true-in-cyberspace-that-s-the-whole-idea-what/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [That's how it is online—there's no time in cyberspace. It's almost like everything physical evaporates, and it's just your mind and the different sites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tharp/that-s-how-it-is-online-there-s-no-time-in-cyberspace-it-s-almost/) [Tim Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tharp/) > [“Don't promote negativity online and expect people to treat you with positivity in person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/don-t-promote-negativity-online-and-expect-people-to-treat-you-with/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/we-will-create-a-civilization-of-the-mind-in-cyberspace-may-it-be/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have spent most of my adult life proving that I existed. A blog is an accessible way of doing this - there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemn-sissay/i-have-spent-most-of-my-adult-life-proving-that-i-existed-a-blog-is/) [Lemn Sissay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemn-sissay/) > [Cyberspace undeniably reflects some form of geography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/cyberspace-undeniably-reflects-some-form-of-geography/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) [Browse all 148 Cyberspace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyberspace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All I knew about the word cyberspace when I coined it, was that it seemed like an effective buzzword. It seemed evocative and essentially meaningless. 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