[ English ] Ping sb.

What does "Ping Me" mean?

 

Recently, when I asked a colleague to ping me, he responded with, "What does ping mean? How do I ping you?"

In that moment, I responded with, "It means to get in touch with me and find out if I am free."

After that discussion, I wondered more about this word, it's meaning and it's origin. Ping is technical word that has made or is trying to make a cross over into the mainstream population. As an IT industry specific jargon, "ping" is a technical term that means to check on the status of another computer or another server to see if it's online (a sort of acknowledgment). It's an electronic message that loosely translates to, "Are you there?"

Translations of Questions Using "Ping"

• "Can I ping you at 8?" - "Can I send you a text message or make a quick call to see if you are free at 8?"
• "Can you ping me when you are ready?" - "Can you send me an SMS or call me when you are ready?"

Translations of Statements Using "Ping"

• "I'll ping you when the meeting is over." - "I'll get in touch with you when the meeting finishes."
• "Ping me with the status." - "Send me a short message by email, SMS or Instant Messenger with updates."

How do I Ping Someone?
Pinging is done through a quick communication, usually by electronic means, but sometimes over the phone. It depends on the other person's preference. So pings can be done over:

• The cell or mobile phone (SMS, text)
• E-mail
• Instant Messaging (Internal company system, Google, Skype, Facebook, etc.)

How do I know which one to use?
If you don't know the person well, say it's your client or colleague onsite, it's better to ask, "How do you prefer me to ping you?" Don't assume because for instance, text messaging in the US is charged in most cases regardless of sending or receiving, but maybe receiving the message on What's App or another mobile app or email may be free for that person (as long as they have a data plan).

What is Said in a Ping?
Ping messages are short. Any of the below suffice:

• I'm ready.
• Call me.
• 10 more minutes.
• Let's meet at 5 instead.
• Can I call you to reschedule?
• Let's go for lunch. I'll meet you downstairs in 5. (Meaning 5 minutes.)

Are There Synonyms for Ping?
Of course. The exact synonym depends on the person and their preferred ping method sometimes.

• "Ping me at 4." synonyms:
• Get in touch with me at 4.
• Call me at 4.
• Send me a text at 4.
• Facebook me at 4
• Give me a shout out at 4. ("Shout out is another slang. Don't actually shout!)

Have you heard any other uses of the word 'ping'? Do you have other ideas for synonyms of 'ping'? Feel free to ping me your thoughts in the comments section below.

Jennifer Kumar works with co-located and distributed teams to improve communication, workflow and productivity. Contact us for more information. 

 

 

https://www.douban.com/event/20295960/discussion/57127843/

俚语 “Ping me＝打我电话”

有次做项目的时候跟一个美国人通过MSN讨论一个问题。突然他说了一句,“Can you ping me in 15 minutes?” Ping Me，什么意思啊？

首先我们来看看“Ping”的原意：

Originally from the naval warfare practice of "active sonar" where one ship (usually a surface ship) will send out a given sound or "ping" in order to measure the direction and delay in the "echo" of that sound off of another body usually a submarine. （海军使用的一种声纳来测量距离时使用的“声音”）

而现在的用法则是“send an email or other electronic message to someone”,也就是“电我，或者是短信我”。

This new usage has lasting power and is commonly heard everyday in high-tech companies.

最后我们来看看这个短语怎么使用呢：

Can we go to the movie tomorrow?

I don't know... Ping me around eight and we'll see how things are going.

 

 

 

 

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071016012559AAk9406

Why do people keep saying lol when there is nothing to laugh about. 
Like " Hey, how r u doing, lol." ?

 

Lol = Laugh out loud 
ping= to ask for someone to message you back within the program of choice, or the litteral ping which is the time it takes (not sure what its measured in) for an electric signal to go from one place to another and back

and as far the useless use of LOL, its just the thing people are doing, they don't know what to say in its place, so its like using ummm and uhhh in speach

 

 

The usage of "ping" as already mentioned above probably comes from the use of sonar. Watch any old World War 2 film involving submarines, and you'll see a guy sitting at a round screen with a blurred bar spinning around like a clock. The spinning bar was a sonar broadcast, and whenever it was reflected by another object, such as an enemy sub, a "ping" or a "blip" would appear as a dot on the screen.