Today I was sending an email and I saw ‘cc’ and ‘bcc’ below the ‘To’ line. You all know the area that I am talking about but have you ever wondered what ‘cc’ and ‘bcc’ really mean and derived from. Well, the term ‘cc’ is short for carbon copy and ‘bcc’ is blind carbon copy. Now have you ever used a real carbon piece of paper? When was the last time you saw a piece of carbon paper? Do you know what a carbon copy is? Back in the day, a carbon copy was a slip of paper you used to insert between two pieces of paper and it copies it to the bottom paper. Interestingly enough, it is even difficult to find an image or carbon paper!
I guess what this did was made me think about how we use terms like this but the audience that is now using it, might not really know what it is or what the term is and you just don’t question it. You know ‘cc’ is carbon copy, but it is an old world term. Why don’t we just use ‘copy’ since that seems more appropriate? I guess it means keeping an eye out for other terms that are outdated but we use.
Sam, you have inspired me to start a blog too! Such great stories you have to tell!
That’s so true. The newer generations just take it for what it is; “Don’t forget to CC me”. Although if we do change the terminology, we lose the past–to a degree. Inquisitive individuals would stop questioning what it stands for, how the term came about, and so forth. Nonetheless, great point you brought up, Sam!