Microsoft Notebook: The end of 'my' is nigh

Ending a longstanding tradition, Microsoft Corp. plans to stop using the word "my" as the default prefix for such folders as "My Documents," "My Music," "My Pictures" and others along those lines. Starting in the next Windows version, due out next year, folders will be known simply as "Documents," "Music," and so on.

With any other product, such a minor change probably wouldn't even be noticed. But the Microsoft operating system runs on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, and its persistent use of the word has been one of its most conspicuous characteristics -- helping to fuel widespread use of the "my" prefix in the technology industry.

Granted, computer users might not celebrate the change as much as they did the retirement of Microsoft's unpopular "Clippy" animated assistant. But some experts in the language of technology clearly won't be sorry to see "my" disappear from the next Windows version.

The practice was an artificial attempt to create a personal connection between people and their computers -- "to capture the loyalty of an egocentric population," said Naomi Baron, linguistics professor at American University in Washington, D.C.

"I don't know if we ever, as users, reacted the way that Microsoft hoped we would," Baron said.

"Some people might have, but I think in essence it was just extraneous language," she said.

The technique seems especially outdated now that computers and technology have become such a normal part of everyday life, she said.

In that way, she said, the use of the prefix "my" comes off as "very childish."

But it's not only Microsoft that's engaged in the practice. "My" has become the common shorthand in the technology industry to suggest personalization or customization -- not only in the file structure of individual programs but also in the names of high-profile services and features.

For starters, there's My Yahoo!, My eBay, and Google's "My Search History."

Not to mention the state of Florida's government site, MyFlorida.com. And don't forget the official Swiss tourism site, MySwitzerland.com.

You get the point.

In fact, the very pervasiveness of the prefix is one reason the company is moving away from it, said Jim Allchin, who oversees Windows and related areas as Microsoft's group vice president of platforms.

The company introduced the "my" prefix in part to give users obvious places for storing their own files, Allchin said. (Although users can rename the standard folders, and create their own, many tend to stick with the default Windows naming structure.) He acknowledged that the company also was aiming to make the experience more personal.

But now, the "my" prefix has become so ubiquitous in the technology industry that it's no longer the distinguishing characteristic the company hoped it would be. In part, Allchin attributed the situation to the tendency of software developers to adopt the common Windows terminology when making programs that run on the Microsoft operating system.

"People got carried away," Allchin said in a recent interview. "Anytime Microsoft does something, everybody wants to do it. ... It became a worthless descriptor."

Another change in the upcoming Windows version, code-named Longhorn, could render even the newly named default folders moot for some users. A new Windows search feature will let people create custom "virtual folders" that continuously gather files and organize them automatically based on keyword, file type and other characteristics.

But now that Microsoft is abandoning the prefix "my," will others follow suit? Probably not, said American University's Baron, who is writing a book called "Beyond E-mail: Language in the New Millennium."

The use of the word "my" is "now part of the territory," she said.

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Todd Bishop writes about the reader reaction to this column on his blog.

Microsoft Notebook is a Monday feature by P-I reporter Todd Bishop. He can be reached at 206-448-8221 or toddbishop@seattlepi.com


Have you ever changed the default names for the "My" icons and folders in Windows?
43.8% Yes	39.0% No
17.1% Didn't know they could be renamed
Total Votes: 735