The formula “optimize” in the social media

Abstract

Current interest comprises the use of the formula in different discourses, or rather, its recurrences by the media in general which makes possible the circulation of a great number of discourses and genres within the social milieu. The term optimization, which was first used in Mathematics and Computer Science with the meaning “to become the best” and “to become the best possible”, transcends these fields and produces new meanings, such as “manage”, “benefit”, “become greater”, “become smaller”, “get faster”, “become spacious”, “become more efficient”, “become faster”, “make easier” and “offer an alternative”. In fact, the above are emerging referents in the enunciation continuum in which they are inserted. This pragmatic use evidences the diverse referents according to the field in which they are inserted and witnesses their polysemous and polemical character. Results show that the term “optimize” attends to the characteristics of crystallization, discursive inscription, social reference and polemicity and indicates that the syntagmata actually takes the trait of a discursive formula in different genres, positioning and discursive fields.