Serious question, not a native speaker: Why do people in the Anglosphere refer to mostly-software companies as tech companies, or to software developers as tech workers?

[–] Simon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Because even in those companies many of the 'computer people' are not software developers. Tech workers is a catch all term for most people at those companies.

[–] crispy_kilt@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

But the term isn't used for technology outside of software companies, for example, mechanical and electrical engineering

[–] Simon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

There's tech companies that don't work with software

[–] crispy_kilt@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Such as?

[–] Simon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago

Anything hardware related that doesn't program in-house, by definition.

[–] Nath@aussie.zone 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Tech is short-hand for technology.
So, technology companies and technology workers.

[–] emberwit@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago

But the question was why

[–] crispy_kilt@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

Thanks for responding but that wasn't the question

Machinists / mechanical engineering are technology workers, so are civil engineers, electrical engineers, etc, but only software gets called "tech"