The use of the word in the NPR story, though, is synonymous with "popularity" or "celebrity".

I blame txt-thumbers, non-native Anglophones, laxicographers, linguine technocrats, semantic smearistas, and Sapirian drifters for this level-4 state. Communication is impossible, ceases, and the English, she is ruined.

Ceci n'est pas un seing.