Friday Fun: Next Generation Shorthand
Earlier this week, I posted on how I felt text messaging had reached a tipping point. Today, I found a recent post from David Pogue of the New York Times on The Next Generation of Online Shorthand and thought it was a fitting extension to my original post. We’re all familiar with text shorthand such as LOL, OMG, BRB, and AFK, and anybody that texts, twitters or IM’s on a regular basis knows just how convenient the shortcuts really are. However, the problem is, as Pogue states: “they are pretty ancient.”
He set out to create a updated list of online shorthand with the help of two of his summer interns. They surfaced a number of keepers like:
- GI — Google it
- MOP — Mac or PC?
- FCAO — five conversations at once
- IIOYT — is it on YouTube?
- DYFH — did you Facebook him/her?
- CMT (CMF, CMM, CMB) — check my Twitter (Facebook, Myspace, blog)
- CYE (CYF, CYM, CYB) — check your email (Facebook, Myspace, blog)
They went on to also create some specifically for iPhone owners.
- SPLETS — send pics later; Edge too slow
- CSVUI — can’t send video, using iPhone
- BPWMI — boss playing with my iPhone
- SIK — sorry, iPhone keyboard
- OOM — out of messages (for iPhone users who haven’t upgraded their AT&T “200 messages a month” plan)
And for all of the parents out there who saw the following commercial and thought the mom and daughter were speaking a foreign language:
They even formulated some shorthand specifically for parents. My favorites from that list:
- NIWYM — no idea what you mean
- NCK — not a chance, kid
- AYD? — are you drunk?
- LODH — log off, do homework
- DYMK? — does your mother know?
It’s not really the most productive post that I have done in a while, but I found the abbreviations to be a great Friday afternoon distraction. Check out the David’s full list at the NYTimes website. My only question is: should we add some of our own to the list? Knowing that Bmart is pretty proficient with his phone and does like to txt, I bet he has more than a few.
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My name is Dave Sabol and I work at the intersection of technology, online learning and knowledge management. Associated Knowledge is my way of capturing the insight that I gain as I navigate my way through the world of social media and open source technology.
