Coffeechug PLN - Twitter for Educators Task 10: Twitter Abbreviations and Twittonary Tool

What do all the abbreviations mean? This was one of the many great questions from our first Twitter chat on Tuesday night. I am going to do my best to address them all or at least give you the tools needed to solve the issues yourself. This post will focus on abbreviations and what they all mean.

To read past tasks 1 - 9 you can go to the wiki and check it out. 

 I covered some abbreviations in the prior tasks, but only a handful. This is going to focus strictly on abbreviations and how to make sense of it all.

Step 1: Most common abbreviations
I have created another Google Document that is open and editable for anyone to crowdsource and contribute. I have tried to gather as much as I could, but I know I am missing some key ideas and abbreviations. Check it out and please add anything. Now keep in mind not all of these use the most professional language. I have included them in here because you need to know these. Whether someone uses them in your stream, a student is using them, or possibly your own child. It is important to be aware, but not necessarily use! I would read through before sharing at a school function or with students. Not all are safe for student eyes or school areas. I have not typed in the actual words, but you will get a sense without a problem.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/104daLuUvHTsUw6xZsN_WSX3YBZ0LtBklnKvMhuJeGUQ/edit?usp=sharing

Step 2: Using symbols
 Something that I don't use very often, but sometimes is needed when tweeting and is one way to enhance tweets if used properly is the use of symbols. Twitter symbols all you have to do is copy them using Ctrl+C or a right click and copy and then paste into your tweet using Ctrl+V or right click and paste.
Check out the following website to get started: Twitter Symbols visit: Twsym.com

1. @

‘@’ or ‘at’ is used to tag other people into your comment, post, or message. When you add @, Twitter will notify the person you tagged. For example, you can type @Joshua and Joshua will be notified about the message you wrote.

2. RT (Re-tweet)

This is typed at the end of a post. RT encourages other people to re-tweet your post.

3. PRT (Please Re-Tweet or Partial Re-Tweet)

PRT sends a message to readers that the tweet has already been edited to accommodate the addition of username.

4. OH (Overheard)

OH is used during conference. OH signals readers that the source of the post is overheard from other source.

5. BTW (By The Way)

BTW is used to signal a change of topic. It has the same meaning with the word ‘segue’.

6. FTW (For The Win)

For the win is a positive remark done in Twitter.

7. FTL (For The Loss)

FTL is opposite of FTW. It signifies being frustrated, disappointed, dismay, and disapproval.

8. IRL (In Real Life)

IRL obviously tells you that not all things in Twitter or in the online world are necessarily true in the real world.

9. (FTF or F2F) Face to Face

This is a desire that a Twitter user wants to meet another user in real life (IRL).

10. IMHO (In My Honest Opinion or In My Humble Opinion)

This is to tell other twitter users that the remark made is based on personal opinion and not on facts. IMHO is also a way to assert one’s self without being too offensive.

11. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)

Simply means that your experience with regards to a product or service may differ from other people’s experiences.

12. BR (Best Regards)

This is a courteous way to ask for something. BR is also used when there is a dispute or to nicely introduce yourself.

13. B/C (Because)

B/C is used to cite a reason. This should not be confused with BCC which means blind carbon copy and is used in email.

14. JV (Joint Venture)

JV means collaboration between one or two Twitter users.

15. LMK (Let Me Know)

Simply means you like to be informed.

16. TMB (Tweet Me Back)

This is a request for another user to reply to a post.

17. DM (Direct Message)

DM means to talk to a twitter user in private.

18. LOL (Laughing Out Loud)

LOL expresses being humored.

19. IOW (In Other Words)

IOW lets you cite other words or perspective to express a thought.

20. IMX (In My Experience)

IMX expresses one’s experience.

21. # (Hashtag)

# sign is used to mark a particular trending topic. If you put a ‘#’ next to a word, you let your post to be indexed in Twitter’s search engine. For example, you typed #government. People who will search for the word ‘government’ will be able to find your post.

22. This.

It is a message that tells twitter users that the tweet is something of great interest.

23. TBH (To Be Honest)

This is a remark used to show people’s honesty and/confession.

24. MT (Modified Tweet)

It means that the tweet’s content has already been modified to about 1/3 of the original content.

25. ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

This is commonly used by internet marketers who utilize Twitter as part of their social media advertisements. ICYMI is very useful if you want to re-post something that you want readers to be reminded of.

26. +1

It is a demarcation that a post or tweet is being endorsed by other Twitter users. +1 has almost equivalent meaning with ‘like’ on Facebook.

27. H/T (Hat Tip)

H/T is another way of liking a post.

28. TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)

This is a very convenient way to summarize a somewhat long article.

29. |

This symbol is used to separate statements. Rather than writing the statement from one line to another, | is used to make the post look cleaner and streamlined.

30. SMH (Shaking my Head)

This abbreviation has different uses. It can be used to describe a wide range of emotion such as confusion, amusement, amazement, disappointment, and others. It can also be used as a stand-alone comment to a particular link or tweet.

31. BRB (Be Right Back)

It means that the user will be out for a short period of time.

32. EM or EML (Email)

EM is used to refer to an email server or the act of sending an email itself.

33. Fab (Fabulous)

FAB is an expression of amusement or amazement.

34. FYI (For your Information)

FYI is an opening or introduction leading to the presentation of information.

35. GTG (Got to Go)

GTG signifies the person needs to go immediately.

36. IDC (I Don’t Care)

IDC signifies being indifferent.

37. ORLY (Oh Really)

- See more at: http://www.twelveskip.com/tutorials/twitter/230/twitter-dictionary-top-37-twitter-abbreviations-and-acronyms#sthash.s0Kk1ya9.dpuf

Just double click the symbol to get it highlighted, copy, and then paste into your tweet. You can use other symbols, but this is a good start.


Step 3: Tools

Here are some other tools that fit into this category of symbols and abbreviations
http://www.twittonary.com/ - is an online dictionary for Twitter. It allows you to search for what things mean on Twitter. If you don't see something on the Google Document above for abbreviations, then you might find it here. Nice to have when in need of explanation and don't want to feel stupid asking the person that used it.
 http://tweetshrink.com/ -  is a tool designed to shorten your Tweets. Sometimes you just cannot get your point across in under 140 characters. This online tool will makeshift your message to make it fit. It is not always perfect, but does come in handy at times when you just cannot figure out what to do.
http://www.andrewt.net/abbreviate/index.php - is another option if you don't like Tweet Shrink. I have not used this one except to test a few things for this post. The key here is just to play around with them and find the one you like.
Of you can be yourself and just rework your tweet to make it fit. Sometimes I use (1/2) at the beginning of tweet that I know will take two tweets to get across. I will type the first part up with this at the beginning. My second tweet will start with (2/2).

Closing Thoughts
I hope this answers this particular question. I will be addressing the other questions soon. I know we want to learn about creating and using lists and some other key features. All in good time everyone! I need more coffee to keep up! Just kidding, I love being able to help. Please let me know if this has been helpful by tweeting to #coffeechugPLN