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Lonnie Pacelli -- If you can read this, you're not AAK. Here's how anyone can be text savvy in digital dialogue.

Years back a required skill for secretaries (politically correct = administrative assistants) was shorthand. There are a number of shorthand systems including Gregg Shorthand, Pitman Shorthand, and Handywrite Shorthand. With the advent of technology, texting, and 140-character tweets the Mad Men-era shorthand has been replaced by a world of abbreviations and phonetic acronyms which describe the most popular thoughts, feelings, and reactions that we use in our daily speech. Most acronyms are easily decipherable, some take a bit of noodling to understand, while still others require a quick Web search to translate.

My quest to better understand today's shorthand led me to netlingo.com, a handy website chock full of business, marketing, software, and text messaging jargon. I was amazed at how sheltered I've been when it comes to tech shorthand. Sure most everyone knows the LOL's and OMG's, but there's a whole world of acronyms that I didn't even know existed. What follows are some of the less popular but no less interesting acronyms that will dazzle your BFF's:

?^ - Hook Up
*$ - Starbucks

,!!!! - Talk to the Hand
::poof:: - I'm Gone (or Goodbye)
@TEOTD - At the End of the Day
AAK - Asleep at the Keyboard
AYV - Are You Vertical?
AIAMU - And I'm a Monkey's Uncle
BSF - But Seriously Folks
BI5 - Back in 5
BBIAB - Be Back in a Bit
CF - Coffee Freak
CMU - Crack Me Up
DBD - Don't be Dumb
dewd - Dude
EMFJI - Excuse Me for Jumping In
FE - Fatal Error
G1 - Good One
GAS - Got a Second?
HAND - Have a Nice Day
HBB - Hip Beyond Belief
IAE - In Any Event
IANAC - I am Not a Crook
IME - In My Experience
J/C - Just Checking
J5M - Just Five Minutes
KB - Kick Butt
KMP - Keep Me Posted
LDTTWA - Let's Do the Time Warp Again
LORE - Learn Once, Repeat Everywhere
Luser - Loser
M4C - Meet for Coffee

Courtesy of Lonnie Pacelli

Lonnie Pacelli is an accomplished author and autism advocate with over 30 years experience in leadership and project management at Accenture, Microsoft, and Consetta Group. See books, articles, keynotes, and self-study seminars at www.lonniepacelli.com.

© 2018 Lonnie Pacelli

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