Driving on the "Information Super-Highway”

Navigating on the Internet and online can often be a confusing journey. It has its own language, protocol, and best practices.

The "Information Super-Highway" has changed and so has its use. The roads & signs are more technical and more challenging. Do you have an updated "driver's license"? J

With increased use of cell-phone “texting, e-mails and Social Media (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram), NOT being familiar with the very basics is about the same as traveling to a foreign country without knowing that you drive on the left and not the right side of the road, as we do here in the USA.

Here are a few of the most popular things to note:

• Internet Slang:  Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes or to compensate for small character limits. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting, instant messaging and social networking websites. Acronyms, keyboard symbols and abbreviations are common types of Internet slang.  (ex. RU OK?  means “Are you OK?” or  UR G8  means “You are Great!”) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang

• Basic Internet Abbreviations & Emoticons:
LOL – Laughing Out Loud
SMH - Shaking My Head
BTW – By the Way
 OMG – Oh, My God!
 IDK – I Don’t Know
IJS – I’m Just Saying
IKR - I Know, Right?
 ROTFL – Rolling On The Floor Laughing
YOLO – You Only Live Once
;)     A “winking” smile
: )    A smile
:(     Sad
:0    Surprised
o_O    Confused
:p     Sticking your tongue out
<3    A heart

Other sources include: http://www.noslang.com/dictionary/ or http://pc.net/emoticons/

• Post  -  a message on Social Media. Can be in the form of text, a website link, or a photo.  PC Magazine has a thorough article about posting titled, “How to Post to Facebook and Twitter.” http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426627,00.asp

Keep your posts brief. Typically posts longer than 140-180 characters are considered too long, and are generally ignored unless the reader finds it interesting. If you have lengthy things to say, consider creating a blog. Like this one... J

• “Shouting” – using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in a post.  It is considered the same as literally yelling or showing your annoyance. Using all capital letters for a word or phrase is often for emphasis.

• Hashtags (#) - A hashtag is a word or an unspaced phrase prefixed with the hash symbol ("#"). It is a form of metadata tag. Words in messages on microblogging and social networking services such as Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram and Twitter may be tagged by putting "#" before them. (ex. Watching the Super Bowl, #SuperBowl2014).

Hashtags make it possible to group such messages, since one can search for the hashtag and get the set of messages that contain it. A hashtag is only connected to a specific medium and can therefore not be linked and connected to pictures or messages from different platforms.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag

Social Media, cell phone usage, and increased dependence of the internet result in this language and its use changing as fast as the stock market.

Hopefully, this information will be helpful to you as you enter or continue to travel in this emerging, ever-changing, global medium.