Twitter Lingo: Get in the Know

It’s so easy for any business owner who’s new in Twitter to get lost in the sea of Twitter slang and jargon. But since you know the great advantage this particular social media site can bring to your business, you know better than to get left behind. To make sure that you understand everything you read (and more importantly those said about your company) on Twitter, here’s a quick list of commonly used Twitter abbreviations.

The technical stuff

First, let’s get to know about the technical terms thrown around in Twitter all the time. You’ll find yourself having to use many of these.

· CC – carbon copy (just like in email)
· CX – correction
· CT – “cuttweet” or partial retweet
· DM – direct message (this is the type of message that only the recipient and sender can read)
· EM – email marketing
· FB - Facebook
· HT – hat tip (this refers to a way of attributing a link to a fellow Twitter user)
· LI - LinkedIn
· MT – modified tweet (this refers to a paraphrased tweet from another user)
· PRT – partial retweet (this is a truncated version of another person’s tweet); please retweet
· RT – retweet (this is a forwarded tweet coming from another user)
· SEO – search engine optimization
· SM – social media
· SMM – social media marketing
· SMO – social media optimization
· SROI – social return of investment
· UGC – user generated content
· YT - YouTube

For conversations

So as not to look like a newbie in this social network, you’d want to converse using these abbreviations. Knowing all these also help ensure that you don’t get dumbfounded and you’ll know what to reply when someone tells you HAGN or FWIW.

· # - hashtag (this is how subjects are organized in Twitter)
· ABT – about
· AFAIK – as far as I know
· AYFKMWTS – are you f***ing kidding me with this sh**?
· BFN – bye for now
· BR – best regards
· BTW – by the way
· CHK – check
· CUL8R - see you later
· DAM - don’t annoy me
· DYK – did you know, do you know
· FTF or F2F – face to face
· FTW – for the win or f**k the world
· FWIW – for what it’s worth
· GMAB – give me a break
· HAGN – have a good night
· HAND – have a nice day
· HOTD – headline of the day
· HT – heard through
· HTH – hope that helps (it’s a good practice to post useful tips on Twitter and end it with this abbreviation)
· IC – I see
· ICYMI – in case you missed it (make sure to include this when RTing your own text/link or video)
· IDK – I don’t know
· IMHO – in my humble opinion
· JK – just kidding
· JSYK – just so you know
· LMK – let me know
· LOL – laugh out loud
· MIRL – meet in real life
· NBD – no big deal
· NTS – note to self
· OH – overheard
· OOMF – one of my friends (or followers)
· PLMK – please let me know
· QOTD – quote of the day
· RTQ – read the question
· SMH – shaking my head
· SRS – serious
· TFTF – thanks for the follow
· TFTT – thanks for this tweet
· TMB – tweet me back
· TT – trending topic
· TY – thank you
· TYT – take your time
· YGTR – you got that right
· YKWIM – you know what I mean
· YOLO – you only live once
· YW – you’re welcome
This is just the beginning. There are more for you to learn, more for you to encounter as days pass by. Enjoy using Twitter in growing your business and spreading the word about it.