The Wall St. Journal Sends Message on Texting

Before there was texting, we lived in a world filled with proper grammar and safety in public transportation. (Or so we'd like to think.) Now, in 2009, the Wall Street Journal—of all places—is giving us a primer on the correct terminology to use while texting. Well, the advice on investing didn't end well, did it? The article suggests the increasing prominence of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook has made texting ubiqutous. Kids use abbreviations to talk in a code parents don't get. Parents are learning terms kids use in order to keep tabs on kids. Texting shorthand is also seeping into work communication more and more. The Journal refers to sites like NetLingo.com that define terms like HBASTD (Hitting Bottom And Starting To Dig) for texters. Merriam-Webster Dictionary is now defining a term like OMG.