Sharon Koehler

Artistic Stone Design

The first person to ever type LOL (laugh out loud) on an IM (instant message) probably didn’t realize where the human mind would go with that one little acronym. Shortcuts and abbreviations are a key part of the social media world. New ones are popping up all the time, and the old ones don’t really go away. 

Recently, I was texting with a friend of mine, and he sent me an abbreviation to answer a question. I was unfamiliar with that abbreviation, and rather than appear stupid, I Googled it quickly and answered him. It got me to thinking that if I am confused from time to time about this issue, other people might be as well. So I have compiled a list of commonly used shortcuts. I am quite sure that I didn’t get every single one (there are far too many), but hopefully, this will be a good start.

AA – Sorry Alcoholics Anonymous, it now stands for As Always.

AFAIK – As Far As I Know.

AMA – Ask Me Anything (sorry, not the American Medical Association) This is most popular on  Reddit. 

B2B – Business to Business.

B2C – Business to Consumer/Customer.

BAE – Before Anyone Else.  Be careful with this one. It has come to light that in Danish, “bae” is scatological slang.. 

BC - Because

BFF – Best Friends Forever.

BRB – Be Right Back – Used a lot in texting when you have to briefly stop communicating for some reason, and you may have to delay a response.

BTW – By The Way.

COB – Close Of Business.

CTA – Call To Action.

DM – Direct Message. This is most widely used on TW (Twitter).

ELI5 – Explain Like I’m 5 – You want a simple answer to a question.

ESP – Sorry, not Extra Sensory Perception. The new meaning is E-Mail Service Provider.

FB – Facebook.

FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out.

FTW – For The Win. Be careful with this one as it has another meaning that is too off-color for print. 

FYI – For Your Information (An oldie but goodie).

G+ – Google Plus.

GTG – Got To Go.

ICYMI – In Case You Missed It.

IDC – I Don’t Care.

IG - Instagram

ILY – I Love You.

IMO – In my opinion.

IMHO – In My Humble Opinion.

IRL – In Real Life. 

IKR – I Know, Right?

JIC – Just In Case.

JK – Just Kidding.

LI - LinkedIn

LMAO – Laughing My A** Off

LMK – Let Me Know.

LOL – Laugh Out Loud. (An oldie but still in use.)

NBD – No Big Deal.

NM – Not Much.

NSFW – Not Safe For Work – It usually indicates inappropriate content that would probably be offensive to coworkers and bosses alike if they saw it.

NVM – Never Mind.

OMG – Oh My Gosh, or the more irreverent Oh My God!

OMW – On My Way.

OTW – On The Way.

POTD – Photo Of The Day.

PPL – People.

PM – Private Message -  Used mostly on Facebook.

QOTD – Quote Of The Day.

ROFL – Rolling On the Floor Laughing (Another commonly used oldie).

ROI – Return On Investment.

SM – Social Media.

SMH – Shaking My Head – Usually used when you run across something stupid.

SMM – Social Media Marketing.

TBH – To Be Honest. (TBH – (This was the one that confused me when I got it.)

TBT – Throwback Thursday. This is used a lot on FB (Facebook) to post old photos on Thursdays.

TIL – Today I Learned.

TOS – Terms Of Service.

TMI – Too Much Information.

TW - Twitter

WOM – Word Of Mouth.

WTF ?– and WTH? – Interchangeable, for What The ****? Usage depends on how vulgar and crude you want to be; these are very commonly used.

YH – Yahoo.

YOLO – You Only Live Once.

YSK – You Should Know.

YT – YouTube


Writer’s Note: If you have an abbreviation or acronym that you use frequently that is not on this list, send it to me. I am always updating my list.  –Thanks.

Please send your thoughts on this article to Sharon Koehler at Sharon@asdrva.rocks.