I need to GAL. IDK im abbreviations

Today is Thursday, so this post is on communication skills. 

Career and life stars have three mastered three skills:

1. They are good conversationalists.
2. They write well and clearly.
3. They have good presentation skills.

E mail falls under point 2 – clear writing.  An article in the May 2007 issue of Laptop Magazine listed 10 slang expressions to avoid in your e mails.

• CUL8R
• GAL
• IDK
• KIT
• LMAO
• NIFC
• NMU
• ROFL
• TTYL
• W/E

I could figure out a few of these, but not all of them.  It’s interesting, because on May 22, I did a post on my www.CommonSenseGuy.com blog called Generations at Work – Important Differences of Much Ado About Nothing?  In that post, I argued that people are pretty much people, and that your age has little to do with what you want out of life.

As I read this list however, I began to think that maybe I was wrong – at least on computer jargon.  Old guys like me often can’t decipher computer newspeak (to update a term from George Orwell).  But I’m sure that most young people – especially those who text message a lot – get it.  So maybe this is a generational issue, and young people think it is perfectly acceptable to use the expressions on the above list in e mail correspondence. 

Am I right?  Am I wrong?  Are abbreviations of the type listed above OK for business e mail or not?  I come out on the common sense side of things.  If you are communicating with someone who gets it – then go ahead and use these abbreviations.  If you are communicating up the line – you might want to thing twice about using computer newspeak.

That’s my opinion on this one – what’s yours?  KIT.  And, BTW, I am not NIFC.

In case you’re wondering, here is the code to the expressions listed above.

• CUL8R — See you later.
• GAL — Get a life.
• IDK — I don’t know.
• KIT — Keep in touch.
• LMAO — Laughing my ass off.
• NIFC — Naked in front of the computer.
• NMU — Not much, you?
• ROFL — Rolling on the floor laughing.
• TTYL — Talk to you later.
• W/E — Whatever…

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.