Twitter Acronyms

RT = Retweet. See @danzarrella’s RT research, @jowyang’s RT post on WoM marketing & RT is the FWD of 2008. Dan recently created Tweetbacks; expect a ‘TB’ in the future.

PRT = Partial Retweet / Please Retweet. In the first sense, PRT means the RT’ed tweet has been edited, usually to fit a username within the character limit.

OH = Overheard. ‘OH’ is commonly used at conferences or while traveling. OH indicates a quotation of someone else’s remarks. @overheard is all about the OH, like the way Overheard in the Blogosphere covers IT.

DM = Direct Message. DMs are Twitter’s email. “DM me” means take the discussion private. Twettiquette suggests long conversations should go into DMs. Note: Adding “DM” to the front of a tweet does NOT = a DM, at least yet. d username does. @techcrunch posted on the danger of DMFails.

@ = Reply to [username]. @ can also be used expressing ‘at,’ as in location.

BTW = By The Way. BTW is an easy way to add an aside. It’s Twitter’s version of a segue.

FTW = For The Win. Whatever the action or product FTW modifies is *good*. @RWW explained the origin of FTW, BTW.

FTL = For The Loss (or For The Lose). FTL is generally an expression of disappointment, disapproval or dismay. It’s the opposite of FTW.

IRL = In Real Life. What’s true on Twitter may not be true IRL. After all, on
the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.

FTF = Face to Face. FTF or F2F refers to an actual meeting in person, IRL. That can mean at a tweetup or other occasion where you might encounter other Twitterers.

IMHO = In My Honest Opinion. IMHO usually indicates that ‘This is an op-ed tweet, not a factual assertion.’ UPDATE: It can be argued that “Humble” is the more common meaning, but both are valid for IMHO. At least, IMHO, anyways. Thanks Richard Walker -ed.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary. In other words (IOW), what’s true in my experience (IMX) may differ from yours if you try ____ product/service/technique.

BR = Best Regards. BR is a useful way of being cordial, particularly when making a
difficult request, submitting a complaint, or when introducing yourself.

b/c = because. b/c is not the same as the blind carbon copy (BCC) used in email.

JV = Joint Venture. A JV refers to a collaborative enterprise between Twitterers on a project.

LMK = Let Me Know. Tweet me back (TMB) when you have more information about a question or a decision on a request.

For that reason alone, knowing that NSFW = Not Safe For Work is crucial. Following are nine more NSFW abbreviations that you’ll find on Twitter, along with chat rooms, IM, email headlines and social networking forums. Many of them are on the list of chat and text messaging abbreviations I updated last year. (I know their inclusion is one of the reasons that page has stayed popular.) They’re listed in order of frequency of use, as measured by TweetVolume.

WTF = What the F–k. As ThinkGeek wrote, ‘it’s not always possible to speak your mind on the Internet. So cyber-culture has developed a whole new way to curse and blaspheme without necessarily conjuring up the negativity associated with the whole phrases themselves.’ And as @rands pointed out, WTF should have been in the top 15 overall list. It’s a instant, concise expression of incredulity and critique.

OMFG = Oh My F___ing God. Like OMG, only stronger. The expression is nowhere near as common as WTF but expresses much the same sentiment.

LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off. Also LMFAO, for special emphasis. This comes up a fair bit, no doubt because there is plenty to laugh about on Twitter and in the wide world.

WTH = What the Hell. This expresses the same sentiment as WTF. Whether it’s stronger or not depends on how you feel about Hell or f—ing.

SOB = Son of a B–ch. At least, it used to until @lizstrauss rebranded SOB as Successful and Outstanding Blogger. As it turns out, being an SOB on Twitter might just be a good thing.

NFW = No F—ing Way. As in, ‘no way, no how, not ever’ or a stronger version of OMG. @markpinc was surprised about a a Bay Bridge closing, for instance. As they say, SH (s–t happens).

STFU = Shut The F–k Up. Also STHU, with Hell standing in. This could be used as a stronger OMG — but it can also be a precursor to someone blocking an account on Twitter.

FUBAR = F–ked Up Beyond All Repair. FUBAR originated with the US Army, where many situations ended up FUBAR’ed. According to Wikipedia, ‘electronics engineers report that SNAFU and FUBAR were used before World War II by repairmen sent out to repair phone booths. You might remember it from Saving Private Ryan.

SNAFU = Situation Normal All F–ked Up. SNAFU, referenced above, is another geeky notation of resignation to an ugly reality, industry event or other news.

Bonus: RTFM = Read The F–king Manual. This is the classic complaint of a sysadmin or help desk associate to colleagues. On the Web, it’s about reading the FAQ (RTFF) or the question (RTFQ). I wouldn’t be surprised if reading the tweet (RTFT) showed up soon, either.

There are, of course, many other NSFW abbreviations that include dirty words, including those for the 7 words you can’t say on television. If you know of another one that is often used on Twitter that everyone should know about, let us all know in the comments.