The Oregon Women's Report - Women's News from Oregon

May 14, 2009

Submitted by Kay Helbling

We’ve come a long way from our first letter of communication.

Weblogs, IM, Facebooks, and Twitter—all have gained prominence in connecting with the world and within our nuclear families. Much can be said against the shortcuts to language, the horrors of what it does to spelling, and its impersonal approach to staying in touch. But, after all is said, it is here, so I say we make the best of it.

After someone sent me an email with the letters “lol” as a part of the text, I knew I had joined the ranks of the illiterate. I quickly looked up its meaning and found that someone was actually “laughing out loud” over something I’d said. Hey, this might be fun.

I searched out an encyclopedia of verbal text “emoticons” and was surprised at the variety, everything from smiling (^_^) to fish bones   <’)++++< =

There is even text talk in other languages. To send a smile in Japanese you need to use symbols from their language. I found several of them in my “symbols” category under my “Insert” tab.

Some symbols are universal, like if you want to give someone “the finger”. Obviously, this isn’t something a classy OregonWomensReport reader would ever do. But, just in case you’re computer freezes up some morning, not allowing you to check out the Top Ten Stories of the Day in the OregonReport, the emoticon symbol is _|_

Get it ?  wink, wink   (^_~)   (^_~)  

For the ever vigilant mom I found the younger crowd has their own code in text language. Knowing a few may give you a heads-up to some potential problem. More about that next week.

Till then, I’ll leave you with a rose      @}- – > – - –

and hugs and kisses   (( )):**

Kay was an insurance adjuster and executive for 15 years, a small business owner and a teacher for 10. But, her most fulfilling work has been as a mother of her two boys. She is enjoying the empty nest with her best friend—her husband.

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