The Social Media Acronyms That Build My Life

I have been using the computer for social interactions for a very long time.
Some may even say, I'm a loser.

Others, the people I prefer to associate with - know exactly what I'm talking about.

My best friend in life is someone I met online back in high school. My first bf was a guy from the internet, but in this "internet chat" it happened to consist of people from the high schools in the area where I grew up.  There were a bunch of schools, and we all went on IRC.  I even remember my nickname - `candi.  How unbelievably original of me.  People from other schools would send you a message saying "a/s/l" and sometimes (when they were clearly a guy) would say "pic?".  Putting a picture on a computer back in those days required a scanner and a lot of patience.  Patience would also come in handy on those moments where, so help me god, someone in my family would pick up the phone, thus resulting in my dial-up connection being cut and MY LIFE BEING OVER.

Dramatic? I don't want to hear it. You ALL know what I'm talking about.  You would listen as the sweet sound of the connection played, and with the final few dings and dangs - you were in!  Ready to keep up with the rest of society, stay up until ungodly hours of the night on a school night - and also know about every underage keg party in the entire Niagara region.  Especially if it was at your house (sorry mom & dad...yikes)

IRC turned into ICQ, where horizons were broadened. 17663203. I swear that was my number.  It was no bbm, but let's face it - not many things are.

From ICQ we got MSN, which then allowed me to not only keep in constant communication with my local friends, but also ones who had relocated all over the globe.  The smiley face emoticons of budding romances, and the option to use a webcam, made MSN an entirely different scenario altogether.  Boobies weren't just meant for the school playground anymore kiddos, now we were in the big leagues.  I personally never sent boobie pictures as a teenager, mainly because I was nervous the entire school would somehow see. It happened to a few other girls and luckily for them at that time, cell phone still used numbers as letters.  YAH.  I'm THAT old. "55378008". Type that on a calculator and then turn it upsidedown and that's what my computer was. Boobless. (and if someone comments otherwise, you better delete that shit right now...;)

Now with Facebook and Twitter (and the introduction of Google +) I basically know everyone in the world and what colour their 3 minute newborn babies hair is.  I can still connect with those same people from IRC, MSN, ICQ, LMNOPQRSTU.... (most acronyms) and I can also connect with the other side of the world.  Sure, I haven't met them, but I spend more time talking to some of them then I do to my own family.  That sounds a lot worse then it actually is.

I love my family.  Online and IRL...which stands for "in real life", for those non-losers out there :)