Twitter is a social platform that has created a language of its own. The constraint of brevity has birthed abbreviations and acronyms that are a mix of text slang, corporate buzzwords and common chat room phrases.
Twitter has even added to the lexicon of spoken language in innovative ways. Increased our twerminology, as it were.
Ever heard of bird-of-mouth? It's a slang term that refers to the use of Twitter to circulate news and information. Ever been accused of writing bulltwit? It's a slang term to describe fake, false or over embellished Tweets. Have you ever suffered from celebrity syndrome? This Twitter phrase refers to "a situation in which a non-celebrity mistakenly believes he or she is a celebrity. Users with celebrity syndrome will not follow a significant number of Twitter users," according to Webopedia.
Below are a few alphabetized lists of Twitter abbreviations and acronyms. They aren't comprehensive, but they do reflect additions to an old list that was published on Social Media Today in 2012.
Please add anything we've missed in the comments section and I will add them to the master list below.
Technical Twitter abbreviations:
CC = Carbon-copy. Works the same way as email
CX = Correction
CT = Cuttweet. Another way of saying partial retweet
DM = Direct message. A direct-message is a message only you and the person who sent it can read
HT = Hat tip. This is a way of attributing a link to another Twitter user
MT = Modified tweet. This means the tweet you're looking at is a paraphrase of a tweet originally written by someone else
PRT = Partial retweet. The tweet you're looking at is the truncated version of someone else's tweet.
PRT = Please retweet, a plea to put at the end of a tweet
RT = Retweet. The tweet you're looking at was forwarded to you by another user
SP = sponsored (link or tweet). The user is getting paid (often very little) for tweeting that tweet
Industry Twitter abbreviations:
EM = Email Marketing
EZine = Electronic Magazine
FB = Facebook
LI = LinkedIn
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
SM = Social Media
SMM = Social Media Marketing
SMO = Social Media Optimization
SN = Social Network
SROI = Social Return on Investment
UGC = User Generated Content
UX = User Experience
YT = YouTube
Conversational abbreviations:
# = start to a hashtag, or a way of organizing subjects on Twitter
AB/ABT = About
AFAIK = As far as I know
AYFKMWTS = Are you f---ing kidding me with this s---?
B4 = Before
BFN = Bye for now
BGD = Background
BH = Blockhead
BR = Best regards
BTW = By the way
CD9 = Code 9, parents are around
CHK = Check
CUL8R = See you later
DAM = Don't annoy me
DD = Dear daughter
DF = Dear fiancé
DP = used to mean "profile pic"
DS = Dear son
DYK = Did you know, Do you know
EM/EML = Email
EMA = Email address
F2F /FTF = Face to face
FB = Facebook, F--- buddy
FF = Follow Friday
FFS = For F---'s Sake
FML = F--- my life.
FOTD = Find of the day
FTW = For the win, F--- the world
FUBAR = F---ed up beyond all repair (slang from the US Military)
FWIW = For what it's worth.
GMAFB = Give me a f---ing break
GR8 = Great!
GTFOOH = Get the f--- out of here
GTS = Guess the song
HAGN = Have a good night
HAND = Have a nice day
HOTD = Headline of the day
HT = Heard through
HTH = Hope that helps
IC = I see
ICYMI = "In case you missed it," a quick way to apologize for retweeting your own material
IDK = I don't know
IIRC = If I remember correctly
IMHO = In my humble opinion.
IRL = In real life
IWSN = I want sex now
JK = Just kidding, joke
JS = Just sayin'
JSYK = Just so you know
JV = Joint venture
KK = Kewl kewl, or ok, got it
KYSO = Knock your socks off
LBS = Laughing but Serious
LHH = Laugh hella hard (stronger version of LOL)
LMAO = Laughing my ass off
LMK = Let me know
LO = Little One (child)
LOL = Laugh out loud
MM = Music Monday
MIRL = Meet in real life
MRJN = Marijuana
MSM = Main Stream Media, as in print, television, etc.
MTF = More To Follow
NBD = No big deal
NCT = Nobody cares, though
NFI = No Further Information or Not F---ing Interested
NFW = No f---ing way
NJoy = Enjoy
NSFW = Not safe for work
NTS = Note to self
OH = Overheard
OMFG = Oh my f---ing God
OOMF = One of my friends/followers
ORLY = Oh, really?
PLMK = Please let me know
PNP = Party and Play (drugs and sex)
POIDH - Pictures, or it didn't happen, as in why would you not tweet a picture of the mad stuff you claim has just happened
QOTD = quote of the day
RE = In reply to, in regards to
RLRT = Real-life re-tweet, a close cousin to OH
RTFM = Read the f---ing manual
RTQ = Read the question
SFW = Safe for work
SMDH = Shaking my damn head, SMH, only more so
SMH = Shaking my head
SNAFU = Situation normal, all f---ed up (slang from the US Military)
SO = Significant Other
S/O = Shout Out
SOB = Son of a B----
SRS = Serious
STFU = Shut the f--- up!
STFW = Search the f---ing web!
TFTF = Thanks for the follow
TFTT = Thanks for this tweet
TJ = Tweetjack, or joining a conversation belatedly to contribute to a tangent
TL = Timeline
TLDR/TL;DR = Too long, didn't read
TMB = Tweet me back
TT = Trending topic
TY = Thank you
TYIA = Thank you in advance
TYT = Take your time
TYVM = Thank you very much
W or W/ = With
W/E or WE = Whatever or weekend
WTV = Whatever
YGTR = You got that right
YKWIM = You know what I mean
YKYAT = You know you're addicted to
YMMV = Your mileage may vary
YOLO = You only live once
YOYO = You're on your own
YW = You're welcome
ZOMG = OMG to the max
Common hashtags and chats:
#CMAD = Community Manager Appreciation Day
#CMGR = Community Manger topic chat
#FB = The user is sending this post to Facebook
#FF = Short way of saying Follow Friday, or a recommendation that others follow the user
#IN = the user is sending this post to LinkedIn
#LI = This user is sending this post to LinkedIn
#LinkedInChat = For general use questions and questions about marketing/self-promotion on LinkedIn
#Mmchat = Marketing and social media chat
#Pinchat = a chat for maximizing Pinterest use
#SocialMedia = an all-inclusive chat for subjects big and small in the subject of Social Media
The original list was compiled using Business Insider, Webopedia, and the Twittonary.