I do not love abbreviations, acronyms and slang.
I do not think they are worth a dang.
(Whoaa! Almost went Dr. Seuss for a moment)
We refer to a gaggle of government agencies as “alphabet soup.” We call them agencies, even though most of them are not agencies, but administrations. And, at least one of the “agencies” ending in “A” – the A stands for Affairs (Did you know that?). Perhaps that’s where former congress people go after being exposed for wrongdoing.
We use acronyms at work, are subjected to hundreds of them on the TV cop procedurals. BOLO used to be an APB. BOLO is a letter longer, but a syllable shorter. It seems everyone takes every opportunity to shorten anything longer than a word or two. Low testosterone is “Low-T.” I’m not going to let this post rise and fall on that one.
Sports junkies know a team name can be shortened to almost nothing on the third reference. A product, or even an entertainer can be shortened to a “symbol.”
I smiled when I read a recent story about the Wakefield High School Track & Field ordering sweatshirts that read, “WTF.” It also stands for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (according to the cartoon, “Maxene.”)
Maybe it’s generational. Is TMI “too much information” or “Three Mile Island?”
Is there a point here? Sure. I buried the lead.
Make your point: clearly - concisely – in the context and language your target audience understands.
Give your supporters something simple and direct to pass along that has a strong chance of maintaining its meaning.
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