Lauren Williamson | @Laurenew90 Ever been on Twitter and had no clue what people were talking about? With only 140 characters allowed in a tweet, users have shorthand acronyms for just about everything. We will clue you in on the Twitter lingo and acronyms here.

 

RT: Retweet

Let’s start with the basics. A retweet shows that you are tweeting content from another user. You can ‘retweet’ by clicking the ‘RT’ button on any tweet. The original tweet will be sent to your followers with a small mention of your Twitter handle either above or below the message.

#: Hashtag

This isn’t really an acronym, but it is a symbol that is used daily. Hashtags are used as a search tool and a way to categorize things. You might also see people having some fun with this like #UsingHashtagsToAddAJokeOrSomethingFunnyToTheEndOfATweet.

DM: Direct Message

This is Twitters way of letting you sent private one-on-one messages.  If someone follows you, you can send them a ‘DM’. You can do this by selecting ‘direct message’ on a users’ profile or beginning your tweet with ‘D @(insert username here)’ as a shortcut.

MT: Modified Tweet

If you want to send another users’ tweet out on your own timeline but want to shorten or paraphrase it, add “MT” before that tweet. It allows your followers to know the info came from another person and you have altered it in some way.

FF: Follow Friday

This is a popular trend on Twitter. If you have pages on Twitter you want to promote to your followers, use this hashtag ‘#FF‘, then add the users name. This trend happens every Friday and it’s an easy way to give credit to people who tweet content you find interesting.

H/T = Hat Tip

 Use this if you're sharing something you heard through someone else. It's nice to give credit!

ICYMI = In Case You Missed It

With the constant feed of information on Twitter, sometimes a user can't see everything or catch every story. By sending out a link tagged with ICYMI, it’s acknowledging that you’ve sent it out before and are doing a courtesy repost to get the information out to your followers.

.@ = The Dot before using someone's @ handle

 If you put a period before someone's username at the beginning of a tweet, everyone who follows you will be able to see that tweet. If you start the tweet with someone's username, the only people who will be able to read it are those who follow both you AND the person you are tweeting.

Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be a Twitter pro in no time!

Which acronyms do you see being used on Twitter? Are there any that you need us to decipher? Let us know in the comments!