Abbreviations are commonly used in promotional products because of limitations on print areas. Using abbreviations is a great way of saving space and getting your message across. For example on our USBs its quite hard to fit a long word on, so abbreviations are often preferred.

LOL

So where did these abbreviations come from? Here's 5 of our favorite slang words used on the net and where they originated from.

1. LOL

Back in the 1980s the emoji had not even crossed anyone's mind and internet users relied on phrases like *Smile* to indicate a physical reaction. By 1989 an online newsletter suggested LOL for laughing out loud and thus the infamous abbreviation was born!!

2. NOOB

A personal favorite, NOOB or N00b or even Newb is the term used to indicate someone who has displayed little to no knowledge of a subject being discussed. One of the earliest mentions on a newsgroup was from 1988, when a poster complained a computer board was being bombarded by inane questions from newcomers.

3. FTW

FTW or ''For The Win" can be traced back to the excitement of retro game show hosts in the 1970s. This retro slang was brought back in the early 2000s when online players started to use the phrase and it caught on!

4. OMG
 
 
OMG inst actually as recent as you might think. Commonly used to denote surprise or shock online, a Lord John Fisher probably didn't intend to use OMG as an abbreviation of ''Oh My God!" in a letter to Sir Winston Churchill in 1917. It was more likely due to his naval shorthand training....
 
 
5. TBT
 
 
Circa 2006, Throwback Thursday was coined on social media as a way of describing old photos on a given day of the week. The term is rumored to originate from a sports shoe collector who decided to post a pic of his favorite shoe from the past...using throwback as a reference to sports teams releasing 'throwback' retro jerseys. Since then #TBT is much easier to type that Throwback Thursday...
 
 
 
So there we have it, stay tuned for the next article on abbreviations.
 
 
 
 
First seen at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/84542/origins-15-pieces-internet-slang#sthash.8o0evZHG.dpuf