Webcomics, or "Can Dinosaurs Really Teach Literary Techniques?"

> Webcomics

As you might guess, webcomics are comics on the web. Unlike the comics you find in the newspaper, webcomics can be created and published by anyone. Also, webcomics are free! These Internet comics are extremely popular, especially with young people who aren't much taken with newspapers anyway. I fondly remember reading Calvin and Hobbes and The Boondocks in the paper, but I have to say that webcomics are a wonderful new take on the old art of storytelling through comics.

F.A.Q.

I can read Garfield and Fox Trot online. Does that make them webcomics?

No, a true webcomic is almost always originally shared online, not through newspapers.

How are webcomics made?

It depends on the artist. Some artists do it the old-fashioned way, drawing their comics out on paper and inking the pictures, then scanning them onto a computer to put online. Some artists draw comics by hand and then color and edit the pictures on the computer. Some artists don't draw at all, simply manipulating existing images on the computer, positioning characters and adding captions to tell the story (this often done using old video game graphics, or "sprites"). Many artists take the middle road, drawing on a tablet connected to their computers. You draw on a tablet with a pen-shaped stylus, and the image goes to your computer as you draw it. Then, you can edit the image using software like Photoshop.

Who makes webcomics?

Anyone can make a webcomic. Some webcomic creators are amateurs who have no formal artistic training, while others are professional artists and animators. Thousands of webcomics inundate the Internet, but a few excellent series have become popular enough to spawn published collections and merchandise. Some webcomic creators become able to support themselves mostly through the success of their webcomics. Thus, the line between professional cartoonists and webcomic artists becomes hazy.

Many webcomic artists, particularly those that become famous, get to know one another. They make references to their friends' comics in their own work, draw "guest strips" for each other, and hang out at conventions.

How often are webcomics posted?

That depends on the comic. Your average webcomic is updated once or twice a week, usually on specific days (Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example). Some comics are updated every day of the week, while others are updated erratically, whenever the artist has time (in these cases, months may go by between updates, causing great suffering among fans). Because webcomics can be created by anyone at any time, some comics might be started and then abandoned, left unfinished by artists who lost the time or interest to devote to their work. Most webcomic sites tell you how often to expect updates in their About section. Sometimes, comic artists take brief breaks to attend a convention or recover from an illness. If they have enough notice, they can usually get other webcomic artists to draw guest strips until they're able to return. That way, fans don't have to go without their favorite comic in the creator's absence.

What age group would work with webcomics best?

I'd recommend high school over middle school when it comes to webcomics, as many webcomics use swear words (some, frequently; some, occasionally). Just choose which webcomics you use wisely and keep in mind that if you introduce students to a comic, they might go investigate the website, which may contain less appropriate comics. I'll indicate which comics are especially clean or PG-13 below.

Some Popular Webcomics:

Penny Arcade

Written by Jerry Holkins and drawn by Mike Krahulik.

One of the most famous webcomics, Penny Arcade is widely enjoyed for its video game and pop culture humor. It's also one of the longest running webcomics, having begun way back in 1998. The creators were among the first webcomic artists to be able to make a living from their work. The comic stars the creators' alter egos, Tycho and Gabe. (Beware: there's cursing in this comic)

Penny Arcade is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Dinosaur Comics

Written and assembled by Ryan North.

Dinosaur Comics seem strange at first, as every single comic has the same clip art format. But the clever, absurd dialogue that changes every day is priceless. T-Rex and his friends Dromiceiomimus (pronounced "droh-MEE-see-oh-MYE-muhs") and Utahraptor ponder life, the universe, and everything. And Batman.

Be sure not to miss the extra jokes and comments that appear when you hold the mouse over the comic!

Dinosaur Comics are updated every weekday.

xkcd

Written and drawn by Randall Munroe (a former contractor for NASA).

Stick figures have never been so expressive. xkcd (which isn't meant to stand for anything) deals with sarcasm, romance, language, and life, but also includes some math and science jokes that true nerds can appreciate. Sometimes, only true nerds can appreciate these jokes, but most comics are quite accessible. Be sure not to miss the extra jokes and comments that appear when you hold the mouse over the comic!

xkcd is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Garfield minus Garfield

Jim Davis's Garfield comics modified by Dan Walsh.

Self-described as "a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb." The artist simply removes Garfield and his thought bubbles from the comic, leaving Jon alone and pathetically talking to himself. Much funnier than the original Garfield comic, IMHO. Garfield creator Jim Davis doesn't seem to mind.

Garfield Minus Garfield doesn't seem to have a regular updating schedule, but usually posts new comics 2-3 times a week.

Lackadaisy

Written and drawn by Tracy J. Butler.

Lackadaisy is absolutely exquisite, possibly the highest quality webcomic around. The author is a professional artist, and it shows. She researches all the historical elements of her Prohibition-era comic so that the clothing, cars, buildings, guns, and other features are realistic and accurate. Did I mention the comic is about anthropomorphic cats? Anthropomorphic cats running an illegal speakeasy? And the cats banter wittily with era-appropriate language? It's fantastic. Easily one of my favorite webcomics.

Lackadaisy is updated whenever the author has time.

Shrub Monkeys

Drawn by Katie "KT" Shanahan, who often gets writing ideas from her siblings.

Shrub Monkeys is about a girl and her siblings, based on their real-life escapades, with some funny exaggeration thrown in. The creator is a storyboard artist for animated shows, and her talent is apparent in her hilarious drawings. This comic is great ammunition against the "girls can't be funny" argument.

Shrub Monkeys is updated whenever the artist has time, sometimes as often as once a week.

(You're advised not to Google "Shrub Monkeys," as the artist named the comic not knowing that "Shrub Monkeys" is also a crude slang term.)

Dr. McNinja

Drawn and written by Christopher Hastings.

Dr. McNinja is a ninja. And a doctor. He has a gorilla receptionist and a mustachioed twelve-year-old sidekick. His mentor is a clone of Benjamin Franklin. He HATES pirates. Needlessly to say, his adventures are awesome. (Note: Dr. McNinja does get violent--he IS a ninja, after all--but doesn't really exceed PG-13-level violence.)

Dr. McNinja is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Gunnerkrigg Court

Written and drawn by Tom Siddell.

A marvelous tale mixing mythology, magic, and technology. Set in a mysterious British boarding school, the comic follows Antimony Carver, a girl who can communicate with spirits. Antimony helps ghosts, becomes best friends with a girl genius, tames a crafty fox spirit, and talks with Coyote (yes, that Coyote). The art improves as the comic progresses and the artist benefits from regular practice. This is one of my personal favorite webcomics. It's also a fairly "clean" comic, containing little to no swearing and few suggestive jokes.

Gunnerkrigg Court is updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Questionable Content

Written and drawn by Jeph Jacques

A comic about an indie guy, Marten, and his friends. This comic frequently makes references to music, but is perhaps best loved for its continuity and interesting character relationships. QC has many sassy female characters and some gay, lesbian, and bi characters as well, empowering these groups with positive portrayals. This comic's characters are in their twenties, so they appeal most to twenty-something audiences. These characters have complicated and often physical relationships, so this isn't the sort of comic to recommend to students. High schoolers may know and love QC, however, so it's useful to know what it's about.

The characters are so popular and well developed, they even have their own Twitter accounts.

Questionable Content is updated every weekday.

Hark! A Vagrant

Written and drawn by Kate Beaton.

Delightful comics drawn by historian and Canadian Kate Beaton. The artist often draws accurate costumes on her hilarious interpretations of historical and literary figures. Her comments below each comic are often amusing, too. Further proof that girls can, in fact, be very funny.

Hark! A Vagrant is updated whenever the artist has time, which is usually about once a week.

Cyanide and Happiness

Written and drawn by Kris Wilson, Matt Melvin, Rob DenBleyker and Dave McElfatrick.

A darkly funny stick figure comic. Often, its jokes venture into controversial territory (like when Zombie Jesus shows up). Not for the very young or very easily offended.

Cyanide and Happiness is updated almost every day.

I should also mention a couple sites of note that blur the line between blog and webcomic: The Oatmeal and Hyperbole and a Half. These sites combine pictures, comics, and narration in an effective and hilarious way. The authors sometimes draw comics about their grammatical and literary pet peeves, which could be useful and entertaining in the classroom. I will forever be amused by the idea of the Alot.

For a comprehensive list of webcomics, see Wikipedia. You might enjoy Cracked.com's amusing list of the funniest webcomics, though not all of the comics listed are appropriate for younger students.

How to Use What You Know About Webcomics in the Classroom:

Several comics actually have some content-relevant strips.

Dinosaur Comics has a series of "Literary Technique" strips that (sort of) explain different literary techniques and (definitely) make you laugh. These would be fun in an English class, especially since Shakespeare often makes random cameos in these comics.

Some examples:

T-Rex and Utahraptor explain "in medias res"

T-Rex describes anachronism as "whenever Shakespeare listens to his MP3s"

Foreshadowing according to dinosaurs

Unreliable narrator

and there's even Hamlet: with DINOSAURS!

Dinosaur Comics have also been used to teach foreign languages. Teachers had students write dialogue for blank comics. This was first implemented in an English class in Japan (you can read the Japanese students' comics here). This would be fun to try in any foreign language class!

xkcd is an excellent resource for math and science teachers. Not only does it make those subjects entertaining, but it actually shows how things like graphs don't have to be boring and can, in fact, be useful in illustrating everyday things.

Examples:

Trying to figure out love with an equation

Correlation and causation...maybe

Using math to avoid velociraptors

Efficiency in walking

Science: it works.

If you're a math or science teacher and you're not already familiar with xkcd, I highly recommend you check it out! Chances are, you'll end up buying a book, poster, or t-shirt of one of the comic's awesome nerd jokes. It's just that good.

xkcd sometimes has language humor English teachers can appreciate, like this comic:


Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant is a goldmine for history teachers.

Examples:

Tesla, the celibate scientist (science teachers who like to teach about important figures would like this, too)
the Campbells act suspicious at Glencoe
Madame de Pompadour tells it like it is
Wu Zetian getting some Asian history in there
Marat loves rubber duckies
Elizabeth I is annoyed by her persistent suitors and loves her neck ruffs

There are also some excellent literary figure comics. My favorites are the ones with Shakespeare and the Bronte sisters (poor Anne!).

You can show these comics to students on overhead projectors or computer projectors, or you can print some out and put them on bulletin boards in your classroom. You could even buy one of the printed collections to keep in your room, though you might want to be careful, as many of the comics have the Internet philosophy of swearing (i.e. you can swear as much as you want as long as you do it "for the lulz").

NOTE: You should always read through comics before using them in class, as many webcomics use curse words freely and sometimes make suggestive jokes.

If you have ambitious and computer-savvy students, they could create their own webcomics as part of a project.

Webcomics represent a fun genre with great possibility.

Next entry: Fanfiction, or "Who is Mary Sue and Why Does Everyone Hate Her?"

Twitter, or "Do Tweets Make Us Twits?"

Twitter has stirred up a lot of chatter. As with most Internet trends, it's considered by many to be a waste of time, while others believe it is revolutionizing communication. And like most Internet trends, it's both. The decision by the Library of Congress to archive all public Tweets shows just how important Twitter has become as a form of writing.

(For more on the Library of Congress decision, you can read articles here and here and here, or go to the Library of Congress's own Twitter page).

What is Twitter, exactly?
Twitter is a site that helps people communicate through brief, frequent updates, called "tweets," of 140 characters or fewer. Twitter can be updated online or from your mobile phone. According to the Twitter About page, "[t]he 140 character limit originated so tweets could be sent as mobile text messages which have a limit of 160 characters. Minus 20 characters for author attribution, that gives users just enough room." The action of posting a tweet is called "tweeting." [Yes, "tweet" has joined the list of Internet terms that serve as both nouns and verbs (also on the list: Google, Facebook, friend). As Calvin and Hobbes would say, "verbing weirds language."]

Twitter actually has its own F.A.Q. page with simple, helpful explanations for how to use the service.

A lot of Twitter's features were developed by users, so Twitter is constantly evolving to best meet users' needs.

Some people get addicted to Twitter, tweeting constantly, unwilling to be separated from a computer or phone for an instant.

For a funny look at Twitter addicts, see this video:



What do people Tweet about?
Anything! Tweets range from the mundane (brushing one's teeth) to the monumental (winning an election). Twitter simply reasons that people like to share. And they're right. Teenagers in particular love to chat and share with each other.

How is Twitter different from texting?
When used to full effect, Twitter is public, reaching many people (thousands, if you're famous). Text messages go out to one friend or, at most, a few friends, but Tweets are put up on the Internet for everyone to see. However, some people do change their Twitter privacy settings so that only friends can see their Tweets, so it's more like a Facebook status update. Some people even make their Twitter accounts private, like really concise diaries. Even if you have a private account, you can still used Twitter to follow others' Tweets. Lots of people love to follow famous people on Twitter--it's like getting texts from your favorite author or actor! While Tweets can be sent from your cell phone, in a text message, you can also post them from your computer.

So Tweets are usually more public than text messages, though they can be sent via text message and adhere to text message length. And you can use Twitter to follow famous people, something you can't do by text-messaging.

How are Tweets different from Facebook status updates?
This one's tricky, because there are Twitter applications on Facebook connecting the two sites. There are even tools enabling you to set your Tweets as your Facebook status. Tweets and status updates often contain similar information--what the writer is thinking or feeling, fun pictures or links that she finds. But, once again, Tweets can reach a wider audience. Facebook status updates only reach your friends, while anyone can see your Tweets (though of course more selective privacy settings can change this).

Apparently, the Library of Congress cares about Twitter, but why should we?

A good question. The majority of tweets, especially those made by teenagers, seem to be inane, mundane, and pointless. But then you have people like President Obama on Twitter, and knowing what he's up to is informative and useful and...just plain cool, honestly. You can use Twitter to follow your friends' daily shenanigans, and you can use Twitter to follow famous people. You can create custom lists to filter out the more vapid tweets and get straight to the interesting or monumental updates.

Twitter has already been used in schools to get student feedback and comments.

During emergencies, Twitter is also an effective way to communicate quickly.

For some excellent articles on why people use Twitter, read "Twitter isn't stupid. People are." and Margaret Atwood's "How I learned to love Twitter." You can also hear from some early Twitter adopters in this BBC article, "The Tweet Elite."

Twitter Basics

Tweet – a Twitter post, (“Did you read Obama’s newest Tweet?”) or the act of posting to Twitter (“I Tweeted her about it.”) Capitalization optional. Your newest tweets show up at the top of the page, with tweets getting older the farther down the page you go (this can be confusing at first for people used to a top-to-bottom = oldest-to-newest chronology).

verified accounts - The Internet is rife with people pretending to be people they're not (usually it's normal people pretending to be celebrities). Twitter helps you know which accounts are legitimate by verifying the accounts of well-known figures. That's how you can be sure the Leonard Nimoy you're following is the real Leonard Nimoy.

@ - This sign, used before someone's username, "tags" them in a tweet, serving as a way of mentioning or addressing them. For example, if Achilles had a Twitter account, he might tweet "@Agamemnon Fine! Then I'm not fighting. Good luck beating the Trojans without me, jerks."

RT - stands for Retweet. If your tweet has RT at the beginning, it means you didn't write the original tweet; you're just reposting someone else's tweet that you thought was noteworthy. Sometimes, tweets are retweeted multiple times, so you see the letters "RT" repeated.

# - On Twitter, # signs are known as hashtags. By putting a # sign before a word, you turn that word into a tag, much like you would on a blog. That way, other people can search for tweets with specific tags, like #haiku or #haiti. Sometimes people use hashtags as a way of punctuating a joke, like "kwmurphy: To hell with @donttrythis, I'm trying it at home. #LastTweets"

following - When you "follow" someone on Twitter, their updates will show up on your Twitter home page so you can keep track of what they're doing. Naturally, famous people have thousands of followers, while your average person only has a few.

fail whale - When the site gets too busy, or "over capacity," an image of a whale appears and advises you to return to the site later.

twitterature - Works of literature "distilled" into Twitter posts. This may sound blasphemous to literature teachers, but if done right, it can help students with summarizing and determining main ideas. A skillful Twitter writer could create funny summaries, like the Book-a-Minute series, or even create original fiction through the use of Twitter.

twittersphere - A term used to encompass all of Twitter--its site, its users, its essence. Similar to how "blogosphere" refers to all blogging.

People on Twitter You Might Know (or Want to Know):

President Barack Obama

Margaret Atwood, writer

Stephen Colbert, host of "The Colbert Report"

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books

Roger Ebert, film critic

Neil Gaiman, author of many award-winning works

Mythbusters, the Discovery Channel show making science fun and full of explosions

Senator John McCain

Keith Olbermann, MSNBC anchor

Ivy Bean, a 104-year-old British woman

Leonard Nimoy, actor

William Shatner, actor

Ice-T, hip hop artist and actor

John Cleese, British actor and comedian

Al Gore, former vice president and eternal environmentalist

Oprah Winfrey, TV show host known for her charity

Lance Armstrong, 7-time Tour-de-France winner and cancer survivor

Ellen DeGeneres, TV show host with sweet dance moves

Sarah Palin, former vice presidential candidate and former governor of Alaska

Dave Matthews, musician

Yoko Ono, artist

Larry King, host of Larry King Live

Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor

and the U.S. Department of Education also tweets updates

(Sites like Famous Twit can help you find famous people on Twitter, but not all of the accounts listed are verified)

How to Use What You Know About Twitter in the Classroom:

You can have students write summaries that would fit in a Twitter post (140 characters or fewer). They can actually post these on Twitter, or just keep Twitter rules in mind when writing by hand. This is a good way to help students focus on important points and large themes. They can summarize chapters of a book or entire pieces of literature.

One of my favorite ideas for using Twitter in the classroom is to have students Tweet in character. Each student is assigned a character from a work and they have to Tweet as though they are that character. Students will have to be thoughtful with their Tweets since they're limited to only 140 characters. The coolest part is that they can Tweet to each other, collaborating and having conversations (hopefully involving multiple characters). Students can tag one another in their Tweets to facilitate multiple-character interactions. Students may even want to leave each other comments out of character to praise their Tweets or offer constructive criticism. If this is the case, you'll want to have a label for out-of-character Tweets so no one gets confused.

If you worry about online assignments and want to be able to delete any posts that may be inappropriate, you can create accounts for the characters ahead of time and then give each student her account's password. Well-known fictional characters may already have Twitter accounts, so you might have to add your school's initials to usernames (like AchillesFSHS).

And of course, you can always use Twitter to get student feedback and to send students assignment reminders. Tweeting links to current events related to your content area could be useful, too.

Next entry: Webcomics, or "Can Dinosaurs Really Teach Literary Techniques?"

Facebook, or "How Can You Really be Friends with All These People?"

Facebook has spread over the Internet with the infectiousness of a baby's laugh, or the ebola virus, depending on your perspective. Whether you view Facebook as a delightful way of connecting to old friends and reaching thousands of people quickly or as an inane and overrated waste of time, it's no longer possible to ignore its impact. Facebook is used to rally, to fundraise, to spread news. Many businesses and organizations have started using Facebook to advertise or raise awareness. And, of course, millions of people spend time on Facebook every second of every day.

F.A.Q.

What is Facebook, really?

Facebook is a social networking site. That means that users can create profiles and follow the profile of their friends, communicating with friends and acquaintances both new and old. Originally, Facebook was a way for college students to stay in touch with their high school friends. Then, high schoolers started creating Facebook profiles, and now people of all ages are on Facebook. This can get awkward when kids find out that their parents have Facebook accounts.

The movie The Social Network is an interesting, fictionalized account of the creation of Facebook.

What do people mean when they say they get "sucked into" Facebook?

It's dangerously easy to waste time on Facebook without realizing it. You can get caught up in chatting, reading friends' posts, looking and pictures, and playing games, and suddenly realize that several hours have gone by. As in everything, moderation is key.

South Park made an episode making fun of this aspect of Facebook (video contains some swearing):

Can anyone see my Facebook profile?

That depends on your privacy settings (found under "Account" in the upper right-hand corner). You can make your Facebook profile viewable by anyone, or just by your friends, or just by your networks, or just by friends of friends. You can adjust settings so that people you don't know can only see your "limited profile," which includes basic info but keeps things like wall posts private. Teenagers often adjust settings so that their parents can only see their limited profiles.

Why do people complain every time Facebook's format is changed?

Mostly, because they get used to the old format and don't like change. Facebook periodically fiddles with the formatting, altering the look of the site and moving where links are found. Sometimes the complaints are warranted (like when the new format is harder to navigate), and sometimes not (the most objected-to changes one week may become new favorite features the next).

and the big question,

Should I be friends with students on Facebook?

Most teachers I've talked to say no. It's not very professional and it can get too personal. You might learn things about students you didn't want to--or shouldn't--know. Many schools and universities have policies forbidding teachers from being Facebook friends with students. However, many teachers that I know are willing to "friend" students on Facebook after the students have graduated. At my university, professors and teaching assistants aren't allowed to be Facebook friends with students while the students are in their class, but are free to friend students once the class is over. Also, many retired teachers like to keep track of former students on Facebook.

My advice would be to make sure students can't friend you or view your full profile while they're in your class. If students ask about it, let them know it's your (or the school's) policy not to friend students. After they leave your class or graduate, you can become Facebook friends with them if you like. Definitely consider friending former students when you're retired--I hear it's a great way to stay in touch!

Facebook Basics

Profile - A profile contains a picture, information about the user (birthday, relationship status, favorite movies, etc.), a status, and a "wall" where friends can leave messages.

Friends - Being friends with someone on Facebook isn't the same as being friends with them in real life (IRL), though some people have trouble making the distinction. You can be Facebook friends with your actual best friends, your acquaintances, classmates, friends of friends, siblings of friends, people you only know online, famous people, and people you don't know at all. The average person has far more Facebook friends than real, close friends, though some people do limit their Facebook friends to their actual friends. Some people consider their number of Facebook friends some kind of status symbol (even though they're probably only friends with about 30 of the people on their friends list) and compete with others to see who has the most friends. When one has 100+ Facebook friends, it's helpful to create lists of friends, so you can easily check these lists to keep track of your close friends. "Friend" serves as both a noun and a verb on Facebook. Making friends with someone on Facebook is "friending" them.

walls - Each profile has a "wall" on which friends can write, leaving messages, pictures, or links. Usually, wall messages are brief ("Happy Birthday!" or "Glad you made it to the party on Saturday!") Sometimes, people message back-and-forth, creating wall conversations.

status - a description of what you're thinking or feeling. This appears at the top of your profile after your name. Facebook status updates are much like Twitter updates in that they're brief and often frivolous. You can tag people in your status.

like, liking - To "Like" something on Facebook is to show approval of it. You can "Like" a status update, post, note, picture, or link. There is no official “dislike” button, to the annoyance of many.

pictures - You can share pictures on Facebook in a variety of ways. If you want to share multiple pictures, you can create albums. If you want to share individual pictures, you can post them to your wall or a friend's wall. You can view albums or you can view pictures of a specific person.

tags - You can "tag" people in a picture, note, or status update. This alerts them that you mentioned them. Tagging is helpful in pictures because it shows who is in the picture and even highlights individual faces if you hold the mouse over their names.

notes - Notes are sort of like journal or blog entries. You can write about anything in a note, though most people tend to write about their thoughts and doings, or fill out silly surveys. You can tag people in notes to let them know you mention them or want them to see what you wrote.

groups - You can join groups on Facebook, which have their own special group profiles where you can share information and messages. Some groups actively organize events and discussions. Some groups promise to take action once they reach a certain number of members (ex: donating money to a cause, giving a baby a ridiculous name). A lot of groups, though, are mostly for show or for the lulz; people only join because the group has an awesome name. For example, I'm in a group called "I'm a Fermata -- Hold Me."

poking - On Facebook, you have the option to "poke" friends. All this does is notify them that you have poked them and asks them if they'd like to poke you back. This doesn't really have a function. It's basically the online equivalent of annoying someone by repeatedly poking them in the arm with your finger. Sometimes, people get into "poke wars," where both parties refuse to stop poking, so they just poke back and forth for months.

Facebook stalking - Looking through all the details of someone's profile to find out more about them. This can be harmless or creepy. You may simply be catching up on a friend's life. Teenagers often scope out people they have crushes on via Facebook. Some people, though, obsessively read every single item on someone's profile, notes, pictures, and wall posts, and then it gets rather creepy. Fortunately, you can always un-friend or block someone so they can't see your profile any more.

applications - These are optional, fun features you can add to Facebook. Applications can range from a cat macro sharing system to a game of Scrabble. The most common applications are games and quizzes. One of the most popular games right now is Farmville, a game where you tend a virtual farm, growing crops and collecting animals.

chat- Facebook chat works like any instant messaging system, allowing friends to type messages to each other instantly while logged into Facebook. You can switch the settings on Facebook chat so that only certain friends can chat you, which is useful when you want to avoid getting sucked into conversations with chatty acquaintances.

becoming a fan - Somewhere between Liking and joining a group for something. More often than Liking and groups, becoming a fan often refers to a specific organization or product. There has been talk of Facebook removing this feature, but right now, it remains.

How to Use What You Know About Facebook in the Classroom:

You probably shouldn't use the real Facebook website, as it's hard to monitor content, and many school computers have the site blocked. You can, however, refer to Facebook and do activities using a Facebook profile template.

For example, students can complete character biographies as Facebook profiles or Facebook feeds. They can create bios for fictional characters, historical figures, or even personified concepts. For some fun examples of fictional Facebooks, see the Facebook feed of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and the Facebook profile of Spock from Star Trek. Learn how to create a blank Facebook template from a real history teacher here. (His blog also has good info on teaching technology). You can, of course, simply have students write as though they're on Facebook without the fancy template, but I do think it's more fun when it really looks like Facebook.

You can also take a look at some Facebook groups and refer to them in discussion. If you're a music or science teacher, you might mention the group "I'm Glad Pluto's No Longer a Planet; It Makes Gustav Holst's Suite Complete." And I think all Chemistry teachers should be familiar with "Carol never wore her safety goggles...NOW SHE DOESN'T NEED THEM." Band, orchestra, and choir teachers will appreciate "People who DON'T clap between movements."

Just search "grammar" under Facebook groups and you'll see a huge debate going on: "Grammar Police," "Good Grammar is Hot," "Grammar Sucks," "Good Grammar is Oppressive," "I correct your bad grammar in my head while you're speaking," "The Elements of Style Sucks," "Facebok Shuld Halve Spell Check," and more.

And of course, there are education groups on Facebook, too! I'm part of the National Council of Teachers of English Facebook group.

Next entry: Twitter, or "Do Tweets Make Us Twits?"

Internet Slang, or "IDK, What Do All These Acronyms Mean?"

Internet Slang, Webspeak, and Textspeak

(For an introduction to this blog, go here.)

Internet slang ("webspeak") and textspeak have become so popular that Valentine conversation hearts now contain such moving messages as “ILU” and girls in cell phone commercials comment, “IDK, my BFF Jill?” If you’re not in on these acronyms and phrases, it can sound like a mysterious code or insubstantial gibberish.

Obviously, Internet slang isn’t limited to teenagers. It’s prolific among my own twenty-something crowd, and you can find people of all ages using it. I'll try to focus on its use among teenagers.

But first, I'll address some Frequently Asked Questions.

But shouldn’t we discourage this kind of language?
Critics decry Internet slang as a deterioration of language, used by the lazy and semi-literate. But many people who abbreviate in text messages are perfectly capable of writing articulately. A lot of the people who use slang and acronyms online do so to be funny and informal, writing clearly and even eloquently when they so choose (I count myself among these people). There is a concern that younger people can't do this, that teenagers are unable to separate informal webspeak and formal language. In any case, I believe it's important to understand how students are communicating and to teach them how to know what type of language is appropriate for different settings.

(Some articles of interest: "Does Text Speak Affect Grammatical Ability?", Grammar Girl's thoughts on Text Messaging Grammar, "Instant Messaging: Friend or Foe of Student Writing?", "Literacy and Text Messaging," University of Toronto study shows texting may help grammar)


Why would someone choose to use Internet slang?
Using abbreviations and stock phrases saves a lot of time. The Internet represents instant communication—no one wants to dawdle. Also, the Internet is a sarcastic place. Many “mistakes” are made purposefully to mock people who can’t spell or can’t type. A lot of misspellings, grammatical mistakes, and acronyms are done on purpose for the laughs. (“For the lulz,” as we Internet nerds say).

But some of this language is inappropriate!
Interestingly, curse words are often accepted online when they wouldn’t be in person. This may be a product of the sarcastic and hyperbolic tone often used online. Many frequenters of the Internet freely use acronyms containing words they seldom use. For example, I sometimes catch myself typing WTF, even though I never say “What the F***” to anyone in person. Of course, there are people that fully mean every curse word they type, but you get foul-mouthed people in real life (IRL), too.

What’s the deal with the inconsistent capitalization?
With all slang, even acronyms, capitalization is optional. Typing something in all caps is usually done for emphasis, while leaving it in lower case letters gives it a more offhanded feel. Some people get made fun of for “yelling” if they type in all caps all the time. And, of course, capitalizing is sometimes just done “for the lulz.”

I actually heard a student say the letters “OMG!” in conversation.
A lot of Internet slang has spread and is now used in actual conversation. As on the Internet, this slang is primarily used to be funny—or, once again, “For the lulz.” Many young people use Internet and texting terms without thinking, which can cause confusion in more formal settings. Once again, we need to help students learn when it's okay to use webspeak and when it's not.

Hasn’t someone else already defined all these terms?
Urban Dictionary has defined all the slang I cover and more. I just thought it would be handy to have the most common Internet terms all in one place, with my own school-related definitions. If you have any questions that I don’t answer, please check this site. Just be warned that some terms and definitions on Urban Dictionary are rude and inappropriate (“nsfw,” as we say). As a wiki-like site to which anyone can add, Urban Dictionary can contain entries that aren’t fact-checked, so it's not 100% reliable.


And without any more ado, I present a list of common Internet and texting slang:

Abbreviations and Acronyms:

• LOL, also LUL or LAWL; plural LOLS, LULZ; adj. lulzy; v. “to lol”, past tense “I lol’d” – stands for “Laugh(ing) Out Loud,” though often used to express general amusement when the writer isn’t actually laughing aloud; sometimes said aloud (pronounced “lul” instead of L.O.L., an acronym instead of an initialism) instead of actually laughing, though almost always done in a sarcastic or ironic manner; Example: “LUL, I almost put toothpaste on my face this morning.”
• For the lulz – to do something for the lulz is to do it for the laughs, simply to be funny; often used as justification for bad jokes and pranks; Example: “I did it for the lulz!”
• ROTFL, also ROFL (occasionally shows up as the nonsensical roflcopter) – stands for “Rolling On The Floor Laughing,” or just “Rolling On Floor Laughing”; used to express amusement, like LOL, but implies more laughter; Example: “Best joke I’ve heard all day! ROTFL!”
• LMAO – stands for “Laughing My A$$ Off”; used to indicate amusement, more than LOL; about the same as ROFL; Example: “That is the funniest story ever! LMAO!”
• jk, or j/k – stands for “Just Kidding”, used to identify jokes and sarcasm online where it’s difficult to read for tone; Example: “j/k I’m not really dying my hair!”
• OMG – stands for “Oh My God!” Occasionally, typed as HOMG for emphasis, though the H doesn’t really stand for anything; Example: “OMG did you hear about Reginald and Clementine?!”
• WTH – stands for “What The Hell?” An exclamation of disbelief or frustration; Example: “I studied for this quiz but still got a C, WTH?”
• WTF – stands for "What the F***", a more severe version of WTH; Example: “WTF is she wearing? A tent?”
• STFU – stands for “Shut the F*** Up”; used in anger or dismissal, but also humorously, like how some people say “Shut up!” instead of “I don’t believe it!”; Example: “I'm reading Emma and in it, Miss Bates seriously needs to STFU.” or "He actually did it?! STFU!"
  
• GTFO – stands for “Get The F*** Out”; can be used to tell someone to actually leave, or simply to show anger; can be used to tell famous people, ideas, and concepts to leave; Example: “GTFO, Malvolio, no one likes you,” or “People with mullets seriously need to GTFO"
• 2 – stands for “to”; Example: “Going 2 the dance?”
  
• plz – short for “please”; Example: “Bring snacks, plz!”
  
• ppl – short for “people”; Example: “I’m not made of money, ppl.”
  
• k – short for “okay”; Example: “Let’s go together, k?”
  
• u – short for “you”; Example: “I’ll miss u!”
  
• bb – stands for “baby”; Example: “Hey, bb, how are you?”
  
• ur – stands for “your”; Example: “I’m in ur driveway, let’s go!”
  
• ru – stands for “are you”; Example: “ru kidding?”
  
• thx – short for “thanks”; Example: “Thx for the comments!”
  
• kthxbai – short for “Okay, Thanks, Bye”; used to end and/or dismiss a point; often used humorously; Example: “Americans HAVE to stop doing crappy remakes of Asian horror films. That’s all there is to it, kthxbai."
  
• srs – short for “serious”; also adj. srsly; sometimes said “for srs”; often pronounced as it’s written, like “sirs” or "sirs-lee"; Example: “It was the weirdest moment ever, srsly.”
  
• BF – stands for “boyfriend”; Example: “I’m going to a movie with my bf.”
  
• BFF – stands for “Best Friend(s) Forever”; Example: “Benvolio and I are BFFs.”
  
• brb – stands for “Be Right Back”; used to indicated a brief absence from the computer or phone, though use has grown to include any brief absence; sometimes used for the lulz; Example: “Dinner time, brb.” or “Going to Narnia, brb!”

• gtg – stands for “Got to Go”; indicates that the writer has to end the conversation and leave, sometimes abruptly; Example: “gtg nice talking to you! See you tomorrow!”
  
• TTYL – stands for “Talk To You Later”; used to end a conversation, like gtg; "Thanks for chatting! TTYL."
  
• FTW – stands for “For The Win”; expresses approval; usually follows a description of what you approve of; Example: “Red gummy bears FTW!”
• NVM - stands for "Never Mind"; Example: "I totally thought we were talking about the movie, not the book. NVM what I said."
  
• TMI – stands for “Too Much Information”; used to react to or warn about sharing unsavory details; Example: “Ewwww TMI! Definitely did not need to hear about your bowel movements, dude.” or “This may be TMI, but I’ve got some serious indigestion right now.”
  
• IDK – stands for “I Don’t Know”; Example: “He was in, IDK, swimming or diving or something like that.”
• IDEK - stands for "I Don't Even Know"; Example: "It was such a weird movie. It was a dream the whole time or something. IDEK."
  
• IMHO or IMO – stands for “In My Humble Opinion” or “In My Opinion”; used before commenting to establish that you’re giving your own opinion; helps you avoid being accused of misrepresenting information; Example: “He’s kinda skeezy, IMO.”
• tl;dr - stands for "Too Long; Didn't Read"; used in response to a post or blog entry that seemed too long and was thus left unread, though commenting on something you didn't read is pretty pointless; sometimes used by the poster to warn readers of impending verbosity or to summarize a post; Examples: "That trends blog entry on slang was massive! tl;dr." or "The tl;dr version of this entry is: people use a lot of jargon on the Internet."
  
• bada$$ - n. someone who is hardcore and awesome or cold-blooded; adj. describes something that is hardcore or awesome; the state of being bada$$ is bada$$ery; Example: “They had some bada$$ fight scenes in that movie.”
  
• BAMF – stands for “BadA$$Motherf***er”; often pronounced like one word; used to describe someone who is truly awesome and hardcore; popularized by stand-up comedian Dane Cook; Example: “Bruce Lee was a serious BAMF.”
  
• ILU – stands for “I Love You”; Example: “Lol, you’re so awesome! ILU, bb!”
  
• FML – stands for “F*** My Life”; used to express frustration and anger; has a site devoted to documenting people's FML moments; Example: “Today I got a flat tire, tore my favorite jeans, and got detention. FML.”
  
• MLIA – stands for “My Life Is Average”; an amusing opposition to FML; has a site devoted to documenting people’s everyday escapades; Example: “Caught myself reading the nutrition facts on my box of Cheerios this morning. MLIA.”
  
• IRL – stands for “In Real Life,” meaning offline; Example: “I work at Burger King IRL.”
  
• nsfw – stands for “Not Safe For Work”; indicates that clicking a link will lead to images or language that you wouldn’t want your boss or coworkers to see (like R or X rated material); also applies to content not safe for school, or not safe to look at while one’s parents are around; Example: “Warning—this video is nsfw.”
  
• amirite? – short for “Am I right?”; used rhetorically; Example: “Waiting at the DMV sucks, amirite?”
  
• iknorite? or inorite? or IKR – short for “I know, right?”; an expression of agreement; sometimes has a shallow, cheerleader-y connotation (characters in the movie Mean Girls were known for saying this); Example: “He’s completely conceited.” “iknorite? He thinks he’s so awesome.”
  
• HDU – stands for “How Dare You?”; usually used sarcastically; Example: “You like lavender better than purple? OMG HDU?!”
• JSYK - stands for "Just So You Know"; Example: "I'm losing my voice, JSYK."
  
• NBD - stands for "No Big Deal"; Example: "This essay is going to be easy. NBD."
  
• AFK – stands for “Away From Keyboard”; used to warn others in a chat or game that the writer will be unable to respond for a while; often used in gaming communities; Example: “Bathroom break – AFK”
  
• ETA – stands for “Edited To Add”; indicates a later addition made to a post; Example: “ETA: Just found out the name of the actor I couldn’t remember is Bill Murray.”
  
• IRC – stands for “If I Recall Correctly”; Example: “Ed Helms started out on the Daily Show, irc.”
• a/s/l? - question posed in chats, asking "Age? Sex? Location?"; Example: "a/s/l?" "18, Male, Kansas."
  

Terms:

• FAIL/WIN – expresses failure or success, also lameness or awesomeness; almost always written in all caps, optional addition of EPIC (EPIC FAIL, EPIC WIN) to emphasize; can be paired with a word describing the nature of the failure/success (DRIVING FAIL for a car smashed into a tree, SARCASM WIN for a particularly witty comment); FAILure has an entire blog devoted to it; always pronounced in a deep-voiced deadpan; Example: “I turned in my project without putting my name on it. FAIL.” or "I found twenty bucks in my pocket! WIN."
  
• EPIC –truly awesome, momentous, or severe; often placed before FAIL/WIN; Example: “Dude remember the part in 300 where there were so many arrows you couldn't see the sun? That was EPIC."
  
• OWNED/PWNED (occasionally spelled with a 3 instead of an E), n. pwnage, adj. pwnsome– a way of saying that someone or something has been schooled or utterly defeated; originally used in gaming communities for particularly impressive defeats (the P variation emerged when someone mistyped the word and others spread it around for the lulz; it’s pronounced like “poned”); often written in all caps for emphasis; like FAIL/WIN, often pronounced with a deep-voiced emphasis; Example: “I totally pwned that test!”
  
• NOOB, n00b, noobie, newbie – someone who is new to a field or activity; used derisively; Example: “He’s such a noob, he doesn’t even know how to use Facebook chat.” or “We’re going to pwn some noobs in this game.”
  
• WOOT, w00t – used to express joy, like “Woohoo!” “Woo” or “Yay!”; originally used in gaming communities as a shortened form of “Woo, loot!”; Example: “I'm going to Florida this summer, woot!”
  
• 733t – "eleet" (elite), part of leetspeak; a special Internet alphabet; if you're wondering, the 7 forms an upside-down L, and the 3s form Es; it’s an in-group way of typing that makes normal words hard to understand if you’re not in on the code; your average Internet nerd knows the term 733T but usually isn’t fluent in 733T speak because, well, it’s an elite thing; Example: “I am so 733T.”
  
• WHAT. or WUT. – not a question, but an expression of disbelief, often displeasure; there is an unspoken “--the hell is this?” at the end, but you're are showing that you're too upset to finish your sentence by leaving it off; almost always punctuated with a period; pronounced in the same deep deadpan as FAIL/WIN and OWNED/PWNED; Example: “They’re doing a crappy remake of my favorite movie? WHAT.”
• THIS. - written in response to something you agree with or something you think is awesome
  
• NOOOOOES! or nuuuuuu! – humorous, often sarcastic form of “NOOOO!”; Example: “He forgot to tie his shoes! Oh noes!”
• teh - mistyping of "the," often used sarcastically to make fun of poor typists; pronounced the way it's (mis)spelled, as "teh"; considered a way to make a statement extra lulzy; frequently used in mockery and macros; Example: "Oh, how I loves teh Interwebz!"
  
• flail – a spastic, gleeful thrashing and waving of the hands or arms; expresses extreme joy; also known as kermitflail, after Kermit the Frog's fantastic flailing in The Muppet Show; Example: “Did you see the trailer for the new Twilight movie? I flailed!” or “OMG DID YOU SEE THAT? FLAIL!”
• squee – a happy squealing noise, often made by fangirls; Example: "He took his shirt off and kissed her! Squeeee!"
  
• fangirl, also fangirling (the act of behaving like a fangirl) – a female fan of a book, movie, TV show, comic, video game, actor, etc.; known for enthusiasm and nerdiness; terrifying in large numbers; occasionally referred to as “rabid”; Example: “Robert Pattinson dresses like a hobo to ward off his crazy fangirls.”
  
• fanboy – a male fan of a book, movie, TV show, comic, video game, actress, etc.; known for enthusiasm and nerdiness; typically seen as whinier and less frantic than fangirls; Example: “The fanboys will really be complaining that the movie version didn’t live up to the graphic novel.”
  
• emo – usually refers to a sullen, self-pitying mood; can refer to an entire style of dress and behavior; Example: “Jacques is being so emo, wandering off by himself and sighing and crap.”
  
• angsty – full of angst; considered attractive in a fictional character by many fangirls (young ladies love it when guys show a dark and tormented side); Example: “Oooh, Edward was all angsty when he thought Bella was dead! He’s sooo hot!”
• legit - short for "legitimate"; Example: "Our guest speaker was a legit author."
  
• HAI, BAI, WAI, HAY – purposeful misspellings of the words "Hi," "Bye," "Way," and "Hey," respectively; used humorously (for the lulz); often used for emphasis; Example: "HAY GUYS!!"
  
• rly – short for "really"; Example: “Are you rly going out with him?”
  
• O RLY? – short for “Oh, really?”; expresses disbelief; used to question someone else’s statement; originated with an owl macro; part of a script of responses that goes O RLY? YA, RLY! NO WAI!

• ya – shortened version of yeah, often pronounced “ya” for the lulz; Example: "YA RLY!"
  
• OM NOM NOM – onomatopoeia signifying enthusiastic eating noises; sometimes used to indicate that the writer figuratively wants to “eat up” something; Example: “I loooooooove cheesecake! OM NOM NOM!” or “I can’t get enough of Terry Pratchett’s books. OM NOM NOM.”
  
• NOMs – food; Example: “The kitty needs more NOMs!”
• MOAR- purposeful misspelling of "more," done for the lulz; Example: "Kitty needs MOAR NOMS!"
• mah - common, purposeful misspelling of "my," done to indicate a lulzy pronunciation; Example: "I need mah cookies!"
  
• serious business (shortened as srs bizniz)– usually used sarcastically to describe something trivial that people take too seriously; Example: “YouTube is serious business.”
  
• whatevs – short for “Whatever,” a term of dismissal; Example: “Whatevs, I don’t have time for this.”
  
• probs – short for “probably”; Example: “I’m probs getting my license soon.”
  
• totes – short for “totally”; Example: “I’m totes going to see that movie when it comes out!”
  
• obvs – short for “obvious” or “obviously”; Example: “It’s a metaphor, obvs.”
  
• trufax – short for "true facts"; used to verify or agree with a statement, even one’s own statement; Example: “He has six TVs, trufax.”
  
• can has – a purposefully incorrect form of “can have,” used humorously; originally used in a cat macro that read “I can has cheezburger?”; Example: “I can has new car?”

• GURL – purposeful misspelling of the word "girl"; used humorously or lightheartedly; Example: “HAY GURL HAY!”
• fren, fran, frenz - purposeful misspellings of friend and friends, often used humorously; Examples: "I'm gonna call all mah frenz!" or "GURL I need to meet your new boyfran!"
  
• HALP! – purposeful misspelling of HELP!, used humorously; Example: "HALP! I'm stuck!"
• FFFFFFF or FFFFFUUUUU - beginning of a shouted curse, but never finished; occasionally, FFFFF will be used to indicated stifled laughter instead; popularized by the Rageguy comic; Example: "I completely forgot that was due today! FFFFUUUU--!"
  
• ____-a$$ – added to the end of words for emphasis, taken from the African American vernacular tradition; Example: “That is one lame-a$$ excuse.”
• lurking, lurker - to lurk is to frequent a site, message board, or other online community without officially joining and contributing posts; seldom has a creepy connotation - it's common for people to lurk on a site before joining; Example: "I used to be a lurker, so I've been around a while but this is my first post."
  
• shoop – to alter a picture; short for Photoshop (verb form, "to Photoshop"), humorously mispronounced as Photoshoop; Example: “She shooped herself into a picture with Robert Pattinson.”
• double rainbow - used to describe something awesome, a reference to a guy's awed reaction to two rainbows in a famous YouTube video; popularized as an adjective by actor Nathan Fillion; appropriate responses include, "Double rainbow all the way!" or "It's so beautiful!" or "What does it MEAN?"; Example: "Did you see that sweet explosion? It was double rainbow!" "All the way!"
  
• fierce – used to describe someone who is fashionable, posh, edgy, and fearless; first coined by Christian Siriano of Project Runway; Example: “Heidi Klum looks fierce in that designer dress.”
  
• fugly – portmanteau word of "f*** ugly"; a fug (n.) is one who is fugly; Example: “That is a fugly old couch.”
  
• durr or hurr – a dimwitted noise or chuckle; used satirically, often to make fun of oneself; Example: “I spent ten minutes looking for my sunglasses but they were on my head, hurr hurr.”
• derp or durp, sometimes herp a derp - a noise similar to durr or hurr made by someone being thoughtless or dorky, often acting more silly or reckless than usual; also used as a noun to indicate one who is thoughtless or dorky; Example: "I tried to pull the push door again, herp a derp!" or "Harry should have known the second task wasn't deadly--he's such a heroic derp."
• re: - short for “regarding;” taken from email subject lines; Example: “I make a lot of posts re: vampires, don’t I?”
  

Phrases:

• DO NOT WANT – used to express extreme displeasure at a situation; originated in poorly translated subtitles of a bootlegged Star Wars movie that people spread around for the lulz; almost always written in all caps; pronounced with emphasis; Example: “My allergies are so bad right now. DO NOT WANT.”
  
• DO WANT, or simply WANT – the opposite of DO NOT WANT; Example: “Those cookies look delicious. WANT.”
• let me show you them - a phrase originating with a cat macro in which a cat holds a Gameboy and says "My Pokemans: let me show you them"; now used when showing anyone anything; Example: "My vacation pictures: let me show you them."
  
• NOOOOO THEY BE _____ING MY _____! - a phrase originating with a walrus (or lolrus) macro in which a Sea World walrus tragically has its bucket taken, prompting an anguished "NOOOOO THEY BE STEALIN' MY BUCKET!"; Example: "Nooooo they be ruining my weekend!"

• ____: I has it - this sort of reverse sentence structure is common with macros and lolspeak; Example: "Charisma: I has it."
  
• for real or for realz or for realsies– "really," or "seriously"; sometimes seen as for realz this time, meaning what was before false or unsuccessful is now right; Example: "I'm going to ask her out, for real this time."
  
• ur doin’ it wrong – “You’re doing it wrong”; often said after stating what is being done wrong; Example: “Science: ur doin’ it wrong.”
  
• you win the internet, also you win an internet, have an internet– a phrase expressing wholehearted approval, usually in response to an especially clever joke; funny because it implies that the Internet is an object you can be awarded, or that there is more than one Internet to give away; Example: “That was the lulziest thing I’ve seen all week. You win the internet.”
  
• I see what you did there, or i c wut u did thar – letting another writer know you caught their joke or reference; Example: “Oh, foreshadowing! I see what you did there, Mr. Author.”
  
• what is this I don’t even, occasionally shortened to “I don’t even”– short for “What is this? I don’t even know!”; a confused, horrified, or disbelieving phrase, with the “know” at the end left unspoken to show just how baffled you are, like you couldn't even complete your sentence; sometimes written without spaces between the words; Example: “They made bacon...soap? WhatisthisIdonteven.” (they did, in case you were wondering)
• I am disappoint or I am excite - originally a caption for a silly image that spread around the Internet; has led to many people leaving off the -ed or -d at the end of words for the lulz; Example: "I can't believe you lost the game last night. I am disappoint." or "The new season starts tomorrow! I am excite!"
  
• It’s over 9000! – emphasizes extreme quantity or degree; originally a line from the anime Dragon Ball Z when one character over-dramatically describes another character’s power level as “Over 9000!”; rarely describes a quantity that is actually over 9000; Example: “This is so much WIN. It’s over 9000!”

• The cake is a lie! – quote from the renowned computer game Portal, used whenever possible by Portal fans; in the game, the player is falsely promised cake by a corrupt computer (the game's antagonist)--cake is never provided, but the player does see some creepy graffiti warning that "the cake is a lie"; may be used to refer to either lies or cake—the presence of both isn’t needed, but of course having your cake and lies, too, is ideal; Example: “WHAT. Lemon cake? I thought it was vanilla! The cake is a lie!”
  

Concepts

• macro – a photo or other image to which a caption has been added; cat macros are the most popular, though people will turn anything into a macro; webspeak (or lolspeak) and purposely incorrect grammar in captions are preferred but not required; Example: “I made some macros last night of my cat being all, ‘I eated your cookie.’”

• meme – an Internet phenomenon; a popular picture, phrase, or video that gets spread around all corners of the Internet; pronounced "meem"; often, memes get parodied and tweaked beyond recognition; Example: “The dramatic prairie dog became a huge Internet meme.” You can look up explanations of popular memes on the site Know Your Meme.
  
• Rick Rolling – when someone is Rick Rolled, she is tricked into clicking a link that leads her to the music video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”; a popular prank and Internet meme for a long time, though presently falling from favor; Example: “Remember when that Cartoon Network float at the Thanksgiving Parade got Rick Astley to actually come out and sing? That was the most epic Rick Roll ever.”
  
• spam – an overload of information; also v., the act of sharing overabundant information; way back in the early days of the Internet, someone compared the relentlessness of junk email to the relentless repetition of the word "SPAM" in a Monty Python sketch, and the term stuck; a huge list (like this one!) can be called spam; Example: “So sick of spam in my inbox.” or “I’m spamming you with links!”
  
• troll, also v. "to troll" – someone who makes inflammatory comments on the Internet just to upset other people for his own amusement; trolls claim to be acting “for the lulz,” but often offend others; most websites have a “Don’t feed the trolls” policy, which means that site members are to ignore the troll, denying him the attention he wants; sometimes represented with the troll face; Example: “At first I was like, ‘How could anyone be so stupid?’ but then I realized he was a troll and stopped talking to him.” and "No trolling this site!"
• Omegle - a site where you can chat with random strangers; not intended for younger users, but students may use the site anyway; often, online communities will flock to Omegle for "parties," so there may be sudden swarms of users all talking about the same topic (Justin Bieber, for example); some users love to troll Omegle and will pretend to be fictional characters; Example: "I was trying to chat about Justin Bieber on Omegle, but the other people kept pretending to be Star Trek guys!"
• ChatRoulette - a site where you can video chat via webcam with random strangers; not appropriate for younger users, but, again, students might use it anyway; many users do extremely inappropriate things on video, so students should be discouraged from using the site; Example: "I tried using Chatroulette, but the only people on there were creepers."
  
• Cthulhu - pronounced something like "kuh-THOO-loo"; a terrible, tentacled being created by writer H.P. Lovecraft, appearing in his works like a sort of extraterrestrial deity and forming an entire mythos; now a popular and frequently referenced figure on the Internet, achieving meme-like status in popular culture; Example: "All hail Cthulhu!"
  
• mudkips – a type of Pokemon that became an Internet meme with the awkward “So I heard you like mudkips” story (courtesy of 4chan); now synonymous with lulz; Example: “Lol, I drew a mudkip in his notes!”

• 4chan – a site looked down upon by most of the Internet community for being tasteless and populated by pedophiles; however, 4chan is the origin of many famous Internet memes (like mudkips); avoided like the plague by most people; DO NOT endorse students visiting this site; Example: “Where did that horrible picture come from? Oh. 4chan. Not surprised.”
  
• Rule 34 – Rule 34 of the Internet: If you can imagine it, there is porn of it; originally from an xkcd comic; reflected in the song "The Internet is for Porn" from the musical Avenue Q; easily confirmed through search engines; Example: “She said there wouldn’t be any Care Bear porn, but I Googled it, and there totally was. Rule 34, bb.”
  

Emoticons
There are two main families of emoticon.

First, there’s the classic smiley, :-)
This one is always read sideways by tilting your head to the left. See, the colon forms his eyes!
Common classic emoticons include
:-) for happy
:-( for sad
>:-( for angry (see, he has an angry unibrow)
;-) for winking
:-P for sticking out a tongue
(hyphen noses are considered optional)

Then, there’s the anime smiley, :D or ^_^
:D is read sideways, like the classic smiley. See, his mouth is extra wide because he’s sooo happy!
^_^ is read rightside-up. See, the carrots are closed eyes, and the underscore is her mouth.

In many Internet circles, the anime family of emoticon is more popular, but it really depends on the sites you visit.

Common anime emoticons include
:D for happy
D: for distressed (you tilt your head to the right for this one)
XD for happy—often a silly or sheepish sort of happiness (tilt head to the left, the X is her scrunched-up eyes)
^_^ or ^^ for extra-cute happy
O_O or O_o or ((O_0)) for wide eyes (confusion, fear, surprise, etc.)
T_T or ;_; or ;; for crying (the stems of the Ts and comma bits of the semicolons are tears)
x_x or x.x for dead
>_> or >.> for a sideways glance
:3 for a silly face with a feline mouth
c: also for happy (another head tilt to the right)
:c for sad (tilting back to the left now)
=^_^= for a face with cat whiskers

For a comprehensive list of emoticons, see the Wikipedia page.

Many websites have their own sets of emoticons, actual yellow happy face pictures, but those won't show up in text messages. These aren't used as often, but a few are still popular. Like this guy, widely loved for his eye-rolling, over-the-top grin:

Ways to use what you know about Internet slang/texting in teaching:

• You can better understand what students are saying!
• You can use webspeak examples to teach acronyms and initialisms.
• You can use it to teach writing for different settings.
• You can accept Internet slang in informal assignments—kids will like being able to write in a familiar and comfortable format, and may be eager to use slang for the lulz. I’d consider allowing slang when kids summarize pieces, draw pictures or comics, write in open journals, and “translate” difficult or antiquated texts into modern terms (Shakespeare can become EPIC WIN when you try this).

Next entry: Facebook, or "How Can You Really be Friends with All These People?"