O is for OMG, itz Internetz-speakey

O is for OMG, itz Internetz-speakey

So come on, confess. More than once, you've read some joke or cartoon or humorous story, and thought to yourself, "LOL" instead of "oh, that was funny." Yes, you, I'm looking at you. You know you've done it. And you know you've read something shocking and thought, "O.M.G!" Yes, this is what the Internetz has done to us. There's more acronyms on the web than I could ever hope to learn -- or is it, want to learn? Look how far we've come since the early days of the internet. It's changed the way we read and communicate, and especially for writers, how we submit. Remember the old days when you had to submit through snail mail? Now print markets are disappearing, but that's not necessarily all bad, I guess.

Anyway, my thoughts on the Internetz came about because I watched "You've Got Mail" the other day. I love that movie. I love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Loved the story of them being online friends and real-life enemies, and how he gradually wins her over. And when Harry Nillsson's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" plays at the end when they finally meet each other, oh my, I cry every time I see it. In fact, I think I need to buy that movie, I like it so much. The only thing I didn't love about the movie was how they were both in relationships and flirting with someone else in emails. I thought that cast a rather dark light on internet chatting and friendships. But it was funny, watching the movie now, and seeing the old email interface and remembering how AOL was the Really Big Deal back then. Did you know "You've Got Mail" was a remake of "The Shop Around the Corner?" In that 1940 movie, Jimmy Stewart (::swoon::) and Margaret O'Brien were pen pals who worked together but rubbed each other the wrong way in real life. It's interesting, Jimmy Steward is my all-time favorite movie star and Tom Hanks is one of my current favorite actors, and they more or less played the same part in a favorite movie of mine.