According to this article at University of Toronto, it’s not. From the article:

I’ll agree.

I’m not sure exactly what the “unique linguistic shorthand” is, besides “LOL” or “OMG” or “BRB” (those are ones I use), but you know what, it’s as simple as this: They’re typed, not spoken the way they are written.

Think about it. LOL means “laughing out loud”. In which case, Really, I’m not going to say “LOL”, i’m going to literally laugh out loud. (let’s forget that Sarah, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character from Party of Five said “LOL” literally to Bailey.) I don’t think I’ve ever said “BRB” either. Although I might have used that in a jokingly manner. But usually if I say that, it will be more along the lines of mimic-ing Arnold as I say (in Arnold’s voice) “I’ll be back.”

I think teachers and parents are underestimating their children’s intelligence. While there are some linguistic shorthand that might be spoken, I often think of those as slang, and as such, should still be ok to use.

What it all Really comes down to is simple. There’s the way you should talk, and there’s the way you Really talk. After high school and college, how many people are Really going to correct your grammar talking in an everyday situation? I think I can count them on one hand. And no, one of them isn’t my 9th grade english teacher.

1. Group Blog – great idea. the best way to go. I saw a few group blogs, and thought, “whoa. that’s what I should have done is set up a group blog.” Next year, WDS will most likely be doing that. The only thing that I think blogathon needs is the ability to have multiple sponsors.

2. Lot’s of snacks. Although I have to admit that I ate quite a bit of food. But you know, when you’re sitting there, it helps.

3. Moblogging. Moblogging is the bomb when it comes to blogathon I think. First of all, it’s easy with your phone. (unless you type a long entry.) And it’s kinda fun to see the progress of the 24 hours. My plan next year is to definitely have the first post be a pic of me, and the last post a pic of me. That way there’s a definitely before and after scenario. :)

4. Another thought I had was videoblogging. Perhaps by next year, vlogging will be a lot easier to do (and I mean easy for me.)

5. A plan for the last hours of the blogathon. While the plan of no plan was good for the beginning and middle of the blogathon, at the last few hours of the blogathon, having no plan Really kinda sucked, as you start to lose focus, and well, run out of ideas. So not having a plan is good to start with, but having a plan to end with is good. I’m up for any ideas for next year folks. :P

6. Methods to get sponsors. I need to have them. Prizes were good, and trivia was good. Those were not only fun, but it also gave an opportunity for people to interact with the site. I’ll have to consider these things, and suggestions are always welcome.

7. More audience participation. While entries about interesting facts is good and makes for great content, sometimes, there’s just no audience participation. Comments help quite a bit. And it gives a feeling of “wow, people are actually reading my stupid crap.” My wife said to me the other day, “wow, look you’ve got comments on all your entries.” I beamed and like a dork, i said, “Sweeet!” (think napoleon dynamite)

So there you have it, some of my observations and mental notes to myself about blogathon 2007. You have any suggestions? Comment away!

Ok, so Daniel said it would be awesome if there was a way to crosspost into Vox. WordPress does it right?

Well, fortunately for Daniel, I’m always up for something new. So this post is an official test post to test out my Vox extension.

If you see this post, you should also be able to see it as a crosspost over at my Vox page.