No more "awesome" in the new year

From dictionary.com

In recent years, the words cool, neat, and great have been replaced. The new king of the hill these days is awesome. I hate that. Because, truth be told, very few things in life are truly awesome. Overusing that word diminishes its meaning.

• Your burger is awesome? No, afraid not. Want to know what's really awesome? The Grand Canyon.

• Think your friend meeting you for drinks is awesome. Nope. Try the Sistine Chapel. 

• Sorry, your new jacket isn't awesome. But, you know what is? The universe. 

As a lover of words, I don't readily embrace slang. And, yes, I know saying "awesome" when you don't have to wait in line at the market is perfectly acceptable these days. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Think about it. Awesome means something that inspires awe. Is getting a parking place near the front of the mall really awe inspiring? I just don't think it is. However, the pyramids in Egypt are. So is Stonehenge.

The next time you think something is impressive or exciting. Why not say it's impressive or exciting? Believe it or not, not everything is awesome. But the things that are? Wow, they're pretty incredible.

Text speak gives you social diseases

I hate it when people write in text speak in their emails and other correspondence. "U go 4 it" or "cuz U haz dat" is not proper English. I refuse to be a part of the annihilation of the written word and, as such, won't use lazy text speak. (If you've ever heard Peter Shankman present, he frequently shares the story of how he turned down a job applicant because she closed her cover letter with "4 U" instead of for you.)  Considering this kind of language makes my eye twitch and my lip quiver, I was delighted when Esta Singer tweeted me the image below (credit to the original tweeters @venessapaech and @sbadsgood):

Wow. If that doesn't say oodles about people who can't make the effort to write out the word "you," I don't know what does. Isn't it just downright amazing how writing "an individual" changes those search results? And, I didn't take this graphic as fact. I tested it myself and the results are authentic. Those who write "u" are riddled with a plethora of search results about social diseases.

Whether you're a 45-year-old professional, or just out of college, language matters. And, how you communicate tells complete strangers a lot about you. Don't take the lazy way out; use the proper word in the proper way. Anyone who writes "I can haz" should serve 20 to life as far as I'm concerned.

Gr8 2 C U here. U haz commentz?