OOC in A2

Omg.

I’ve become one of "those" people. You know the ones – the people who abbreviate everything, sometimes incomprehensibly.

At Google, we use an internal version of Google Talk to quickly reach each other across the company. Because we many times have to get in touch with someone quickly and concisely (for example, when an advertiser is on hold), I’ve learned to love abbreviations.

It started out innocently enough, using well-known AdWords abbreviations such as CID (customer identification number) or CPC (cost-per-click) in everyday language at the office. Pretty standard, especially since those around me were doing the same thing.

And then it got a bit more complicated. I soon learned that "you there?" was "yt?" and "no problem" became "np." Before I knew it, entire chat sessions were in abbrevs...er, abbreviations. What you're about to read is a dramatization, though shockingly close to reality.

me: hey BH, yt
(hi bryan, are you by your computer?)

bryan: y w/u
(yeah, i am. what’s up?)

me: #1, went 2 the mall ystrdy & tots spent too much $$$
(nothing really, i went to the mall yesterday, and now i can’t pay my rent)

bryan: omg me 2. got amaz stuff
(i did that too. what’d you get?)

bryan: btw, i am dehydes, prob b/c of 5 cups of coffee/day
(by the way, i think that i am severely dehydrated from all of the coffee that i’ve been drinking today)

me: ya it was ridic. and obvi coffee = amaz
(hmm, let’s see - i got this great pair of boots that i adore. and yes, thank goodness for coffee!)

me: #2 can u ping the CID from the adv. with the Qs on his CPC/DB?
(do you have a minute to send me (via IM) that customer ID number from the advertiser we both spoke with earlier? the one who had questions about his daily budget and cost-per-click?)

bryan: def, i can grab it immeds. brb k
(sure. let me go ahead and grab that now, one second)

me: k, asap would be gr8, thx
(that would be wonderful)

bryan: 123-456-789
(987-654-321)

me: perf, thx. ugh, this day is OOC*
(perfect, thanks so much! ugh, i am so tired today. this day is crazy.)

bryan: i know. tots OOC. but, abbrevs = awes/perf for us
(i know, so busy. good thing we use these abbreviations in chat to cut down on chat time!)

me: obvi. gtg herz, ttys. thx again
(so true. all right, i am going to call this advertiser back. thanks again for the info!)

bryan: np, ttyl
(no problem at all, anytime. talk to you later!)

*OOC = out of control

See? I tots have a prob. Okay, I suppose that it's not a death wish, and it gets the job done in a fast-paced office. That being said, I have no excuse for using abbrevs IRL.

(Side note: I know there are a lot of questions that people may have about Google moving to Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor office, or Google in general. If there is something specific that you'd like me to blog about, I am always open to ideas! Please feel free to email me at sjduchaine.blog@gmail.com anytime.)