There’s a conversation we had last week that all started with punctuation. It got us talking about text messages and how things are rapidly changing because of the impact texting has had on things like a period or an exclamation point. So today for What’s The Buzz we are talking all about texting etiquette. Joining hosts Tati Amare and Jason Carr on the show are AJ Williams, the Managing Editor of the Michigan Chronicle, and the lady behind SingleBlackChick.com, and Mimi Brown, a local author, and motivational speaker.
First up they tackled the using periods in text messages. Do they set a certain tone? Jason chimed in saying they make you seem terse. AJ, on the other hand, thinks they should be used in their proper grammatical way, being the editor she is. As AJ pointed out, however, if someone writes the word “period,” that has a very different tone. Mimi added that putting the period at the end of every word also sets a certain angry tone. Tati loves using punctuation to denote tone in her text messages and said it was all about how you use it.
Now, onto the exclamation point: are they more acceptable now? AJ feels like they are, and that they allow you to be more expressive and show your personality. In an example, “Yes” has a different connotation than “Yes!!!!!” Using all caps, however, can make someone sound like they are yelling, said Mimi.
Finally, they discussed emojis. Jason is not a huge fan of them, saying they are too small and are hard to make out, while Tati loves them and says she can have a whole conversation with them.
To hear more of their conversation, watch the video above.