SMS turns 20

Hi, 2day (Dec 3) is my b'day. It was xactli on dis day in 1992 a msg wz sent frm a comp to mobile. It wz a bland 'merry Christmas' (no shorthnd or :)s). Since den der wz no lukin bak.

Now, 4 bln people arnd d world uz me to say things rangin frm simpl 'hi' 2 sumthin veri imp lik 'letz brek up'or 'u r fired'. In d hands of yuth i hav becum a tool 2 twist langage, much to d discom4t of eldrs (i mean all those >25 yrs) and langage purists.

In India i strtd off as pagr killr. It soon wnt out of biz. D fall in sms rates made me hot favrite amng yuth. Dey usd it 4 jst abt anythin - frm wooin girlfrnds to orderin pizzas. Promoshnl offrz lik free sms after midnite kept dem hyper busy. Soon many devlpd 'text msngrs thumb' cauzd by ovruz of thumb.

Bizmen startd usin me 4 promotin their prodcts in a big way. Soon poor custmrz were bombard'd with msgs rangin frm persnl loans, credit crds to cure 4 baldness, fallin sperm count!!

I becam a conven'nt tool for employees wantin to bunk offiz, but not havin guts to call up d boz; 4 schoolz to remind parnts abt last date of payin fees.

Nosey spouses startd checkin sms to see if der was anythin fishy goin on. Husbnds startd storin their female collegz numbrz under male names 2 avoid arousin suspishn and vice versa. I am bein accusd of many brek ups. Poor me, wat can i do, am just a medium. D most famz case wz of ShaneWarne. He may b a grt in crickt and pokr, but a dodo while using cell phone. He keyd in a sexy sms meant for his grlfrnd and sent it 2 his wife (lol)! Now u only tel me, is it my fault?

The guvmnt 2 trets me badly. Whenevr ther is sumthin sensitive happnin dey stop all bulk sms. Of corz itz a big relief for custmrz, but our biz suffers. Unfortunately their fears r not baselez. Many times anti socials hav used me to sprd rumrs.

In tech world 21 yrs is a long period & am sufferin mid-life crisis. Am facin stif competition frm othr comm tools such as instnt msging and social media sites. Wethr am dere or not, the sms lingo iz here to stay.
tc & xoxo

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