We’re baaaack!

Happy 2009 everybody!

I know we’re a week into the new year, and it’s been… some unconscionable amount of time since I posted, but let’s kick things back into high gear! 2009 is an exciting time; we’re about to get a new president, Lost is coming back for its penultimate season, and Lady GaGa’s album “The Fame” is already my soundtrack of the year. So many great things are happening it might seem silly to force another item onto your to-do list, but that’s exactly what I’m going to ask you to do today. You see, 2009 is also the year of looooove!

“Uh, you just made that up,” you may be saying to yourselves, and you would be correct. However, why not? The economy has gotten so screwed up it can’t go anywhere but up, and there are no Olympics this year, so why not celebrate being alive in 2009 with a little romance. And anyway, the Mayan calendar says we only have three more years until the Apocalypse, so let’s live it up!

I’m here to tell you that cell phones were made for kindling the sparks of love in your quivering hearts. Just think: when was it ever so easy to send a little “I love you” to your paramour? Why should we think that technology distances us when we all carry our phones close to our bodies, ever awaiting contact with another person?

So to start things off right this year, here are a few ideas for furthering the romance between you and your special person, all via text message:

1. How romantic can you get in 160 words or less? Challenge yourself or your sweetie to finding the most creative and succinct language of love you can tap out by thumb. Try out your favorite romantic quotes or lines from movies.

2. … And when you get through all that poetry and flowery language, just sending an “I love you” will always, always do the trick. Try it, and turn someone’s day around.

3. When you’re separated by time and space, a message a day can keep the loneliness away. Just write about what you’ve been up to, or tell them about something that reminded you of them that day. Heck, do this one for your friends. Isn’t it great to know that other people are thinking of you?

4. Standby texting abbreviations are as follows:

“I love you” becomes “I luv u” or the more contemporary “I ❤ u” (which has led to the inexplicably popular “I less than three you,” but that’s best in another post).

“I miss you” becomes “I miss u,” and so on.

5. Does your significant other have less-than-stellar capabilities when it comes to texting? Bring them into the 21^st century and buy them a new texting platform or an unlimited texting plan so that your communication is no holds barred. Because, when in doubt, buy ‘em something!

Miley Cyrus: text message heart-breaker

You’ve got to love Miley Cyrus, especially in the music video for her Billboard Top 100 hit, “7 Things.”

 

 

It’s a song about an ex-boyfriend and how she still has feelings for him, even though he had quite a list of annoying characteristics. At one point in the song she informs him “If you text me, I’ll delete it.” She says the line the way, many years ago, Elvis Presley sang, “Return to sender,” about an unwanted love letter.

 

I love how texting has totally infiltrated our pop culture, and this is just another example of it. I also love the idea of just angrily jamming your thumb down on a teeny, tiny little button, instead of the more dramatic, though old-fashioned, burning of letters, or slamming a door in someone’s face. It’s such a funny image, even though the feeling behind deleting a text now can mean much more than clearing space on one’s phone.

 

It also reminds us, like in our previous post, that text messages are a greater form of communication now that can actually strengthen (or, we suppose from this video, destroy) relationships. It could even be a signifier of how clever and worthy a significant other could be: who can write the most romantic message in 160 letters or less? Who is the quickest to respond to their messages? Who writes back even at 3 am? We could say that text messaging has changed the way we view people.

 

I would love to hear about cute and clever texts people have received, ones that are worth remembering.

 

Also, no, I have no idea what Miley Cyrus is saying at the beginning of the song. I thought it was “Shu…t up!” for the longest time, and then realized she never quite finishes that phrase, so I guess it’s just “Sha!” No, I have no idea what that means, though if you happen to know, PLEASE respond in a comment to this post so that the rest of us don’t have to wonder for the rest of our lives!

Type your way to true love.

LA Times tells us about the new crop of text message dating services in their article “R U ready to txt for D8s? Don’t lol.” (Just to decode, that title says “Are you ready to text for dates? Don’t laugh out loud.”)

 

Before everyone starts groaning, think about it: how different is text dating from phone dating? Party lines? Those old stores where people would record a video of themselves and leave it in the store’s library for other people to come pick out and watch? Frankly, I’m surprised YouTube hasn’t started a dating service.

 

According to this article, a user signs up with the service, and as long as they have a phone that can send and receive text, they will start getting messages from people interested in chatting with them. Of course, it only works if you believe in the idea that you can learn enough about someone in 160 character messages to know if you would date them or not. The article also includes a success story

 

When I first saw this article, I was skeptical as to whether a service like this could catch on. I had never heard of anything like it before. But when you think about it, it’s not so different from the dating services we’ve had in the past. And how often do you text your significant other during the week? Couldn’t texting actually deepen, or even begin, a relationship?

 

So if you’re interested, I found a couple services offering date-finding and friend-finding with a simple tap of the thumbs:

 

MatchLink Mobile

Bouncephone