So, about this message...

[Mark A. Mandel]

GLL <guy1656 at OPUSNET.COM> wrote:
>>>
This use of 'so' may both be as much a new use as it is a new application of
an existing tool. I've heard radio ads start with 'so' in the same manner.

The use of 'so' implies a continuation of a current conversation, indicating
an extension or a conclusion of a previously established line of reasoning.
If indicating a conclusion, 'so' may be used to indicate a shift in the
topic: now that [n] had been settled, we can move on to our next agendum.
<<<

I'm used to it as the beginning of jokes:

"So this Martian walks into a bar..."

Maybe it's a way of pretending that the joke has something to do with the
previous discourse.

-- Mark
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]

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