You will find people using smilies in public forums, blogs, bulletin board, email messages, online chat, etc. Smilies are very important for the web users because if there wasn’t any smilies then the communication between two people online can be interpreted in a different way. When people communicate online, they type text and the same appears on the screen of the user as well as the recipient.

The communication between people in this is very different from communicating face to face. When you talk to someone directly you are able to see the body language and the facial expression of the speaker. Hence, it becomes easier for you to understand what the speaking is trying to convey. On the other hand, when you convey a message to someone through email or online chat then you are not able to see the facial expressions as well as the body language of the speaker.

All you see are the typed words. This may lead to misunderstanding and hence the communication will not be successful. However, with the use of smilies you can make the recipient understand your message in a better way.

Smilies can be in the form of text or in the form of images. Usually, you will find that in the Instant Messengers and forums smilies are usually in the form of images. On the other hand, when you write emails you can add smilies in the form of text like which means a smile. In this text, you see a colon, a hyphen and a bracket which area symbols of eyes, nose and mouth respectively. Previously, the smilies were not as many as it is now. Nowadays, you can download smileys very easily online.

At present, smilies are increasing in numbers so as to allow the web users take the advantages of the new and improved smilies. Needless to say, there is a huge demand for smilies among the web users as they are becoming more and more popular among the people. If you think that only the youngsters like to use smilies then you are mistaken because the youngsters as well as the adults make use of smilies.

Smilies have emerged as a replacement for facial expressions and body language in the recent years. The aim of creating and using smilies is to remove the misinterpretation of the messages that are in the form of simple text only.

Let’s look at an example. When you are chatting with someone in a chat room, you call that person “stupid” jokingly. The recipient of this message may misinterpret your message in a different way and he or she may think that you are being impolite. However, if you add a smiley to the same message then the recipient will know that you were just kidding with him or her.  There is a great selection of World Cup smileys for download here.

anonymous

http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/smilies-can-make-your-communication-effective-83860.html

Technorati Tags: cute emoticons

Of course, the written word can sometimes be ambiguous when it comes to expressing the feelings behind the words. A great tool that helps put our words into perspective are the happy little smiling faces that so many of use in our messages: the emoticons.

Configured so that they can be inserted into the text of everything from a post on a message board to an instant message conversation, emoticons are often used to make the intent of our words a little clearer. The basic emoticon, known as a smiley, is a way of letting the person you are communicating with that the remark you just typed is meant in a friendly way. Resembling the happy face that was so popular during the 1970′s, the most popular style of emoticons are round, often yellow in color, and have eyes and a mouth that are used to convey all sorts of emotions.

There are emoticons that can cover just about any feeling or emotion you want to express. As an example, surprise or shock is often indicated by an emoticon that displays wide-open eyes and a round mouth. Anger may be conveyed by an emoticon that is red rather than yellow, and features a grimace. Love or cordial feelings are often expressed by the use of an emoticon that features a beating red heart. There are even emoticons that can convey boredom, excitement, wild laughter, and a sly wink.

Using emoticons is very easy. Just about every message board and text messaging service provides the user with basic information about how to insert emoticons into communications. Typically, it is a matter of selecting the emoticon from a listing, using the computer mouse. Many systems also allow key sequences from the keyboard to register as emoticons as well. If you are particularly savvy and know how to create the emoticon you want by using your keyboard, you can forego pulling up the emoticon menu and using the mouse to make your selection.

In addition to being informational, emoticons are a way to add a touch of whimsy to any of your electronic communications. Most of us do use these types of communications in an informal manner, so the emoticons will lend themselves well to this type of usage. Opening up an email and seeing a cute remark followed by a line of laughing emoticons can bring a smile to our lips with ease.

Who doesn’t like to receive an emoticon conveyed electronic kiss from someone we are romantically interested in? Between the real service of helping to make our written communications clearer to the recipient, and the sheer fun that emoticons bring to our emails and instant messages, they are definitely now part of our culture.

Craig Thornburrow

http://www.articlesbase.com/email-articles/saving-time-and-having-fun-with-emoticons-94066.html

Technorati Tags: cartoon smiley, yellow smiley