|
|
Love them or hate them, the new talking smilies look like they are here to stay. Just when we all got familiar with the “regular” 2D smilies that just sat there looking cute, along come the new animated 3D versions of these little yellow buggers, encouraging the web-surfer to “say something,” or “look over here!” |
The fact is it’s nearly impossible to search the web these days for longer than a few minutes and not see one of these friendly little yellow icons. They are becoming as much a part of our online experience as using the mouse. But they also have there detractors. Some pro bloggers, for example, have started a campaign to ban smilies that talk, claiming they are distracting and lack the charm of the original “quiet and cute” smilies.
Smiley icons are a type of “emoticon.” Emoticons began as a short sequence of letters and/or symbols, usually imitating a facial expression, like smiling or frowning. They are most commonly used to complement an email or other text message, to convey the emotion behind the words. The term “emoticon” is itself an abbreviation of the phrase “emotion icon.”
The original and still best-know emoticon is the “smiley.” Smiley icons have been used online for over 25 years, first appearing on university bulletin boards back in 1982—making them practically historical relics by computer and internet standards.
But even after all these years, smilies are still quite popular online and there are many places to find free smilies and other emoticons to use in emails, blogs or websites.
Smilie emoticons can be fun, funny or just plain weird sometimes, and have evolved to the point where they can portray nearly any emotion you can think of, making online writing more personal and emotive. Perhaps that explains the enormous popularity of the humble smiley.
The newest smilies are the virtual type, which are much more life-like and realistic, and are audio enabled. Having a smilie speak to you is a bit unnerving at first, but they can become little buddies on your computer that keep you company while you are working or playing online.
Here are a few great resource sites to help you find smilies that speak:
Webfetti.com is a great site for locating new and fresh smilies and other emoticons. The Webfetti gallery is overflowing with emoticons with a wide range of expressions. There are talking and singing smilies, eating smilies, studying smilies, swimming smilies and even smilies brushing their teeth!
Smileyarena.com is another site with thousands of 2D and 3D smilies in nearly one hundred different categories. Some of their more exotic examples are, “Miranda Orange,” “Banana Smilies,” and the always popular, “Burning Banana Smiley.”
Kiwee.com is another smiley icon site. Kiwee specializes in oversized-animated smilies that you can’t help but love. They also have a wide range of more traditional smilies and other emoticons, though not as extensive perhaps as the two sites listed above.
So there you have three top sites where you can find virtual smilies online. Once you begin collecting the talking smilies you’ll find that it turns into an interesting hobby, trying to find the weirdest and most unusual talking smilies for your collection.
