|
|
Here's a little bit of trivia: do you know why smiley icons were invented? When the Internet was young and most communication was text-based, people quickly discovered a problem. Text is not very good at conveying emotion. We all rely on several different kinds of visual and audio clues to determine what others really mean when they say something to us. |
The same words can take on a wide variety of meanings depending on the facial expressions that accompany them. Likewise, tone of voice and rising or falling inflection can completely alter how we accept what is being spoken.
As I'm sure you realize, there's no way for a text email to communicate these nuances of meaning. Someone could be writing something purely in jest, but there are no clues to let the recipient know they should read it as humorous. In the worst of cases, they might be offended by what is written, even when there was no ill intent. Smiley icons were created to provide the clues to meaning that text is normally unable to communicate.
Who actually conceived of the original smiley icons, those little sequences of characters that show emotions when viewed horizontally? Like most things that seem unimportant at the time of their creation, smiley icons don't have a universally accepted creator. The best claim probably goes to Scott Fahlman, who used the smiley icon sequence in a message on September 19, 1982.
Here's how smiley icons are used: when writing an email or instant message, you might type a message that could be misconstrued. Even though you meant well, or were attempting some dry humor, you realize that your message recipient might not immediately see your good intentions or understand your sarcasm. So you add a few characters to the end of your sentence--either a colon-dash-right parenthesis or just a colon-right parenthesis. By cocking your head to the left, these characters are suddenly transformed from a meaningless sequence into a smiley face. When used in this way, smiley icons immediately let the reader know of your innocent, humorous intentions. It's the text equivalent of a chuckle, a wink or a nod.
Smiley icons are widely used today in a variety of personal text communications, from emails to instant message chats to mobile phone text messages. New icons and keystroke combinations have emerged to convey an incredible range of emotions. But are smiley icons appropriate in business communication? In formal business communications, probably not. If you're writing to an acquaintance about a business matter, you might be able to get away with it. But in cases where your professionalism and credibility are at stake, it's best to leave the smiley icons out. Any sentences that could be taken the wrong way should be edited for clarity.
The other issue in using smiley icons is whether or not your recipient is familiar with them. What would be the point of using smiley icons to improve communications if they lead to even more confusion instead? Granted, there are probably very few people today who use texting technology who aren't familiar with at least the most basic smiley icons. Still, if you're introducing your grandmother to the wonders of email, you might want to explain what smiley icons are all about first.
