For those of us who feel pretty cutting-edge because we've been using smileyfaces and other emoticons in our emails and instant messages for the pastfew years, guess what? The smiley emoticon is 25 years old.
One of the first uses of a colon, dash and parenthesis to form a sidewayssmiley face occurred born on Sept. 19, 1982, when Carnegie Mellon University Professor Scott E. Fahlman suggested in an online academic bulletin board—the precursor to chat rooms and instant messaging—that there was a need for symbols to convey emotion, the nuance of which often is oftenmissed by readers.
"I propose the following character for joke markers: :-) Read it sideways," Fahlman wrote. "Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things thatare NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use :-( "
Twenty five years later, emotions for every kind of emotion, mood, and emphasis take the form of colorful, often animated faces. Fahlman's look back on his emoticon history web page is a good read, especially since he answers emoticon-critics ' charges that "good writers should have no need to explicitly label their humorous comments." In part, he says, "If Shakespeare were tossing off a quick note complaining about the lack of employee parking spaces near the Globe Theater, he might have produced the same kind of sloppy prose that the rest of us do. Besides, Shakespeare's work is full of clichés and his spelling was atrocious. :-)"
To celebrate the birth of the little guy who has made a big splash and spawned all kinds of emoticons, Fahlman and his Carnegie Mellon colleagues have started an annual contest for innovation in tech-assisted, person-to-person innovation. Yahoo! is sponsoring The Smiley Award, which comes with a $500 cash prize.
Image via Yahoo! Messenger Blog
Source :
- Happy Birthday, Smiley Face Icon
- The Secret Life of Emoticons
- Smiley : 25 years old and never looked happier
- Digital 'Smiley Face' Turns 25
- Nerd Times : A Brief History Of Smiley's
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