Celebrating 25 Years of the Smiley...!

This year reportedly marks the 25th anniversary of the emoticon, a form of expression that has today become one of the most recognized symbols in digital communication.

First introduced in 1982, the smiley :) and his buddies have religiously added that much needed layer of expression to routine digital conversations. Emoticons have helped people better express themselves in otherwise impersonal conversations.
Jeff Bonforte, vice president, Yahoo! Messenger, said, "Nearly 85 percent of people using Yahoo! Messenger daily rely on emoticons to add color and character to their communication. Our users are the experts, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the emoticon, we are asking Yahoo! Messenger users to create the next generation of smiley faces.

" Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the emoticon, Yahoo! Messenger is conducting an 'Emoticontest', inviting consumers to submit their favorite expressions that will compete for the next set of emoticons.

Winners' contributions (read: emoticons) will be featured on Yahoo! Messenger's worldwide service. As part of the celebration, Yahoo! has also conducted a survey of nearly 40,000 Yahoo! Messenger users to find out where and how emoticons play a role in everyday communication. The survey threw up some interesting results. For starters, nearly 82 percent of those who use Yahoo! Messenger daily, use emoticons in their IM conversations. Eighty three percent of respondents say that 'happiness' is the one most expressed emotion using emoticons, the other being 'flirting'.

Over half of those surveyed find it easier to convey feelings of love through emoticons than in person. Fifty seven percent would rather express a 'crush' on someone using an emoticon. Only 10 percent would go so far as proposing marriage to their loved ones via IM.

From the respondents, as much as sixty-six percent have memorized text characters for three or more emoticons, while 19 percent have memorized text characters for over 10 emoticons. And not surprisingly, those aged 19 to 25 years are the most avid users of emoticons. Interestingly, nearly half (48 percent) of respondents over the age of 50 are using emoticons in their everyday communication...