Glossary: Emoticons

Simply put, Emoticons are symbols that are used in chat rooms, message boards, e-mail messages, IM messages and word processors to display emotions. The name “emoticon” comes from a combination “emotion” and “icon.”

Emoticons are normally used at the end of a sentence in order to convey the feeling associated with that sentence. For example, when a person makes a statement in jest, the “winking” emoticon can be used afterward to imply sarcasm.

Originally, emoticons only made sense if you turned your head to the side. Today many IM programs, chat rooms and message boards and word processors employ animated “smilies” to imply emotion. These smilies are normally unique to the platform they are being used on and there are now many, many different emoticons used throughout the various platforms.

Here are several of the most common emoticons:

: )  — Smile

: O – Surprise

: ( – Frown

: P – Tongue stuck out

; ) – Winking

> : ( — Mad

Other variations that have developed over the years:

:-* – a Kiss

:’( –Crying

<3 – Heart

Here is an example of how WordPress converts the keystrokes : – ) when typed with no spaces.

And  : – ( converts to

Using Emoticons helps make communication via the Internet or Email much clearer. When you end a sentence with a , it conveys happiness or says “it’s okay”. Ending a sentence or statement with a , indicates sadness or sorrow. For instance, “I’m sorry I can’t do that today “.

As a mom blogger, incorporating appropriate Emoticons into your blog posts will add emotion to your story or article. However, over use of them could get annoying, so use them sparingly and wisely.