Emoticons: Not as corny as they used to be

One of the biggest issues in communicating via keyboards and keypads is that you don’t have the context offered by body language, tone of voice, and emotion.

Sometimes that’s a good thing. The ex and I had our most productive discussions via instant messenger. Face-to-face an eye roll or a sigh becomes something else to argue about. Separated by computer screens, I didn’t know whether or not he was giving me The Look, which allowed me to deal with his words rather than a funky attitude.

There is a flip side to this, of course. If he typed something in the heat of the moment that was intended to be a joke, I didn’t have that voice or facial cue to let me know that he was trying to lighten the mood.

That of course is the whole reason behind emoticons: to convey the same tone, emotion, and meaning that you lose by not having a face-to-face, or even an over-the-phone discussion. These simple combinations of characters offer nuance and shorthand for things that can not be clearly expressed through words alone. In some instant messaging clients and in some communities, there’s a whole ecosystem of character combinations and accompanying graphics that say it perfectly.

<tangentialThought>
Emoticon libraries fascinate me in how they graphically represent emotions. I prefer, for example, Yahoo’s messenger emoticons because of their wider range of emotions and how well the imagery conveys what I am trying to say or express. I wonder if anyone (B.J. Fogg perhaps?) is studying emoticon design as a discipline.
</tangentialThought>

But are emoticons appropriate for business communications? According to this New York Times article, more people seem to think so. From the piece:

… Twenty-five years after they were invented as a form of computer-geek shorthand, emoticons — an open-source form of pop art that has evolved into a quasi-accepted form of punctuation — are now ubiquitous.

… These Starburst-sweet hieroglyphs, arguably as dignified as dotting one’s Is with kitten faces, have conquered new landscape in the lives of adults, as more of our daily communication shifts from the spoken word to text. Applied appropriately, users say, emoticons can no longer be dismissed as juvenile, because they offer a degree of insurance for a variety of adult social interactions, and help avoid serious miscommunications.

I agree. I wholeheartedly believe they can soften up a message that might otherwise seem harsh. And in my particular office, where snark abounds, they can signal definitively whether or not a message should be read with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

But what say you?

• What do you love or hate about electronic communications — email, SMS, and instant messenger, either for business or pleasure — and emoticons?
• Do you prefer a specific instant messaging client or online forum because of its emoticons?
• Are emoticons too cheesy for work or business communiqués?
• How much does it depend on the tool being used (email versus instant messenger)?
• How much does it depend on the recipient and your relationship with the recipient?
• How much does it depend on the culture of the community in which you are communicating?