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The fun thing is how you can "date" this great essay to pre-2000 since it includes ";-)" instead of the more modern ";)", has anyone ever looked at the developm

The fun thing is how you can "date" this great essay to pre-2000 since it includes ";-)" instead of the more modern ";)", has anyone ever looked at the development of the use of emoticons over time?

jonathantm 12y ago
I don't use the nose, but I have taken to adding a space between the eyes and the mouth so that skype or facebook - or whatever other horrible chat service I'm using - don't transform it from text to their godawful cutesy images. $0.02
- abandonliberty 12y ago
  (: (an imperfect alternative as some parse it as a failed :( )
- geon 12y ago
  I hate when I type :P and it comes out as a smiling face with the tongue out. The vertical line in the P is straight...
  - eitland 12y ago
    Skype is the worst offender I know of: It even jiggles the smileys. Now you can turn this off locally but people receiving them will still think you are childish : )
- mcpherrinm 12y ago
  Or make them backwards (-:
- yuubi 12y ago
  A zero-width space works fine for this. :3 appears as a whole cat in skype; :3 (which includes such a space) appears as a colon and a three as it darn well ought.
pconner 12y ago
The use of the "nose" in emoticons is discussed here: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118562/emoticons-effect-way-we-communicate-linguists-study-effects http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118562/emoticons-effect-w...
- abandonliberty 12y ago
  Less informative than I hoped. Seems they're using the "nose" to drive readership in the sub-heading. The earliest and strongest claim is that emoticon use varies like accents or dialects. He claims that the nose is associated with more conventionality or adult interests regardless of age, but doesn't disclose the strength of the association. Based on the call out of the nose in the subheading, I suspect it's primarily mentioned to make the article more interesting. Relevant portion of article: Schnoebelen has found that use of emoticons varies by geography, age, gender, and social class—just like dialects or regional accents. Friend groups fall into the habit of using certain emoticons, just as they develop their own slang. “You start using new emoticons, just like you start using different words, when you move outside your usual social circles,” said Schnoebelen. He discovered a divide, for instance, between people who include a hyphen to represent a nose in smiley faces— :-) — and people who use the shorter version without the hyphen. “The nose is associated with conventionality,” said Schnoebelen. People using a nose also tend to “spell words out completely. They use fewer abbreviations.” Twitter notoriously obscures demographic data, but according to Schnoebelen, “People who use no noses tend to be tweeting more about Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber. They have younger interests, younger concerns, whether or not they’re younger.”
  - joshuacc 12y ago
    > People using a nose also tend to “spell words out completely. They use fewer abbreviations.” Well, that is definitely me. I refuse to abbreviate my words or my emoticons. :-)
neals 12y ago
I still try to use the nose as much as possible. Call me oldfashioned. :-)
- adamgray 12y ago
  I prefer the Russian smiley ))
jessaustin 12y ago
I thought the dated thing was going to a "music shop". I can remember that we used to do that, although I can't remember the last time I did so. Admittedly, when I lived in Singapore I only bought CDs while out of the country on business. Still, this essay makes me think that Gibson didn't actually spend a great deal of time in Singapore. Even around the millennium one could find grime if one were so inclined. And "transvestite prostitutes", even if one were not actually inclined. Were did he think all the guest labor lived?
facepalm 12y ago
I missed the message that the nose isn't used anymore. I've just been smiling away as if it was still the 90ies.

The fun thing is how you can "date" this great essay to pre-2000 since it includes ";-)" instead of the more modern ";)", has anyone ever looked at the development of the use of emoticons over time?

jonathantm 12y ago

I don't use the nose, but I have taken to adding a space between the eyes and the mouth so that skype or facebook - or whatever other horrible chat service I'm using - don't transform it from text to their godawful cutesy images. $0.02

abandonliberty 12y ago
(: (an imperfect alternative as some parse it as a failed :( )
geon 12y ago
I hate when I type :P and it comes out as a smiling face with the tongue out. The vertical line in the P is straight...
- eitland 12y ago
  Skype is the worst offender I know of: It even jiggles the smileys. Now you can turn this off locally but people receiving them will still think you are childish : )
mcpherrinm 12y ago
Or make them backwards (-:
yuubi 12y ago
A zero-width space works fine for this. :3 appears as a whole cat in skype; :3 (which includes such a space) appears as a colon and a three as it darn well ought.

pconner 12y ago

The use of the "nose" in emoticons is discussed here: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118562/emoticons-effect-way-we-communicate-linguists-study-effects http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118562/emoticons-effect-w...

abandonliberty 12y ago
Less informative than I hoped. Seems they're using the "nose" to drive readership in the sub-heading. The earliest and strongest claim is that emoticon use varies like accents or dialects. He claims that the nose is associated with more conventionality or adult interests regardless of age, but doesn't disclose the strength of the association. Based on the call out of the nose in the subheading, I suspect it's primarily mentioned to make the article more interesting. Relevant portion of article: Schnoebelen has found that use of emoticons varies by geography, age, gender, and social class—just like dialects or regional accents. Friend groups fall into the habit of using certain emoticons, just as they develop their own slang. “You start using new emoticons, just like you start using different words, when you move outside your usual social circles,” said Schnoebelen. He discovered a divide, for instance, between people who include a hyphen to represent a nose in smiley faces— :-) — and people who use the shorter version without the hyphen. “The nose is associated with conventionality,” said Schnoebelen. People using a nose also tend to “spell words out completely. They use fewer abbreviations.” Twitter notoriously obscures demographic data, but according to Schnoebelen, “People who use no noses tend to be tweeting more about Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber. They have younger interests, younger concerns, whether or not they’re younger.”
- joshuacc 12y ago
  > People using a nose also tend to “spell words out completely. They use fewer abbreviations.” Well, that is definitely me. I refuse to abbreviate my words or my emoticons. :-)

neals 12y ago

I still try to use the nose as much as possible. Call me oldfashioned. :-)

adamgray 12y ago
I prefer the Russian smiley ))

jessaustin 12y ago

I thought the dated thing was going to a "music shop". I can remember that we used to do that, although I can't remember the last time I did so. Admittedly, when I lived in Singapore I only bought CDs while out of the country on business. Still, this essay makes me think that Gibson didn't actually spend a great deal of time in Singapore. Even around the millennium one could find grime if one were so inclined. And "transvestite prostitutes", even if one were not actually inclined. Were did he think all the guest labor lived?

facepalm 12y ago

I missed the message that the nose isn't used anymore. I've just been smiling away as if it was still the 90ies.