Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: emoticon

Down With Emoticons

Enough is enough: We're smart enough to know when you're happy, sad

(Newser) - Since its inception in 1982, the "smiley" has been used in a number of ways, all of which make Mary Elizabeth Williams "want to smack the half circle off its stupid face." Even though bright people use emoticons, "when I see a smiley, my first thought... More »

Emoticons Invade Academia

Teaching millennials causes new frustrations for college writing professors

(Newser) - College professors have lamented the state of student writing for centuries. But today’s Internet-obsessed culture brings new, infuriating errors to Writing 101 as students brazenly use colloquialisms like “:-)” and “LOL” in essays. “Occasionally, I've seen someone using the number 4 for the word 'for,'”... More »

Russian Slaps ™ On ;-)

Entrepreneur seeks to nudge businesses into paying $$$ for use of emoticon

(Newser) - A Russian businessman says he has been granted the trademark for the ;-) emoticon and will start charging for its use, the BBC reports. The entrepreneur, president of the Superfone mobile phone advertising company, doesn't plan to go after individual users but intends to ask corporations to pay for a... More »

Say Hello to Generation Duh

Tech-savvy, yes, but far dumber than age cohorts past

(Newser) - Today's youth are dangerously dumb, Mark Bauerlein writes in his new book, The Dumbest Generation. Here's why:
  1. Check out Jay Leno's "Jaywalking," where "the ignorance is hard to believe."
  2. They boast "a new attitude," taking pride in their illiteracy.
More »

Happy 25th Anniversary! :-)

First emoticon launched global communication revolution

(Newser) - They didn't seem significant at the time, but three keystrokes typed exactly 25 years ago tomorrow marked a groundbreaking change in the way we communicate. The keystrokes— a colon, hyphen and a right parenthesis—formed the first smiley-face emoticon. The were created on a computer bulletin board by artificial intelligence... More »

5 Stories
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne