The Seven Faces of The Smiley :)

Along with computers, email, instant messaging, etc., has come a wide range of typographical miscommunication. Lacking facial expression, tone of voice, and inflection the reader of an email can often become quite confused as to writer's true intent. Add in to the mix our generation's love of sarcasm and we are pretty much doomed to be misunderstood.

Enter our hero, The Smiley :)

I don't know what the origin of the The Smiley is, but some wise person came up with this lifesaver. The Smiley is useful in almost any situation:

The Five Faces of The Smiley:

The Hope My Smiley Brightens Your Day Smiley - title says it all :-)

The Just a Joke Smiley - used to let the reader know that the writer is just kidding. Almost a must in situations using sarcasm. ;)

The Over Used Smiley - this is an interesting Smiley :) because it's used for no particular purpose and is sprinkled :) throughout the emails of Glass Half-Full People :)

The Girl's Only Smiley - for the most part only used by girls and suggests the same as any of the fellow listed Smileys, but with an added bit of cuteness. As cuteness is rarely a quality desired by guys, this explains the almost absent male use of this variety. :o)

The Full Grin Smiley - the happiest of all Smileys and should only be used in cases of extreme intent to express happiness :-D

The Conflict Resolution Smiley - used in hopes of diluting the negative nature of correspondence that will most likely not be well-received. Conflict Avoiders, such as the writer of this blog, make avid use of The Conflict Resolution Smiley. Someone not cleaning up the microwave after use at work? What to do? Send the email request encased in Conflict Resolution Smileys. ":) Would you so kindly clean up the splattered Lean Cuisine that is all over the microwave? We would all really appreciate it. Have a great day! :) :) :)". All better. Thank you Conflict Resolution Smiley.

The Signature Smiley - see Smiley below

The Evolution of a Smiley has over the years added winks, full grins, noses, etc. and has become an indoctrinated part of our daily type. Thankfully, in the absence of face-to-face and verbal conversation, a Smiley can covers a multitude of email sins.

Jenny :)