! ” which is really quite different effect.
and 
which are still probably two of the most popular tones to express, although he proposed them more specifically in regards to making a joke or not. As computers became more graphically focused, and typist become ever lazier, it is pretty easy to see how the emoticon evolved ever closer to the smiley. Smily Design Falls into a few distinct categories.
AOL has AIM, MSN has Live Messenger, Yahoo has Y messenger and there are a host of other players. Each one of these applications have a HUGE install base, are robust applications with a slew of features and are variations on a theme, with each having their own areas of strengths and weaknesses as well as their own ecosystems, which I will go into more detail below. AIM has the largest market share in the US, while MSN is the dominant player in most European countries. Since finance and communication are the bridges that connects us, I guess we could just consider that regional pockets of popularity as one more difference in currencies, like the dollar and the Euro. Other than that, the applications are about the same. Some work together and some don’t. In most cases, it seems that the people you want to talk are are 99% of the time on the same Chat application. There has long been a movement towards openeness in this area, these Brands have a vested interest in keeping the switching costs high, to not lose customers. The emoticons they provide are pretty basic stuff. They are like an OEM factory installed stereo, they do the job, no question about it, but you know you would rather have the Blaupunkt. But emoticons are a great way to make that message more YOU and that is where the world of emoticon design comes into the picture. Let’s look at those, shall we?
Smiley Central
Aside from emoticons that are offered from within your favorite chat application, these are perhaps the most pervasive emoticons on the internet. One of the first, if not THE first 3rd party content providers for instant messaging applications. They offer an enormous collection of 3D emos and have been early leaders in innovating in the online social experssion environments. Now, to be fair, these are not really 3D, nor anything close to 3D, but they do create a close aprroximation at a greatly reduced cost. If you really want 3D, look elsewhere. Overall all though, they offer a very nice selection of emoticons and very consistent branded look to their content. (PC only and require a toolbar download)
Sweet IM a MSN only offering of emoticons, winks (more on these at a later date) and some other offerings. It is PC only and they have some nice features with great integration into MSN Live Chat. So if you are only MSN on a PC, they are worth a look/
Emoticons megastore Kiwee offers a huge variety of styles and emotions. It is probably the greatest variety of styles in the bunch, ranging from cute animals and graphic design styles to fully rendered 3D animations. In addition to english, this site and content is also available in french and spanish. It supports most chat clients on PC with a download of the toolbar. It also integrates directly into MSN. (Disclaimer, the author of this article was instrumental in launching Kiwee and developing it’s content).
Minimalist
Gmail – Google recently added emoticons to their email client. They are classic google design. Just enough to get the job done, and nothing more.
(^-^*) Emonji, are emoticons from Japan. More than just emoticons really, it is a pictorial language. encompassing 100′s of pictographs used as a standard on mobile devices to communicate. They are a bit more sophisticated than the western counterpart. Like western emoticons, the Japanese emoticons have both a test based and graphic version. This site has a nice overview.
There is of course much more to the world of emoticons, but this should get you started. Are there other site out there you like? Let me know!
- mANGORN
