Scott E. Fahlman, a notable computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, is credited with creating the first emoticons 26 years ago today: the :-) and the :-( symbols.
Frustrated with the misinterpretation of tone and intention on online bulletin boards (sound familiar? It's still a headache today), he attempted to combat that by getting people to put the smiley emoticon after a post intended to be lighthearted, and the frownie emoticon after content intended to be serious (although today we view it as a mark of displeasure, frustration, or anger.)
That was September 19, 1982. Fahlman's original post was lost for a couple of decades and believed gone for good. In 2001-2002 Mike Jones of Microsoft sponsored a more serious "archeological dig" through the backup tapes soliciting the help of Jeff Baird and the CMU CS facilities staff to find the http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/Orig-Smiley.htm">original thread.
Disputes still arise as to whether or not he is the true inventor. However, I think that in 1982 the whole yellow smiley face phenomenon was in full swing and is likely an obvious influence.
Emoticons Today...
We still use these emoticons--and infinite variations--today whether you like them or not. In his account, Fahlman introduces thought-provokers such as have Microsoft and AOL ruined their whimsy by intercepting the ASCII and turning them into pictures? Does using them spoil the joke? Do they degrade our written word by allowing us to rely on them to convey our messages rather than using prose? It's up to you to decide, but I'm a writer and I use them--in moderation. ;-)
Heather Murray
Strategists & Planners
Comments (0)