:) The emoticon

I'm guilty. I admit it. I use too many emoticons and I can't seem to stop. Whether it be texting or emailing, my need to express my facial feelings and emotions through cliche symbols is overwhelming ...

Apparently, I'm not alone and the emoticon has a history. Thankfully, not a torrid one. An article featured on Mashable.com today takes a brief, but interesting look at how today's emoticons came to be. From its inception in 1982, through tomorrow's stylized smiles, you'll think twice when adding that wink to your next phrase. Or, will you? ;)

For me, I can say it may inspire me to use them even more frequently now that there are emoticons for nearly every passing whim.

With that said ... there is still one good emoticon-use rule-of-thumb. If you have to put that :) face behind a sentence to ensure your recipient doesn't take your comment wrong ... you may want to reword or not send at all. Emoticons shouldn't replace rudeness; they should add to what you are trying to express.

:-)