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The Best Resource For Hilarious Emoticons: Wikipedia

Kristen Hawley — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:15:00 PDT

While recently searching for an "evil" emoticon (don't ask), I stumbled on an unlikely resource. Or, rather, the resource is pretty popular, but I hadn't thought about it until now. Worth checking out: the emoticon Wikipedia page. With a full list of emoticons ranging from basic smiles to more complex faces like a backwards baseball cap - d:-) - the page is a great resource for creative digital expression.

Emoticon listings are even broken down into eastern and western, listing all sorts of interesting emoticons I had no idea existed. (I'm particularly partial to this "not amused" emoticon: (*_*), and plan to use it often.) Check them out for yourself on Wikipedia, and happy emoting!

Lance Armstrong Brings the LOL to a Few Radio Shack Spots

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 May 2010 05:47:15 PDT

Cycling legend Lance Armstrong is having a busy week. He crashed during stage five of the Tour of California and also defended himself against allegations of drug use during the Tour de France. On a bit more optimistic note, Lance's new commercials for Radio Shack - the cycling team he rides for - came out this week. In the spots, Lance gives some lessons on cell phone etiquette, which include: "No man over the age of 30 will ever use emoticons - no colon parentheses smiley faces . . ."

The spots are super funny so it's no surprise that Christopher Guest of Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show fame directed them. See what Lance has to say about voice mails in the second commercial when you

Daily Tech: The $150 Android Tablet You Can Buy Today

GeekSugar — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:15:24 PDT

Meet the zenPad, the $150 Android tablet you can buy now - Dvice
So, :U is the new emoticon for surprise? Consider me surprised - Urlesque
Tips for taking pictures in the sun - Unplggd
Honda gives Asimo a refresh - Gizmodo
Would you rather: Firefox or Chrome? - Lifehacker
Seriously: the British military is developing force fields - io9

Emoticon Magnets: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:44:22 PDT

I know I've mentioned my avoid-unless-necessary feelings on emoticons several times, not to mention calling a guy out over his emoticon use (to which most of you responded my friend should chill out).

You loved this emoticon shower curtain; do you feel the same way about these emoticon magnets ($15)? They're 2.5 inches in diameter, so they'll definitely make a statement on the fridge. What do you think?

Tech Dating 101: What's Up With All the Emoticons?

GeekSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:10:08 PDT

I was out with a group of girlfriends last week when one of them received a text from a guy she'd gone on a few dates with. It read, "Great time last night ;)" - with the winking emoticon. Apparently after every single text he sends (and sometimes midtext, too), he includes an emoticon.

One of our friends thinks he's just being friendly, but another is convinced he's downright weird. And the friend-in question is not sure whether to accept his request to go on another date. "It's too weird!" she says. "I'm not sure what he's trying to do, but it's sort of creeping me out."

I've covered a few text-etiquette rules, like if it's appropriate to get out of a date via text and how to decode post-date texts and IMs, but what about the little day-to-day exchanges you tend to have with a potential love interest? What do all of those smiley faces mean? For more of my emoticon advice,

read more. Generally, you seem to feel emoticons are fine for personal use but not for professional. What about dating? I can see where my friend is coming from, and I've definitely decided to check myself when it comes to text and instant-message emoticon use. Turns out I use them more often than I should! I received some solid emoticon advice recently: "Don't ever use an emoticon smiley face with a guy you don't want to make out with." I asked a few guy friends, and their answers varied from the seemingly obvious: "He types a smiley face because he's actually smiling," to the sort-of charming: "He really likes you and is trying to be endearing," to the less virtuous, "He thinks you're into him and is trying to charm you into another date." If his emoticon use really bothers you, you could always address it . . . but risk him feeling rejected. Until he starts adding the spoken equivalent of emoticons into regular conversation (think: "I'm sorry you can't hang out later. Sad face."), it's probably not worth getting worked up over. If you simply can't take it anymore, you could always try calling him instead. Have you ever dated an overzealous emoticoner? Is it ever cute? Or just annoying? Do you have a Love 2.0 questioned like this you want answered? Join the Tech Dating 101 because we understand that love and dating are stressful, and the Internet and social networking sites can just make things worse. You never know, your question could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Emoticon Shower Curtain: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:33:34 PDT

Had I found this a week ago, this Text Talk Shower Curtain so would have been leading the geeky bathroom guide.

$15 from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, the shower curtain's little faces express happiness, distress, silliness . . .the same way you do over text and IM. My feelings about the curtain skew toward how I feel about emoticons in general: avoid unless necessary.

However, this could be the perfect bath time accessory for the texting addict. What do you think?

How Do You Feel About Emoticons?

GeekSugar — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:14:36 PDT

I have such a love-hate relationship with emoticons. On the one hand, they're harmless little icons that add a bit of cuteness, and on the other hand, they're tools of passive aggressive communication.

Overly dramatic? Well, have you ever gotten a negative or critical sounding IM from a colleague or friend. . . punctuated with a happy face? Sometimes people use them to take the weight off of a potentially negative message, but in my experience, it almost always backfires and makes the message seem even worse, like you're smugly smirking when you're saying it.

My advice for using emoticons is to only use them if they fit the tone you're already using. Don't use them to change your tone, because it probably will - but not in the way you want it to.

Think I take emoticons too seriously? I'm not the only one - there have been studies that show that emoticons mean different things to different cultures.

Daily Tech: Gmail Expands Emoticons

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:31:00 PDT

If you're getting sick and tired of the limited selection of emoticons in Gmail, don't fret because Google just added a couple hundred more. - TechCrunch
The new Flip UltraHD ($200) gets a quick first-impressions review, and the best overall feature? The bigger, brighter screen. - Gizmodo
Good news. Palm is already whipping up a smaller device with its new WebOS operating system. Expect this chic little phone to make its debut in the next couple of months. - The Silicon Alley Insider
Now this is a great bargain. Check out 20 great Xbox 360 games that only cost $20 each. - Green Pixels
Could Apple's next device be a media pad that's something similar to this mockup? - Cult of Mac

Want to Be One of the Cool Kids on the Sugar Block?

GiggleSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:43:48 PDT

One instant route to coolness is to know how to leave smileys with your comments. Add a nerdgirl, a cat, a dog, someone downing a pint of Guinness, and much, much more! Just click here to see the list of codes that go with the smileys. Have fun, and don't say I never gave you anything.

Funny Family-Tech Stories: My Mom Learns How to Make Happy Faces in IM

GeekSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:55:16 PST

Last night, I had the pleasure of chatting with my mom over IM, which is always a rare treat that's full of surprises.

After putting a smiley face emoticon at the end of a sentence, she was determined to get in on the smiley-face action, and create one herself. Her first-ever, smiley face emoticon was achieved. And thankfully, I had it all documented in our IM conversation. Great job, mom!

And don't even begin to ask me how she knows what OMG is!

Be sure to post all your hilarious stories in my funny family-tech stories group!