Yahoo! Messenger Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Emoticon and Challenges Users to Create the Next Generation of Smiley Faces

Media News

Bangalore, July 2

2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the emoticon,

the familiar form of expression first introduced in 1982 that today has

become one of the most recognized symbols in digital communication. In

honor of the 25th anniversary, Yahoo! Messenger is celebrating with its

Emoticontest, and inviting consumers to submit their favorite expressions

to compete for the next set of emoticons. The winners’ emoticons will be

featured on Yahoo! Messenger’s service worldwide.

“For 25 years, the ‘smiley’ :) and his happy parenthetical-powered friends

have added a critical layer of expression to our daily online

conversations. When you can’t hear someone’s voice or see their face,

emoticons are there to help us express what simple words can’t,” said Jeff

Bonforte, vice president, Yahoo! Messenger. “Nearly 85% of people using

Yahoo! Messenger daily rely on emoticons to add color and character to

their communication. Our users are the experts and to celebrate the 25th

anniversary of the emoticon, we are asking Yahoo! Messenger users to create

the next generation of smiley faces.”

Yahoo! Messenger was the first major instant messaging service to offer

animated emoticons in 2002 and take the smiley face to the next level in

web communication. As part of the emoticon celebration, Yahoo! conducted a

survey of 40,000 Yahoo! Messenger users, to reveal where and how emoticons

play a role in everyday communication:

“Emoti-sential”: 82% of those who use Yahoo! Messenger daily use

emoticons in their IM conversations.

LOL: A whopping 83% of respondents say that “happiness” is one of the

two emotions they express most often using emoticons. “Flirting” is the

second favorite emotion and next most expressed.

I Heart You: More than half of those surveyed think that feelings of

love are easier to convey using emoticons than in person – 57% of

respondents would rather tell a “crush” their true feelings using an

emoticon. 10% of respondents would go as far as proposing marriage to

their loved one via IM.

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Some things are better said in person. Men and

women both agree that telling someone “things aren’t working out” or “we

should break up” is better said face to face – only 12% of females and 11%

of males would opt for a break-up with an emoticon.

“Emoti-Graphic” Memory: 66% of Yahoo! Messenger users have memorized

the text characters for three or more emoticons – 19% of respondents have

memorized more than 10.

Express Yourself: The majority of survey respondents say they best

express themselves in IM using emoticons. Nearly two-thirds (61%) rely on

emoticons to best express their feelings, while 17% rely on Internet slang

(i.e. LOL, GR8) and 13% rely on photo sharing.

Gen IM: Respondents from the ages of 19 to 25 are the most avid

emoticon users, with 68% in this age group using emoticons on a daily

basis. But it’s not just the younger generation embracing emoticons –

nearly half (48%) of respondents over the age of 50 are using emoticons in

their everyday communication.

It’s a Girl Thing: 82% of respondents think that women are more

likely to use emoticons than men.

You’re Fired!: Men are slightly more prone to use IM and emoticons

to fire someone (14%) versus women (11%).

As the first person to use this form of non-verbal communication, Professor

Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University takes special pride in the

anniversary of the emoticon.

“When I first created the :-) text smiley face, I never thought it would

take off the way it has,” said Professor Fahlman. “It started as a way to

show humor to a community of computer scientists, but now, 25 years later,

consumers far and wide have really embraced the emoticon in their

non-verbal communication to show emotions like happiness, love and concern,

especially while instant messaging. The smiley has come a long way.”

About the Emoticontest:

Be the new face of Yahoo! Messenger! Yahoo! Messenger will add six new

animated emoticons to its service in the coming months. To enter Yahoo!

Messenger’s Emoticontest, go to:

http://messenger.yahoo.com/emoticontest.php and submit a photo of a

signature look or favorite expression. The Bix online community will vote

on the submissions and determine the next generation of emoticons in Yahoo!

Messenger.

The contest is running in the U.S., India and Vietnam until July 31, 2007.

For further information, please contact:

Brian Ammanna

Associate Consultant

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Bangalore

Tel: +91-80-44344354

Mob: +91-9886101005

brian.ammanna@ogilvy.com