Blog Lady's Internet Guide

Smileys give chat a cute face. Even the most boring conversation is tolerable with them. Learn about Facebook smileys and their use in social networking chat.

What are smileys?

Smiley refers to an emoticon that shows a smiling face. More generally, a smiley can be any type of emoticon. Smileys are used to convey emotion through Internet communication. Hence, emoticons.

Does Facebook support smileys?

Yes. You can use smileys in Facebook chat and private messages.

What are the benefits of using smileys?

Smileys let you express your feelings without saying (or rather typing) a word in chat or email. It helps prevent misunderstandings. When you want to emphasize a what you are saying, smileys or emoticons bring home the point to the other person. If you are having an intense chat with someone and you exchange lots of messages, smileys will save you a lot of typing.

After some time smileys take on a life of their own. There will be times when it seems you can carry on a conversation with just those cute graphics! And when you are away from someone special, a smiley helps bring them closer.

How do I make a smiley?

You can make a smiley by typing the keyboard characters that correspond to the emotion you wish to convey. Or if the interface you are using has an emoticon toolbar, just click the smiley you want to use and it will be added to what you are typing.  See this list of Facebook emoticons and their shortcuts.

Where are smileys used?

Smileys are most often used in online chat like that of Facebook, forums and email. They can also be used in blogs and websites. You can use them in mobile text messaging too. Any medium where you want to express your feelings.

How do I use smileys or emoticons on Facebook chat?

You use emoticons on Facebook by first launching the chat window and start chatting with a friend. Look to a list of Facebook smileys and the characters used. Type them in the chat window and send the message. You and your friend will see the graphic smiley displayed.

Where can I find a complete list of Facebook smileys?

Facebook provides a partial list of emoticons at their Help Center. You can also refer to unofficial list of Facebook emoticons.

Can I make up my own Facebook smileys?

You can type anything you want in Facebook chat, so long as the characters you want are on the keyboard you are using. But if Facebook does not find the combination in its library of emoticon definitions, it will not convert your creation into a graphic smiley. Or you may get an unexpected result.

Are smileys universal?

The oldest and most common emoticons are pretty much universal. However the more exotic ones might not be available on all platforms. Further, the same kinds of smileys may require different characters to type.

For example, the emoticon for “angry” in Windows Live is :-@ or  :@ whereas in Yahoo! Messenger it is X( for the same expression.

Facebook recognizes most common smileys. The user is encouraged to try various combinations since new ones are always being added.

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