Facebook emoticons – a little history

When Facebook chat was first introduced, it used a number of different emoticons written into it code, but amazingly they did not list which ones were available on that first day. Instead, they kept the list hidden, which made interest in them more and more strong. People went to the internet in droves to search for the hidden Facebook chat emoticons, and the codes for how to insert them into their chat messages.

This viral way of marketing the chat smileys was extremely successful, and it made the appearance of the chat emoticons even more exciting. Since the initial release of Facebook chat, more emotes and smilies have been introduced by the developers in order to maintain interest and to also add a little fun and spice to their users’ chat boxes. Was it successful? In the last twelve months Facebook’s pageviews have tripled whereas their ex-nemesis and rival, Myspace, has seen its own pageviews halve. A sad end to a once mighty powerhouse.

Anyway, that’s enough about the history – stay tuned to the site for more information about Facebook emoticons and also some tips about how to use them in your chats!

Facebook emoticons

This adaptation was subtle, but smart. Instead of simply using the small yellow emoticons which were very similar to their competitors, Facebook decided to introduce a wide range of smileys – and not just faces. The Facebook heart emoticon was one of the most popular due to its usability – people could send it to their parents to show their affection, or their boyfriend / girlfriend to show that they wanted to date them that day. There was also the fantastic combination of angel and devil! What better way to show how pure and innocent your thoughts were than by using an angel emoticon?! And also what better way to show the naughty side of yourself than by using a devil’s face?

The true stars of this first batch of Facebook emoticons, however, were the robot and Pacman. Pacman, the star of his own video game in the 1980s, had not been seen on our computer screens for a long time – but was suddenly thrust back into the limelight by this starring role. It was also a very simple emoticon to reproduce (the :v) so anyone could easily remember how to do it (and could recreate it easily). The robot seemed to be a tribute to the electronic simplicity which had allowed Facebook to become the global technological powerhouse that it has done.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my brief history of Facebook emoticons! If you have any questions you can always leave a comment here on my blog, otherwise you can check some older posts for more info! Enjoy your new batch of Facebook emoticons!

After the first batch of Facebook emoticons was introduced, as previously mentioned, the search traffic and pageviews on the main site went bananas. People who had become bored of the ‘faux real time’ commenting on people’s walls and generally not being able to have real contact with eachother had begun to leave the site. MSN saw a slight increase its usage (I mean Windows Live Messenger, not the terrible ‘spaces’ project which is completely doomed) as people went back to live chat.

Facebook chat emoticons

The introduction of the chat function, and also the Facebook smileys within it, changed all that. People were excited about logging on again, and it showed. The first ‘wave’ of emotes had become symbols of a new affection that people had for the site – and some of them had never been seen before.

New emoticons

Whenever anyone launches a product, they have to deal with the possibility that they may be infringing on someone else’s copyright, or at the very least they may seem to be copying their style. When Facebook’s management team brought in the basic icons for chat (such as the yellow smiley faces), people were concerned that they would be just the same as their competition – MSN, AIM and Yahoo chat. So what did Facebook do? What they’ve always done before. They adapted!

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This is part one of ‘a brief history of Facebook emoticons’. If you liked it, please read part two which will be published soon! Thanks and enjoy this new batch of Facebook emoticons article!

Facebook emoticons

When it was launched, the reaction was really not amazing. Sure, they had made it available to all users and we could finally see which of our friends was online at any one time, but the whole format was extremely plain and simple – there were no colours, no lights and no emoticons! Nobody (since the early 1990s) had dared to release a chat client without emoticons, and it was crazy to think that Facebook would be any different. Indeed, it didn’t take long for internet users to realize that actually the smileys in Facebook chat were hidden and not available to the first time user.

You had to use secret (or not so secret) keypresses in order to have the smiley faces appear in your chat – so which ones did people start to find first?

The simplest ones were the ‘normal’ emoticons – smiley faces, big smiley faces, a crying emoticon and a shocked face! As soon as these were discovered, however, fans wanted more! People wanted to know if there were any other hidden emoticons or secret smileys in Facebook chat. They didn’t have to wait for long…

Facebook emoticons

Why are Facebook chat emoticons hidden?

This is a question which has long puzzled people who like to use social networking websites. Why, if there are features such as emotions available, would the company not tell everyone how to use them? The answer is simple – if you tell people how to use them you clog up the screen and make it messy and less clear. You also create a more cluttered and less streamlined website – something that Facebook in particular has been trying to avoid with their site. It sets them apart, and makes them different. Actually, it’s quite a sensible approach to social networking.

So what different Facebook emoticons are available?

There are many, many emotes available for you to use, but unfortunately you can nto use them in your status or on other people’s walls. Right now, the only way to see these smileys is to use Facebook chat (which you can find in the bottom right of your screen, in the new ‘Facebook bar’ which is available when you log in).

This is just a brief introduction to emoticons, in the future I will tell you more about which ones are available and how to get them in your chats!